ESPN Research Means Fans Get What They Want

Television sports legend Don Ohlmeyer ended his stint as ESPN's ombudsman last week, and somehow some observers seem to be missing the major point of his farewell column.

Sure, he argued (as he did in columns throughout his brief 18-month tenure that was limited and ultimately shortened by health issues) that ESPN should listen to its readers and viewers.

More importantly, though, he pointed out how much the four-letter network invests in research -- and that information seemed to indicate that ESPN already listens and reacts to its customers.

According to the Ohlmeyer column, research is a multimillion dollar commitment for ESPN. That includes 50 staff members in five offices across the world (in Buenos Aires and London as well as three U.S. cities) who analyze data, conduct interviews and gauge reaction on an almost daily basis. There are "conflict groups" (of those who dislike and like ESPN), focus groups, in-person interviews and studies -- all part of an effort to pin down what consumers read, watch and want in their sports coverage.

Along with those studies of people, ESPN also invests in technology research, including investigating the effects of watching 3-D coverage of events.

What's most interesting about what Ohlmeyer related, if you step back and think about it, is that sports fans are getting exactly what they want from ESPN.

Too much Brett Favre or some other personality for you? That's interesting, because the ratings (on almost every platform -- Internet, radio, TV) invariably prove people consume information about mega-star personalities.

Too little women's sports for your taste? Too bad, because those same ratings show that a majority of sports fans have other interests.

Because ESPN conducts so much research and because it's in business to succeed, it's not a matter of what you see is what you get. No, that would be poor business and simply shortsighted.

Instead, what you see (or read online or in ESPN the Magazine) is what you want. So it's not the all-powerful, four-letter monolith to blame when your conference is not on TV or your sport of choice gets ignored during "SportsCenter."

There are no plots afoot against people or types of sports, either.

Nope, it's just a matter of business. Reasonable people might agree or disagree about the business practices but ultimately it's the people in charge -- in this case the consumers that ESPN regularly studies and questions -- that determine what happens.