I find myself in a conundrum unlike any I’ve come across in my two and a half decades of life on this planet. I have no idea what to watch for my sports entertainment anymore.
Options of the all-new Fox Sports 1, a reinvigorated NBC Sports (now featuring the English Premier League of Soccer) and ESPN have put my TV watching experience in turmoil unseen since Nickelodeon created a 24-hour network dedicated to SpongeBob Squarepants reruns.
This honestly could not have come at a better time, regardless of my personal difficulties of watching each channel without flaws. Outside of Sportscenter, ESPN has become a bit of a laughing stock within the sporting community for not reporting real sports news.
Constant tales and stories of a single athlete’s status, the central focus on major markets and loudmouth personalities have opened the door for other networks to steal the spotlight.
Fox Sports 1 debuted less than two weeks ago and has been met with critical and personal acclaim for its witty hosts and ability to stick to the real information at all times.
Meanwhile, NBC has been pushing its acquisition of English soccer with full force. After spending $250 million over a three-year period on the giants across the pond, I couldn’t be happier with this competition.
With the World Cup in Brazil less than a year away, soccer coverage will be at an all-time high in the United States. NBC now owns the inside track after pushing Fox and ESPN off to the side for the time being.
Each channel also holds the rights to certain times of American football games and different teams, which will be played up nonstop over the next year like we’ve never seen before.
Even anchors and show hosts have been swapped around like owners and top picks on draft night. Former news and ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann has returned to yell more ferociously than the competition, while Fox and NBC pick the carcass of dead television programs.
ESPN still has much to its credit, however, as it still stands as the default sports network across this country. You cannot hope to walk into a men’s barbershop or any restaurant that serves wings without coming across ESPN on more than one TV set.
It must be said that the wind always blows hardest at the top of the mountain, and ESPN is definitely feeling a bit shaky on top of Mount Everest at the moment.
The fresh ideas of each network need a little more time to flesh out, after all this only came to pass 13 days ago. But thankfully I have options galore, and as a proud American and capitalist, that’s all I ever wanted.
Costa is a senior majoring in journalism.
