LOS ANGELES (AP) — ESPN, the sports network that drives Disney's profit engine, has hit a soft patch. Subscribers have fallen by about 7.2 million over the last three years, according to Nielsen, and it's coming off a round of layoffs in the latest quarter. As more people cut the cord to watch programming online, its perch on top of the pay TV empire is looking unsteady at best.
The network's troubles are a bellwether for one of TV's biggest challenges: the ever-increasing cost of sports rights and whether consumers want to keep footing the bill.
The conundrum was reflected in Disney's quarterly earnings Tuesday.