Also, because viewers are much more likely to watch sports live, rather than recording it or catching it later on a streaming service as with so much other TV programming, ESPN also enjoys a favored relationship with advertisers. 

That last attraction remains. Live sports events retain a unique position in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. But other media companies know that too, which is why the price of sports rights keeps going up. Meanwhile, ESPN is caught between trying to follow its audience as it migrates away from cable TV and holding together the cable bundle that is the source of so much of its profit.