ESPN Will Drop Outdoors Programming

The company that brought us everything from the budget series “Beat Charlie Moore” to Jose Wejebe’s expensively-produced “Spanish Fly” will pull the plug on fishing and other outdoors shows at the end of 2010. Just nine years ago, ESPN touted its acquisition of B.A.S.S. as a big step in the expansion of its outdoors programming. (Actually its first fishing show, Jerry McGinnis’s “The Fishing Hole,” is the second-longest-running program on the network.)
But as BassFan.com notes, “ESPN’s decision to dump its outdoor programming parallels decisions being made across media as a whole. The trend today is toward niche production and delivery – channels, magazines and digital properties narrowly tailored to fit a specific fan or enthusiast base.”