Now how can this be? ESPN's ratings are considerably down. This is despite being...well, you can't say they are a monopoly, but they're certainly dominant. So what gives?
With NBCSports and soon FoxSports 1, competition hasn't even heated up. But it will. The competition for eyeballs and rights will accelerate even as total TV viewing likely falls off. Remember, the competition is no longer just TV or even cable networks. Now it's the Internet, and it's not limited by a TV network or national borders.
So we'll be interested to see who comes up with a smart digital plan first.