
Will coronavirus break the sports media industry? - JumpCrisscross
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-05-03/will-coronavirus-break-the-50-billion-sports-media-industry
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darkerside
Live sports has been the last gasp of cable TV bundles for so long now. It's
frankly astonishing that more people haven't cancelled en masse. Or maybe they
have and earnings haven't been released yet.

And good riddance. I look forward to being able to stream individual games on
demand.

~~~
JeffDClark
I canceled mine after dragging my feet for years and paying way too much all
that time. I have been dreading the call required to cancel but it went pretty
smoothly. The lady asked why I was canceling and I said, "I only pay for this
for Hockey (and sometimes Baseball) and I am no longer getting either". She
seemed not surprised in the slightest and there was zero push back or painful
trips to the "retention department". I too look forward to way better
streaming options in the next couple of years.

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ken
> People who don’t like sports have always paid for cable networks they didn’t
> watch.

Exactly. So now we think that sports _fans_ paying for games they can't watch
is going to cause a problem? These business people have spent decades building
an empire that depends on getting people to pay for services they're not
enjoying.

I would be shocked if they can't find some way to weasel their way out of it
this time, too.

------
sandworm101
Wrestling seems to have done well enough. Maybe that's the future for other
'sports' too.

~~~
avolcano
As probably one of the bigger wrestling fans on HN, I feel obliged to point
out that WWE is doing _very poorly_ even though it's just about the only live
sport-like product left on TV: [https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-
smackdown-falls-below...](https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-smackdown-
falls-below-two-million-viewers-overnight-ratings-310111)

WWE's TV deals are in danger, which is why they are terrified and trying to be
the first thing back up and running, to grab as much marketshare as possible
while they can. Doesn't seem like anyone's biting, though.

(the shows are also pretty unwatchable these days, but that was a problem long
before coronavirus. that said, I agree with the other commentator that _some_
of the pretape stuff they've been experimenting with has been working okay,
and I'm kind of cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Money in the Bank
PPV, which sounds like the film "The Raid" but with pro wrestling)

~~~
redis_mlc
> As probably one of the bigger wrestling fans on HN

I have to ask ...

As an adult, what's the appeal of watching WWE?

~~~
avolcano
Fair question! Different folks get different things out of it. Personally, I
got into it a few years ago since I have some friends who are into it. It drew
me in with all the spectacle, and kept me in with how compelling the long-term
storytelling can be.

Lots of people compare wrestling to soap operas, with the overdramatic acting
and the constant, several-times-a-week frequency of shows, but really the
closest comparison I'd have is something like the current Marvel movie
franchise - a silly, bombastic thing that somehow winds up being surprisingly
emotionally effective (at times). Of course, much like how there are a lot of
bad superhero movies, there is a lot of bad wrestling, but the good stuff can
be _really_ good.

------
HABytes
Yes coronavirus will impact the sports industry. But some sports will held and
don't worrt about Covid-19.

~~~
mercer
I'm fascinated by your account. It's 21 days old yet has a karma of 1. And the
majority of your comments are greyed out.

I wouldn't ask if this was just a personal HN account, because at this point
nothing surprises me anymore, but for an account that claims to "provide you
fully tested tech product reviews, buying guides, features analysis, and a
large how-tos collection. Our staff work 24/7 to provide the latest tech
industry news.", I can't help but be curious what it is you're trying to
achieve. Is anyone on your staff telling you to stop it with the shit
comments, or to figure out how to not eventually get shadowbanned?

------
DonHopkins
It will hopefully break the Academic Industrial Sports Complex, and rich
parents can stop Photoshopping their useless brat's heads into photos of
rowboats and basketball courts. They should be giving those scholarships to
poor hard working kids who know how to use Photoshop, instead.

[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/college-
admissions-s...](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/college-admissions-
scandal-kids-photoshopped-as-athletes.html)

[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-
features/colleg...](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-
features/college-admissions-scam-lori-loughlin-felicity-huffman-807208/)

>4\. CW-1 allegedly photoshopped applicants’ faces onto stock photos of
athletes, sometimes in ridiculous ways.

>In one case described in the court documents, CW-1 told a parent that he
would photoshop an applicant to make it look like he had played football, even
though his high school did not have a football team. CW-1 said this would
increase his chances of admission to USC to 90 percent, and the two even
discussed what fake position he would play. “I’m gonna make him a kicker,”
CW-1 said, prompting the parent to laugh and say, “He does have very strong
legs.”

