Watchdog

It's a very interesting read. I do think the launch/growth of league-specific channels has created some trouble between ESPN and the leagues/conferences themselves, since they answer to owners with different interests. While ESPN might rightly be criticized for some of its self-promotion and the way it covers games/events, ratings declines for the NFL/NBA/NASCAR probably have more to do with poor game schedules or off-field issues over the past few years. It's pretty widely agreed that most people don't choose whether or not to watch games because of the production quality/announcers.

The biggest problem with ESPN????
Two Words....
CHRIS BERMAN

ESPN needs competition. I wish a network, TNT ideally, would go head to head against Sports Center with their own daily sports news program.

Everyone I know hates Sports Center and just wants old school basic highlights and stats. TNT plays enough sports to justify the program.

Some company needs to step up and try to crush ESPN. Competing with their flagship show would be a great first step.

Biggest problem for ESPN are their anchors. They are fans, not reporters. They are schtick and no substance. They are such showhorses who are given everything ie columns, radio shows, other show-hosting gigs, and what not. It's like Weekend Update on SNL except it's about 60 minutes long with repeats throughout the day. I even heard from somebody on Awful Announcing that when he worked at ESPN it was a common game between the anchors on who could drop more pop culture references in their highlights. I think one of the trademarks of ESPNU is "Never Graduate". Well you can say the same thing about their misogynist, yuppy, immature, arrogant anchors.

cgar,
I like TNT/TBS sports productions in MLB/NBA/NASCAR but they are just Time Warner Products. Fox Sports had a chance and I will say has surpassed ESPN in some areas like sports talk radio and sports shows just on sports but ESPN is a monster. I have read that even people who there believe it's become too big.

Having items like this in the blog or in the column is why Neil Best has taken sports media criticism to a new, smarter plateau.
The other two who do what Neil does on a regular basis [let's call them MushStache for old times' sake] wouldn't even try and tackle the World Wide Leader at such a macro level.
Mush writes for the Post .. the guilty pleasure ...
and the Stache, even though he has an advanced degree tinged with Columbia blue, can't seem to get off the same four subjects, [YES, ESPN, Food Additive Network, CBS] and is compromised by taking appearance fee checks from an outfit - Snigh - that he apparently is supposed to critique but doesn't.
In the words of WFAN's Angry Puppy: Good job outta you, Neil Best!

When your sport appears on a network where the best ratings are horrendous ratings for the broadcast networks, what do you expect? Most ESPN shows don't even get 1.0 ratings, most games except for football and some baseball don't get 1.0 ratings. I have always thought that ESPN deliberately hires people that annoy viewers because it gets them free publicity on chat room boards (like this one, duh) from people writing to complain about them.
They pay so much for these sports and don't produce ratings therefore they can't charge high prices for ads, so they saturate games with extra ad filler to make up the difference. Games almost never end in their alloted times and college football goes upwards to 4 hours per game usually.
Since we are sports fans, we blow the ESPN phenomenom out of proportion. Yet if you asked every person in America who is Stephen A. Smith, Chris Berman, Stuart Scott, Tony Kornheiser, Kenny Maybe etc. 99% of them wouldn't have a clue. I've been watching a lot of the live games on ESPNU and ESPNCLassic this season, and you wouldn't believe the difference. The games end on time, there are less commercials, the no-frills halftime sometimes has interviews at the desk or on football games they show the bands.
ESPN has always been all hype and no substance. They are marketing themselves, and not the sports they cover. They own some of the games and sports they televise like football bowl games and arena football. Besides the live games, and one hour of sports news per day, I avoid them like the plague. They aren't worth the effort.

I have wondered why someone hasn't come along to offer competition to ESPN. Perhaps it will happen..like it did in the 1970s when Guccione/Penthouse came along to challenge Hefner/Playboy. No one can so completely dominate a field unchallenged forever.