The way you worded it is exactly the issue. They stopped marketing to "sports guys." They are looking to gain casual fans who, for whatever reason, want to get in on the fringe of being a "sports guy."
Women who want to fit into sports convos
Younger viewers who are just getting into sports
People just having it on while getting ready, cooking, etc

The only times I turn on Espn usually, is for ATH, and PTI, and that's provided that Jemele Hill isn't on ATH, that bitch can die in a fire.

But, during basketball season. Unbearable, I cant take anymore of the Lakers, or Heat, im sick of hearing about the Jets, and Tebow, you know this year is going to be all about the PATS, and Tebow. And now during baseball, its all about PUIG. That's all they talk about, PUIG PUIG PUIG, he was even a major topic during the home run derby. Sick of it.

And I used to watch NFL LIVE. Wanna talk about insufferable? Trey Wingo is the biggest douche I have ever seen. That no talent prick is always taking shots at athletes. I cant stand that.

Craig Kilborn was genuinely funny and ruined it by being so. Everyone else thought they could pull off the comedic schtick and it was horrible.

I watch college football and basketball with the sound off so i can watch the game without the crap

Olbermann Returning to ESPN2 with Daily Late-Night Show Aug. 26

Hour-long Olbermann at 11 p.m. ET live from New York studios

Keith Olbermann, who worked for ESPN from 1992-1997, will return to the company with a late-night program Monday-Friday on ESPN2, starting Monday, Aug. 26, it was announced by ESPN President John Skipper. Titled Olbermann, the show will generally be presented at 11 p.m. ET from ABC’s Times Square studios in New York City.

The program will focus on the day’s relevant sports topics through a mix of perspective and commentary, interviews, contributors, panel discussions and highlights.

“Keith is a one-of-a-kind personality and these shows will be appointment viewing for that very reason,” Skipper said. “Keith brings a blend of editorial sophistication and unpredictability — you can never be sure what you’ll get. Olbermann on ESPN2 gives viewers the quality late-night complement to ESPN’s SportsCenter in the same way we’ve developed distinct show options across our networks the rest of the day.”

Olbermann noted: “Apart from the opportunity to try to create a nightly hour of sports television that no fan can afford to miss, I’m overwhelmed by the chance to begin anew with ESPN. I’ve been gone for 16 years and not one day in that time has passed without someone connecting me to the network. Our histories are indelibly intertwined and frankly I have long wished that I had the chance to make sure the totality of that story would be a completely positive one. I’m grateful to friends and bosses – old and new – who have permitted that opportunity to come to pass. I’m not going to waste it.”

More details about the show, including additional contributors, will be announced in the coming weeks. Similar to SportsCenter on ESPN, Olbermann will often immediately follow live events on ESPN2 (starting with US Open tennis Aug. 26), leading to some flexibility in the show’s start times depending on the length/timing of the events.
About Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann’s sportscasting resume dates back more than 40 years, and begins with Chris Berman selecting him as his assistant at their high school radio station in Tarrytown, N.Y. In 1979, Olbermann would move directly from Cornell to network radio and, at the age of 22, to CNN Sports. He spent the rest of the ’80s reshaping local television sportscasting at major stations in Boston and Los Angeles, and then joined ESPN for the first time in 1992. Apart from his signature work as co-host of the 11 p.m. “Big Show” SportsCenter, Olbermann helped to launch ESPN Radio and ESPN2, and won the ACE Award as the nation’s top cable sportscaster in 1995. He left ESPN in 1997 and would host the World Series for NBC that year and Fox in 2000, before rejoining ESPN in 2005 as a daily radio contributor. From 2007 through 2009 he was the co-host of NBC’s Football Night In America, and earlier this year he was named as studio host of post-season baseball coverage on TBS.

Pass.

I think the new Fox Sports Networks will give them a huge run for their money. Just as NBC's network will.

It seems clear that the competition has eroded away their once clear dominance. NBC and CBS now have their own networks soon to be joined by Fox. There is a channel for each major sport and several minor ones. There are increasingly more college conferences with their own networks. There are networks for just about every MLB team.

ESPN is still a good channel for when you are busy doing something else and want something on in the background. Its probably the number #1 channel among people who aren't actually watching television.

Did I ever tell you about the time my brother wrote Keith Olbmerman a critical letter in the mid 1990s and he sent a letter back to him in the mail, calling him a white trash loser who is obviously angry at his menial job? It was awesome. He obviously saw the return address in Missouri and thought the writer was bitter and broke. East Coast elitist with thin skin.

Thank God for NFLN...

Olbermann was right.

Sweet. I love that guy. This is a show I'll watch.

yep, it's like white noise. It's only when you pay attention to it that it makes you crazy.

Olbermann can go choke on a box of dicks. I'd sooner watch soccer than his show.