Th3 Core

>second year

Anecdotally, I'm seeing some signs that gimmick is starting to fail.

Be prepared for a protracted battle over broadband fees. With the collapse of bundle revenue, they are going to use it to support their finances.

I ran across a reference to this deep in a reddit comment in my feed. Went searching. Relates to both this discussion of "TV is dead" and -probably more- changing US demographics. (One American in six is now Hispanic, up from a small minority two generations ago. By mid-century it will be more than one in four.)

"Fox still leads in audience, but that audience is smaller than it used to be. In 2013, Fox’s prime-time viewership declined 6% from the previous year, according to median monthly viewership data provided by Nielsen Media Research. But with 1.7 million viewers each evening, the channel still drew a bigger audience than CNN, MSNBC and HLN combined. Fox surpassed then-leader CNN in prime-time viewership in 2002, and has never looked back. However, there is some evidence of a ceiling for audience growth. Fox has not increased its median evening viewership since 2009."

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/14/five-facts-about-fox-news/

Off-topic: Hispanic info:
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21645996-one-american-six-now-hispanic-up-small-minority-two-generations-ago

Amazon beats Netflix to sign ex-Top Gear talent for new motoring show

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/07/amazon-beats-netflix-to-sign-ex-top-gear-talent-for-new-motoring-show/

This is a massive breach of the cable companies' walled garden;

NFL Gamepass now available in the US

(b) NFL Game Pass (Domestic) available to users in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Antigua, the Bahamas, and any U.S. territories, possessions and commonwealths (including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (collectively, the "NFL Game Pass Domestic Included Territories"): includes access to live and archived video of NFL preseason games, archived video of regular season games);

http://www.nfl.com/help/subscriptions_terms

<added>
This is a new development and details of what is now included in [US] Gamepass aren't clear. It may be gutted.

Yeah they need to hang on to live sports like their lives depend on it.

It's all they have left.

Ouch! That's going to leave a mark.  If you're quiet, you can hear cable's keystone starting to slip.

When Wall Street Meets Cord Cutters, Investors Lose $60 Billion

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/when-wall-street-meets-cord-cutters-investors-lose-60-billion

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Stock Market Has Cord Cutting Freak Out After ESPN Viewer Losses

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ESPN-Losses-Wake-Cable-TV-Investors-Up-to-Cord-Cutting-134711

The continued losses at ESPN could drive the company to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming service sooner than it had originally wanted (the company recently suggested it might not arrive for another five years).

ESPN has been suing any pay TV provider that offers so-called "skinny TV" bundles that don't include ESPN in the core channel lineup. They're now stuck between a rock and a hard place: ignoring the cord cutting revolution and maintaining the status quo (which will drive cord cutting) or embracing the cord cutting revolution and offering a direct-to-consumer option (which will drive cord cutting).

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Again, nowhere in my reading has a financial analyst seriously addressed the issue that interest in our tv-market sports is declining.

>How much

I can't say. But the signs are everywhere. They've been there for at least a decade now.  Some of it was/is anecdotal, but it's starting to surface enough that the analysts ought to pick up on it --I think, seriously, that they are in denial. Like Doc Cool used to be, hhh. A decade ago, I'd be hooted if I said sports was failing with youth and young adults. Now, even previously rabid fanbois often agree.

Anyway, the signs...

Youth Participation Weakens in Basketball, Football, Baseball, Soccer
Fewer Children Play Team Sports
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303519404579350892629229918

TV SPORTS; The Decline and Fall of Sports Ratings
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/10/sports/tv-sports-the-decline-and-fall-of-sports-ratings.html

Baseball is struggling to hook kids — and risks losing fans to other sports
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/baseballs-trouble-with-the-youth-curve--and-what-that-means-for-the-game/2015/04/05/2da36dca-d7e8-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html

NASCAR's TV ratings slump continues
http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-09-01/nascar-sprint-cup-2014-tv-ratings-fox-espn-nbc

What Has Happened To The Once High-Flying Sport Of NASCAR?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberttuchman/2015/02/23/what-has-happened-to-the-once-high-flying-sport-of-nascar/

As F1 TV viewing figures continue to fall globally, is there a solution to the problem?
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/14/as-f1-tv-viewing-figures-continue-to-fall-globally-is-there-a-solution-to-the-problem/

The NFL’s Biggest Challenge? Keeping Younger Viewers
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/the-nfls-greatest-test-not-ray-rice-but-young-crowds-who-tune-out-games-1201307613/

The average audience between 18 and 49 for NFL broadcasts across CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN and the NFL Network has declined by about 10.6% over the last four seasons, according to Nielsen data prepared by Horizon Media, to about 7.7 million in 2013 from about 8.62 million in 2010. Meantime, male viewers between 18 and 24 watching the sport have also fallen off, tumbling about 5.3% in the same time period, to approximately 847,000 in 2013 from 894,000 in 2010.

“This segment is not passionate about the NFL like older age groups,”

<late OT addition>

Cord-Cutting Gets Ugly: U.S. Pay-TV Sector Drops 566,000 Customers in Q2

Greenfield wonders if pay-TV execs fully appreciate how quickly consumer behavior is shifting...

...There is clear and convincing evidence that consumers are increasingly cutting the cord or shaving the cord,” BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield wrote in a blog post Friday. “In turn, some of the executive commentary makes you wonder how disconnected from reality they are.

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/cord-cutting-gets-ugly-u-s-pay-tv-sector-drops-566000-customers-in-q2-1201559878/

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BINGO!

...younger generations have become disillusioned by endless war mongering, partisanship, racial bias, politician and police worship, reality TV, and celebrity media frenzies that have become the trademarks of TV news.

...Aging generations, which will probably never break their TV habits, are now the only reliable audiences for the likes of CNN, Fox News, NBC, CBS, and the rest of the mainstream media.

Mainstream Media Stock Prices Collapsing as People Choose Internet Over TV

http://theantimedia.org/mainstream-media-stock-prices-collapsing-as-people-choose-internet-over-tv/

update:

ESPN Layoffs Begin

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/26/525743455/espn-layoffs-begin-and-some-100-employees-may-lose-jobs

They are laying off some pretty solid reporters, columnists, and on air personalities too. Not just the scrubs. Kind of shows that even the cord cutter proof broadcasts like sports are suffering. One problem with ESPN in the past the best place to see highlights was SportsCenter. Now you can just see all the highlights you want to online. Aside from the live sports the only other thing they have is talk shows and those are 95% annoying.

They will be starting their own stand alone streaming service (similar to HBO To Go) which should help stem the tide a bit.