Espn Why No Dedicated Fishing Channel? 2025
bigbill reply :
Of course ESPN has no dedicated fishing channel why are we as a whole chopped liver?
How much money does our sport average per year? Please tell
Me why the fishing shows are on Saturday mornings when we're out fishing? Then I see three channels at night of sports? Why don't we have an ESPN 24/7 channel dedicated to just fishing? I'm thinking of even having reruns of the older gad-about-gaddis the flying fisherman with his float plane, the awesome Jerry Mckinnis the man who really made the bass fishing what it is today including the bass masters. I was glued to
the TV set watching these guys in black and white they go so far back. I would love to see these reruns of these guys, plus Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, Bill Dance, the Infishermen guys, Roland Martin, even the bass pro guys and gals too. They could also have reruns of the bass tournaments, present and the past. I'm sure there is enough of the footage of the older bass shows to outlast my lifetime for sure. If these were shown during the winter we could do away with cabin fever.
Our own 24/7 ESPN fishing channel. They could call it "Fishing then and now".
Again I still wonder why there are fishing shows on Saturday mornings when we're all out fishing?
How about a 24/7 hunting channel too? To be equal to us hunters too. With all the garbage on tv today I'd rather watch hunting and fishing shows weTher it's reruns or up to date shows. It would get my vote.
Maybe we can get a 30 minute show for the manufacturers to strut there products and how to use them. It's a win/win for everyone weTher we fish or hunt or do both. I'd rather see my grandsons watching these shows rather than playing video games.
Don't forget to take a kid fishing. I would pile all the neighborhood kids in my car
and take them all fishing. Now there all adults and the first thing they tell me when I see them is remember when you took us fishing. I was happy to take them fishing.
God bless, bigbill
Jrob78 reply :
dedicated?
I have 3 channels that show hunting and fishing 24 hours a day, one of them is fishing only. Talk to your cable provider.
bigbill reply :
Espn?
Jrob78 reply :
No, why does it matter who's network it is? ESPN might have decided that market was plenty saturated, or maybe they will have one in the future, who knows. Personally, I don't care who owns the channels.
martintheduck reply :
They used to do the BASS Classic coverage and apparently it wasn't getting enough viewers to keep it going. You can catch FLW series on NBC Sports on Saturday afternoons.
I have a 24/7 fishing channel called WFN - World Fishing Network. They usually break it into blocks - Saltwater, Bass, Yankee Fishing. By the way - I have comcast cable.
Also - a few months ago I saw an episode of Major League Fishing over on ESPN. I don't know how popular that format is yet, but it appears to be geared towards your average viewer.... lots of action, fast paced....
Robdog reply :
Jrob78 You gotta tell me what channel shows fishing 24hrs. I have a bunch of outdoor channels (outdoor channel, pursuit channel, etc....) and the only show fishing from time to time but there is always somebody slaying a deer on them. I agree with the OP, I would like to see a dedicated fishing channel. There's channels for everything else.
Jrob78 reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 11:43 AM, Robdog said:Jrob78 You gotta tell me what channel shows fishing 24hrs. I have a bunch of outdoor channels (outdoor channel, pursuit channel, etc....) and the only show fishing from time to time but there is always somebody slaying a deer on them. I agree with the OP, I would like to see a dedicated fishing channel. There's channels for everything else.
It's WFN, the World Fishing Network. Like martintheduck said, they show fishing 24 hours a day. One day it will be fly fishing, the next will be salt water fishing, during prime time at least. They show a pretty wide range of stuff. I watch it more than I watch any other channel. I have Verizon Fios, not sure what all providers carry it.
Robdog reply :
Guess what? It ain't offered by Direct TV.....imagine that!
Robdog reply :
I hate direct tv
bigbill reply :
I have Comcast and I'll check it out thanks.
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
yeah wfn is ok there are few shows I like but the commercial's jezzzzz so many I stopped watching... I watch previous events, on bass master, and the elite series, major league fishing... also I YouTube a lot of fishing which give my fix..
Bluebasser86 reply :
I get Bassmaster, that's pretty much it except for a couple months out of the year when the one outdoor channel we get finally stops showing nothing but hunting shows and actually puts on a couple fishing shows. Of course those usually suck so it isn't much better. On the bright side it probably ends up with me actually fishing more instead of just watching fishing.
Tony L. reply :
Unfortunately, my provider doesn't offer WFN, and i dont pay extra for an additional outdoor/sports package, but Nbc sports seems to suit my needs. They put fishing shows on at horribly inconvenient times during the week, but I dvr them and usually have more than enough programming to watch in the evenings. I also use some internet Tv features that can come through a smart Tv, Roku device, or internet ready blue ray player. You can subscribe to the "wild" channel for like 3 bucks a month.
martintheduck reply :
WFN is available with comcast, but like GrizznNbassin said - THE COMMERCIALS! So many! I end up DVRing everything I want to watch so I can flip through them.
I was watching a show the other day about ice fishing and no lie, 3 minutes of the show came on then it went to another commercial....
SirSnookalot reply :
I have Comcast, don't know if I have WFN or not, never looked for it. There is enough fishing shows as it is for me, I don't watch them too often.
Fishing Rhino reply :
All television programming is driven by viewer demographics. If there was sufficient demand for fishing programming, you'd have more of it on television. It's hard to find sponsorship for programs with poor ratings.
It doesn't matter how much we spend on boats, gear, travel, etc., in the pursuit of our passion, if the television ratings don't justify the cost of advertising.
Maybe it's blasphemy, but I don't subscribe to any fishing publications, and I rarely watch fishing shows.
That could be in part because I'm retired, and get to spend quite a bit of time on the water.
boostr reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 11:50 AM, Jrob78 said:It's WFN, the World Fishing Network. Like martintheduck said, they show fishing 24 hours a day. One day it will be fly fishing, the next will be salt water fishing, during prime time at least. They show a pretty wide range of stuff. I watch it more than I watch any other channel. I have Verizon Fios, not sure what all providers carry it.
Same here, I do DVR Fish Facts cause this guy is always catching bass, plus he cracks me up.
Montanaro reply :
outdoor channel sucks now. unwatchable. Bunch of hot heads getting raging hard ons when they kill a deer.
nbcsports has a few quality fishin shows.
MarkH024 reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 11:12 AM, bigbill said:Of course ESPN has no dedicated fishing channel why are we as a whole chopped liver?
Because the sport doesn't pull in enough viewing money and advertisement to the network. We're peanuts compared to college football/basketball, and all the other big sports. Fishing as a sport is wide spread, but still lack in numbers compared to other sports. It's all about money, no one cares about exposure. What ever sports and shows add zeros to the ends of numbers gets maximum air time.
ESPN however shows all the ELITE series and a few tidbits here and there. Check ESPN 2 and Classic. It's better than nothing.
AK-Jax86 reply :
ESPN isn't going to do anything that they will not make a profit on. There is not big enough interest in watching fishing so ESPN wouldn't dedicate a channel for that.
Besides most fishermen, atleast I feel this way, would rather be on the water fishing than watching it on TV
tholmes reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 11:52 AM, Robdog said:Guess what? It ain't offered by Direct TV.....imagine that!
Switch to DishNetwork, they've got it.
Tom
Wayne P. reply :
They don't have time for fishing shows, there is the "sport" of POKER to take up the extra time slots.
Hyrule Bass reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 7:18 PM, Montanaro said:outdoor channel sucks now. unwatchable. Bunch of hot heads getting raging hard ons when they kill a deer.
nbcsports has a few quality fishin shows.
what you must realize is the fishing shows are seasonal on outdoor channel, pursuit, sportsman channel, and nbcsports. Around February and March you will start to notice fishing shows coming back on more and more. and near the end of the summer you will start to notice less fishing and more hunting. thats just how it seems to work out, been that way for years...
On 10/17/2013 at 12:30 AM, tholmes said:Switch to DishNetwork, they've got it.
Tom
dishnetwork couldnt pay me to switch to them, i hate dishnetworks. directv is better far and away.
On 10/17/2013 at 12:41 AM, Wayne P. said:They don't have time for fishing shows, there is the "sport" of POKER to take up the extra time slots.
seriously though, who actually watches poker on tv? smh
RAMBLER reply :
Just checked Comcast in my area and it is not offered.
BassinLou reply :
On 10/17/2013 at 12:30 AM, tholmes said:Switch to DishNetwork, they've got it.
Tom
I second that. Dish has a variety of outdoor channels. Especially WFN.
basscatcher8 reply :
Best outdoor channel that everybody with a web connection gets is Youtube. You can catch The Next Bite, Lindners, not to mention several smaller groups that honestly have more information. And they even tell you were there fishing and how they are fishing. The Lindners even starting putting their full episodes up on their website to watch. Forget fishing shows on tv. I hook my PC up to my tv and watch fishing shows any time i want to. Dont forget bassmasters.com has every single bass master classic from the beginning to last years up on their website as well. There is a ton out there guys you just gotta look for it instead of wait for it on tv.
Raul reply :
My man, you got Internet don´t ya ? well, it ain´t exactly understandable cuz it´s in Japanese,but somebody said : "one picture is worth 1000 words " here you go: www.apstv.net, enjoy !
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
I watch poker and love it... and its not like espn doesnt show fishing they do alot times in the am on espn 2..
if you want to watch previous bass master classics or elite series they have all of them online at your disposal.... which i fiind much more stastisfying.. Dont get me wrong if dish gives me free trials wfn or others ill check it out. all of those shows are filled with commericals , them talking about products , or how much they enjoy fishing with each other... i find my self muting the television and watching what there using, the conditions etc...
Also youtube is you best freind you will find some much more useful fishing information on there then watching tv..
Marty reply :
Quote
All television programming is driven by viewer demographics. If there was sufficient demand for fishing programming, you'd have more of it on television. It's hard to find sponsorship for programs with poor ratings.
Bingo! I could almost guarantee that ESPN would show fishing 24/7 if it drew more viewers than SportsCenter, various games and other shows.
As to Saturday mornings, the same question was being asked when I started fishing 40+ years ago. Obviously, there are enough watching at that time to make it worth their while and clearly it wouldn't pay to show the programs at better viewing times.
We just have to accept the reality that fishing isn't much of a spectator sport.
Scott F reply :
The way programming works these days is that some one who produces a fishing show has to buy a time slot from a network. He then has to find enough sponsors to foot the bill. There has to be enough money to pay for the air time, production costs and some income for the the owner of the show. The networks have no risk at all. If the show has a bad time slot, it's because the shows owner would not (or could not) pay for a better time slot.
Darren. reply :
I just want somebody to take Charlie Moore off of the NBC Sports Network.
I mean, COME ON MAN! They left him but took away so many fishing shows that were 100x better than watching Charlie catch a few bass, smoke stogies and eat at expensive dives.
Rant over. As y'all were.
Hyrule Bass reply :
On 10/17/2013 at 3:21 AM, BassinLou said:I second that. Dish has a variety of outdoor channels. Especially WFN.
but it totally lacks in other channels, for that reason i would not recommend it to anyone. i can live without WFN, because i get better all around programming on Directv...
BassinLou reply :
On 10/17/2013 at 9:52 PM, Red Earth said:but it totally lacks in other channels, for that reason i would not recommend it to anyone. i can live without WFN, because i get better all around programming on Directv...
It suits me just fine as Direct TV, suits you. That's the beauty of options.
PotomacBassin reply :
Stay on topic. Everyone's egos are a little sensitive on here.
Sorry no dedicated ESPN channels. If you have DVR, just try to set automatic recordings for all the fishing shows which are on sproradically during the week.
Hyrule Bass reply :
On 10/17/2013 at 11:58 PM, BassinLou said:It suits me just fine as Direct TV, suits you. That's the beauty of options.
to each their own, i can respect that...
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
i still have bunny ears on top of my televison..
J Francho reply :
On 10/18/2013 at 9:15 PM, Grizzn N Bassin said:i still have bunny ears on top of my televison..
LOL, me too.
Bassfink86 reply :
On 10/16/2013 at 11:16 AM, Jrob78 said:dedicated?
I have 3 channels that show hunting and fishing 24 hours a day, one of them is fishing only. Talk to your cable provider.
same thing here, love the world fishing network
Marty reply :
Quote
I just want somebody to take Charlie Moore off of the NBC Sports Network.
I've seen a lot of complaints about Charlie over the years, and I'm not crazy about him myself, but he's the EverReady battery, keeps on tickin', for whatever reason.
bigbill reply :
We just have the basic cable channels. I think we have a total of four Epsn channels. I do have Bill Dance, Hank Parker, Rowland Martin and Jimmy Houston when I catch them on.
Charlie Moore the Irish fisherman who tries to be like my godfather? He's ok but I would like to fish from shore against him it could be fun.
crazy cranker reply :
ESPN owned B.A.S.S. from 2001 until 2010. I don't remember them broadcasting many, if any, events during that time period. Now that they don't have a vested interest in the sport chances are slim to none that they will broadcast any competitive bass fishing events.
.ghoti. reply :
If I had to guess, I would say ESPN still has a bad case of indigestion over their involvement in BASS. They bought into that expecting BASS to be the next NASCAR. Didn't happen then, won't happen now, nor will it in the future. Fishing, as much as we all love it, is simply not a spectator sport, and will never be able to support network programming costs.
Look at some of the comments just in this thread, and then search for similar threads.
What gets "beeched" about?
too many commercials, well who do think pays for this stuff?
all "he" does is promote his sponsors lures; DUH?
"he" only fishes private ponds and that's not fair, here's some tissue, go wipe your kitty
I don't like "him", "he's" a jerk. so what, "he" has a show and you don't (see previous suggestion)
I think I will stop right there. This could go on for quite a while if I let it.
Be happy we get as much as we do get from time to time.
BTW, I get WFN and have no complaints, just some shows I will no longer watch.
tomustang reply :
What it comes down to is fishing as a sport is more enjoyable to "do" than to watch, whereas all the other broadcasted sports are for people to watch instead of "doing''.
.ghoti. reply :
On 10/22/2013 at 1:58 AM, tomustang said:What it comes down to is fishing as a sport is more enjoyable to "do" than to watch, whereas all the other broadcasted sports are for people to watch instead of "doing''.
Exactly right!
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