When did ESPN become ESPN!!11!!!

[DanielSimpsonDay]

Probably about the time ABC/Capital Cities influenced things with the buyout in 1984. Berman, particularly paired with Ley and Leonard, was way more on point in the years when Bill Rasmussen and Chet Simmons were in charge. But like anything, someone in marketing/sales decided if fans liked a little Berman schtick, then they'd really love a lot of Berman schtick.

Everybody knows you never go full Berman.

 

[playthrough]

I still can't believe they brought him and Tom Jackson back in the Year 2020 to roll out the same schtick they were doing 20 years ago.

And on a streaming platform that they wanted you to pay money for.

 

[TigerVols]

ESPN went from something good, something remarkable even...to trash when it got the MNF contract and simultaneously opened the LA Live West Coast HQ...and decided it needed to fill all its talking heads shows with the same five topics pulled out of Skipper's ass every morning.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

NFL Primetime is one of the best things ESPN ever produced.

For me the network jumped the shark ca. 2002-03, right around the time it got itself in hot water with shows such as Playmakers.

Which I also don't think the league has ever forgiven ESPN for.

 

[DanOregon]

Mark Shapiro did great work with SportsCentury - got him the big chair in programming and they started doing movies, dramas and game shows. It's worked out well for him, he's now the head at Endeavor one of the top agencies in LA.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

NFL Primetime is one of the best things ESPN ever produced.

For me the network jumped the shark ca. 2002-03, right around the time it got itself in hot water with shows such as Playmakers.

Which I also don't think the league has ever forgiven ESPN for.

Primetime should have evolved over the years. We didn't need Berman yelling "DAH RAIIIIIIIIIIIIDAS!!!" and all his other catchphrases for 30-plus years.

 

[Cosmo]

NFL Primetime is one of the best things ESPN ever produced.

For me the network jumped the shark ca. 2002-03, right around the time it got itself in hot water with shows such as Playmakers.

Which I also don't think the league has ever forgiven ESPN for.

I adored Playmakers. What a great show.

 

[justgladtobehere]

I adored Playmakers. What a great show.

Really? The players could have walked around with placards describing their role and it would have been more subtle than that piece of garbage.

 

[Cosmo]

I can't explain it. It's probably why I like Any Given Sunday, too. It was so over the top that it was ridiculous. But enjoyable.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I covered the NFL the year the show came out and players were not happy about it.

It was just a very odd thing for a business partner to create.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

 

[DanOregon]

It also shows how deep the NFL's reach is that no media entity has tried to duplicate it. Isn't the NFL in business with just about every media producer on one project or another? Fox, Disney, NBC, CBS, Facebook, Amazon Prime Video Simulcast of Thursday Night Football, ATT-Warner Bros. (Sunday Ticket). That's pretty much all the networks and movie and TV studios - even if you got something made, good luck finding a place to show it - those companies also control cable and satellite TV. Netflix seems to be the only company that isn't in business with the NFL. (As evidenced by the Hernandez doc)