Sports is indeed, far and away, the biggest driver of cable subscriptions. Sports is also the reason why most cable packages are so expensive. Licensing sports costs a fortune, and networks who license sports turn around and charge big fees to cable companies. Their parent companies also bundle their other networks with the sports network, so as to raise rates for all of their networks. This is why ESPN is the most profitable network on all of TV (broadcast or cable), and one of the most important jewels in Disney's crown. Disney would probably sell off ABC before it would sell off ESPN.
