A few years back, a survey showed that 56% of pay TV consumers would ditch ESPN in a heartbeat if it meant saving the $8 per month the channel is estimated to cost consumers. That problem (consumers being forced to buy channels they don't want) sits at the heart of ESPN's massive viewer losses in the wake of not only cord cutting, but skinny bundles that exclude sports from the lineup. Offering cable plans without ESPN frightens the channel so much, it sued Verizon for giving such plans to consumers.

This week, a new survey indicates that when consumers are allowed to build their ideal channel lineup, ESPN tends to be nowhere on their radar.

The Diffusion Group says it recently surveyed 2,030 connected consumers about the five "network families" they d prefer to have included in a 5-group skinny TV bundle. And while local broadcast networks consistently made the grade, ESPN remained a fleeting afterthought for the majority of those polled.

The firm was quick to argue that the fact that the "ESPN family" of channels failed to rank in the top 10 suggests Disney's decision to make ESPN Plus a premium add-on to its linear ESPN channel "may have been a wise move."

"Many expected ESPN Plus to be the online equivalent of ESPN, but Disney decided that the risk of cannibalizing high-value linear pay-TV subscriptions would create substantial channel conflict and hasten the declines in pay-TV subscriptions," the firm notes. "This risk is inherent in the DTC model and must be addressed group by group, even channel by channel."

But while Disney is finally claiming to be giving these users what they want in the form of a standalone streaming ESPN channel, we recently noted that's not what's actually happening. The company's new $5 service doesn't doesn't provide the "full ESPN experience," and instead will consist of content that isn't available on the company's other traditional channels. To get ESPN via streaming, you'll still need to buy a traditional cable TV bundle.

Another recent survey by this same group predicted that every major broadcaster will be offering their own, independent streaming channel by 2022, finally giving consumers the a la carte options they've long clammored for.
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