“This is going to be a financial and cultural disaster.”
In the late seventies, few believed that ESPN would live on to become the successful network that it is today. But don’t just take my word for it. Listen to what Emmy Award winning anchorman Ron Burgundy has to say on the subject:
Although this clip was intended as a humorous promotion for SportsCenter, it highlights an issue we discussed in class. ESPN was taking a huge risk in its early days. Like Mr. Burgundy, many thought that devoting an entire channel to sports reporting was downright foolish and disastrous. Later, the same doubts were felt as networks like MTV, Food Network, and HGTV were introduced to the airwaves. In the end, it was proven that audiences were hungry for these specialized networks. Today, with satellite TV, there are hundreds of specialized networks for us to choose from. In a sense, ESPN paved the way for this new movement in television.
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