Back in the day when ESPN launched Sports Center, it put an end to the value proposition of the sports page — wire-service box scores and game recaps. The highlights game was over, for both newspapers and the three-minute sports-guy recap at the end of the local nightly news.
A few decades later when most of the SportsCenter presenters are celebrities in their own right, there are signs the Internet may be replacing SportsCenter as the go-to guy for immediate highlights gratification. Right now, ESPN is at the height of its power, charging premium fees from cable operators for the right to carry the channel. But for how much longer?
9 comments so far
9:24 AM PT
SportsCenter is the advertising platform on cable. People want to watch video and content is king, so unless web platforms can get the content, SportsCenter will do just fine.
9:50 AM PT
The web may replace SC for availability and archiving. But watching the sports news and commentary from experts isn’t going to change anytime soon.
11:03 AM PT
the reason that sportscenter will continue to be a popular tv show despite the internet is the simple fact that watching tv is easy. if i were to try and consume all the best highlights and most important sports stories of the day, I would have to click literally hundreds of times. for a quick dump of the sports of the day, sportscenter is still king.
11:53 AM PT
The power of watching the highlights can’t be overestimated. People want to watch that home run, 3 point shot or 72 yard touchdown run. Content is king and as long as ESPN has access to the content, it will do well.
12:34 PM PT
What happens, though, when the leagues start to take back content? ESPN’s baseball highlights are much less fun to watch these days — aren’t they already being limited to how much of a game they can show?
I agree it will take some time for the King to be toppled. But until ESPN starts buying leagues, there will be direct options that may whittle the throne a bit.
7:29 AM PT
It already has. I can watch SportsCenter high lights whenever I want to on http://www.cavenger.com/espn.php
7:31 AM PT
SportsCenter as we know it is done, it’s become corny, and we can watch it online, anyway
7:51 AM PT
I’m sure the figure exists, I’m just not sure where: how many people actually watch “television” online? I’m sure a lot, but lets be honest, not every person uses the internet like the people who read this site. Don’t you think?
7:58 AM PT
If you watch Sports Center online, then you really are not killing it.
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