I’ve spent time on Grantland’s potential, but did ESPN really make a mistake by not taking advantage? I say no — the mistake was Grantland’s. Still, has ESPN stretched itself too thin, or might there be a method to their seeming madness when it comes to sports fees? Disney’s earnings — particularly CEO Bob Iger’s comments — suggest the latter.
Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing
ESPN’s decision to close Grantland seems to be more evidence that there is no future outside of massive scale or one-man operations. Bill Simmons’ recent successes, though, suggest that the answer could be the exact opposite.
ESPN Follow-up, BAM Tech and Bundle Logic, No Apple MVNO and the Apple TV
A follow-up to my piece on ESPN
Why Disney and ESPN Will Be OK
An increasing number of questions are being raised about the future of the pay-TV bundle, and of ESPN. The former may indeed be doomed, but that doesn’t mean the latter is in as much trouble as people think: after all, Disney is the master of differentiated content.
Correcting the Netflix Story, ESPN’s Challenge — and Opportunity, Yahoo to Stream NFL Game
My Netflix chart from Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits wasn’t quite right: after all, I was talking about time, and networks and studios are already modularized. Still, fixing my error provides an interesting view on ESPN and its challenges and opportunities.
Media Monday: Bill Simmons vs ESPN, Spotify and the Content Hierarchy, Periscope and Piracy
Today’s Daily Update is all about the media:
– ESPN will not renew Bill Simmons’ contract, which leads into a discussion of the value of individual brands, particular writers, and how that value can best be captured
– Not all content is created equally, which helps explain Spotify’s surprising decision to diversify
– Periscope presents a unique challenge to sports in particular
Daily Update: The NBA and the State of TV, Sony WebTV, Privacy versus User Experience
Good morning, As I noted, this week’s Daily Updates might be irregular; indeed, today’s is arriving several hours late. I apologize for the delay. I also apologize that the first two items are U.S. centric (yep, TV again). On to the update: The NBA and the State of TV The NBA’s ratings have been decliningSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Why Next Year for Apple Watch, I Love the Blackberry Passport, Bill Simmons and Writer as Brand
Good morning, It seems that yesterday’s update got marked as spam, so please take a look and mark it as not-spam – this will help ensure this happens less often in the future. On to the update: Why Now Next Year for Apple Watch While I noted last week that I had changed my mindSubscribe […]
Daily Update: ESPN and Univision Crack Down on Vine, Canada’s Anti-spam Law, BlaBlaCar Raises $100 million
Good morning, Hello from Wisconsin! First off, I apologize that yesterday’s update was sent out so late; it was sent on a schedule, and I messed up my timezones. Thanks for your patience. On to the updates: a central theme of Stratechery is the importance of context and the vast expanse of gray when itSubscribe […]
The Stages of Newspapers’ Decline
The second-most common objection to FiveThirtyEight and the End of Average was along these lines: Love 100% of @stratechery posts but this one off: forgets to segment market. Many don't care about "quality" news http://t.co/KnSmNgZbS2 — Rich Yudhishthu (@yudhishthu) March 17, 2014 That’s very true; those same people – and there are a lot of […]