Business of the ACC: Fewer Subscribers, More Viewers for ESPN?

Cable television heavyweights find themselves in quite a quandary these days.

Although billions are still being made through pay television, recent trends suggest that the industry as a whole may have peaked a couple years back, and could be poised for a steady decline in the coming years. How these trends could potentially affect sports programming in the future remains to be seen. But it appears that the day when cable providers and consumers come to a definitive crossroads could be rapidly approaching, or has already arrived.

America’s leading cable sports entity, ESPN, is also feeling the pinch, despite an improvement in viewership numbers throughout the recent college football season.