This is true and false.
It has nothing to do with people not watching ESPN. It’s still insanely profitable.
ESPN’s problem is people who don’t watch sports. ESPN’s business model is based off subscriber fees. As people cut the cord, most of them liberal, non sports watching folks, ESPN loses revenue.
Its the country bumpkin, sport loving fans that make ESPN money. They are the ones that pay for cable/satellite to see their team play every Sunday.