News Chapek FIRED, Iger New CEO

el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
MrPromey said:
Cable's a dying medium but ESPN has already made the leap to streaming as I'm sure you know but when you talk about it in the past-tense, it makes it sound like you believe it's days of driving revenue are over.

What's replacing that?
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Just to address this real quick - I'm not at all an expert at ESPN (and I wouldn't even claim to be an expert at parks, even if I know a lot more about how the parks operate), but from my perspective, yes the ESPN gravy train is going to come to an end. Sports broadcasting rights have already hit a point where they are overpriced (and the carriers are fighting back against the high prices). Consumer opinions on sports are changing, and younger audiences are turning away from the traditional sports that have been demanding such high prices. A lot of younger people today would rather watch youtube and the Mandolorian, or play their own video games, than sit and watch a baseball game.

ESPN can probably change and adapt and will be around for a long time still, but it won't be nearly as profitable for the company as it has been for the last three decades. And that's ok. All good things have to come to an end.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
el_super said:
A lot of younger people today would rather watch youtube and the Mandolorian, or play their own video games, than sit and watch a baseball game.
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The funny thing about "younger people" is that they eventually become older people.

This ran in the Oakland Tribune in 1905:

1660229891972.png


JacksonClarion-Ledger, 1955:

1660229974185.png


People have been writing about the imminent death of baseball for more than 100 years.
 
el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
People have been writing about the imminent death of baseball for more than 100 years.
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To be fair though, they've done a lot over the last 100 years to change the game and make it "faster" for more modern audiences.

And I'm not at all sure how that tracks with how much broadcasting rights have got them over the years.

I know I'm no expert at it, and definitely I know there are still people out there interested in sports, but within the context of ESPN, I don't know if that interest will ever translate into the same spending figures as it commanded before. There are a lot more options now then there were in 1905.
 
D

DCBaker

Premium Member
Chapek on park pricing to CNBC -

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek indicated to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin that a price increase will likely be coming at theme parks as long as people keep coming in droves.

“We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek said. “It’s all up to the consumer. If consumer demand keeps up, we’ll act accordingly. If we see a softening, which we don’t think we’re going to see, then we can act accordingly as well.”

www.cnbc.com

Disney is raising prices, but this time, don't blame inflation

Disney is raising prices on the strength of its brand and products rather than because of inflation.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
 
MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
DCBaker said:
Chapek on park pricing to CNBC -

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek indicated to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin that a price increase will likely be coming at theme parks as long as people keep coming in droves.

“We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek said. “It’s all up to the consumer. If consumer demand keeps up, we’ll act accordingly. If we see a softening, which we don’t think we’re going to see, then we can act accordingly as well.”

www.cnbc.com

Disney is raising prices, but this time, don't blame inflation

Disney is raising prices on the strength of its brand and products rather than because of inflation.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
Click to expand...
I must have missed the part in there where he talks about how this will allow them to reduce crowding and reverse the trend of the diminishing guest experience.

It sounds to me as though he's just talking about raising prices because they can and that's about it.
 
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HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
DCBaker said:
Chapek on park pricing to CNBC -

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek indicated to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin that a price increase will likely be coming at theme parks as long as people keep coming in droves.

“We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek said. “It’s all up to the consumer. If consumer demand keeps up, we’ll act accordingly. If we see a softening, which we don’t think we’re going to see, then we can act accordingly as well.”

www.cnbc.com

Disney is raising prices, but this time, don't blame inflation

Disney is raising prices on the strength of its brand and products rather than because of inflation.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
Click to expand...
Sure Jan GIF
 
G

GimpYancIent

Well-Known Member
Interesting little tid bit from the LA Times.
"Disney ventured into professional baseball in 1996 when it took control of the Anaheim Angels.
At the time, Disney was one of several corporate owners of sports teams — Tribune Co. owned the Chicago Cubs, and Time Warner controlled both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks.
The Angels won the World Series in 2002 but had losses of more than $100 million during the era of Disney management. Disney sold the team in 2003 for $183 million."
That was pre-B.I.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
The funny thing about "younger people" is that they eventually become older people.

This ran in the Oakland Tribune in 1905:

View attachment 659524

JacksonClarion-Ledger, 1955:

View attachment 659525

People have been writing about the imminent death of baseball for more than 100 years.
Click to expand...
Yep, and there are components of it that are true. People are less interested in watching the game, but the baseball card hobby has had a major resurgence.

I have long advocated for a system like PitchCom and I think it has done wonders this year to improve the pace of play. There are still changes that need to be made, but the Red Sox and Yankees had a Sunday night ESPN game last night that was 2 hours and 15 minutes. That's unheard of.
 
LSLS

LSLS

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
Yep, and there are components of it that are true. People are less interested in watching the game, but the baseball card hobby has had a major resurgence.

I have long advocated for a system like PitchCom and I think it has done wonders this year to improve the pace of play. There are still changes that need to be made, but the Red Sox and Yankees had a Sunday night ESPN game last night that was 2 hours and 15 minutes. That's unheard of.
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I actually think what you just said here is a major reason as well. It's not just the games are long, they are highly variable. We don't have the leisure lifestyle as much now. We need to know "I will be here for X amount of time, then we do this, then this." With baseball, you can't do that. A normal game could last anywhere from 2.5 to 4.5 hours. It's nice going to the sports bar to watch the 1:00 games and be able to tell the family exactly what time I'll be home. Or flip on a 7:00 hockey game and know I'll be done around 9:30.
 

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