At first glance, ESPN would appear to be as popular and far-reaching than any other cable sports network. The surprising truth is that the ESPN network reached its peak viewership of 99 million in 2013. Nowadays the cable giant is facing a losing battle with digital media in a drastically diminishing cable broadcasting market. Their number of viewers dropped by a devastating 7 million between 2013 and November 2015. But the downward spiral did not stop there. In February of this year, ESPN‘s estimated number of viewers decreased by an additional 1.2 million from November. The most recent data available via LiveMint illustrates the most recent viewer estimate to have dropped almost 1.5 million more.
The reason behind the diminishing ESPN cable viewership numbers is ever present digital media in today’s world of entertainment. Consumers now are turning to their cell phones to receive their sporting news and updates. Gone are the days of watching ESPN’s morning shows all the way through just to catch a story you missed at the beginning of the live broadcasts. Gone are the days of patiently watching the ESPN score ticker at the bottom of the screen to catch a glimpse of the fate of your favorite team who played earlier in the day.
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But, the cable network giant is not just going to roll over and admit defeat.
ESPN, in partnership with Sony, have launched a mobile-first digital website and app in the unexploited Indian market. This is not the first time ESPN has tapped into the passionate sporting nation. The websites ESPNFC and ESPNcricinfo have been available to the public for a few years already. The only difference is this time around ESPN is reaching out to the always increasing digital market in India.
40 to 50 million Indians actively consume sports content via digital media on a daily basis. In just the last 18 months alone, India has experienced a 130% increase in digital media views. Vinit Karnik, GroupM, expressed the unexploited potential in India: “Digital media viewing in India is increasing by every hour.”
Including the nation’s two most popular sports, football and cricket, ESPN.in and the ESPN India app will include hockey, badminton, tennis, F1 racing and kabaddi. Both the website and app will carry the SONYESPN branding and reciprocate feeds with Sony LIV, which is the digital streaming destination for Sony Pictures Network.
ESPN is not the only major digital sports media in India, though. Hotstar and starsports.com, both owned by Star India, have already gained control of most of the market. In addition to Star India being a domestic provider, the network delivers almost all of their content free of charge.
But, ESPN brings the advantage of being an already globally recognizable brand along with providing a very diverse range of sports content. If done well, ESPN could gain a strong foothold in the Indian market and stem the tide of its waning audience.