ESPN's Scott Van Pelt said that he "wishes people would take a big-picture look at things, especially where ESPN stands as compared with competitors" such as FS1, which has "hardly made a dent in the ratings," according to Matt Bonesteel of the WASHINGTON POST. Van Pelt: "We make seven bucks a (subscription), they make a dollar. Our ratings are in the millions and the high hundreds of thousands; they can’t crack six figures. And I just wonder at what point the articles about the death of our company are laid side-by-side with our supposed competitors and you take inventory. Because it isn’t close. It’s not close." Van Pelt said of Fox Sports National Networks President Jamie Horowitz, who has taken many shots at ESPN, "Horowitz is a guy that’s a friend, and every article he’s quoted in he mentions ‘SportsCenter’s’ failing ratings. And not one says, ‘Well how about (the Cowherd-Whitlock team-up) 'Speak for Yourself,' which gets 50,000 people.’ We don’t have a single show that rates that badly. ... At some point, if you’re going to talk (junk) about our ratings, you should be held accountable for yours. They’re not close. ... I’m competitive. I’m professionally competitive. There’s not one person involved in this discussion that I’m not friendly with. Skip Bayless, I don’t know (him). But Colin, I’m friendly with. Whitlock, I’m friendly with. The higher-ups at Fox, I’m friendly with. There’s no anger in any of this." Van Pelt acknowledged that the "difficulties facing the network are real, especially as it looks for some way to monetize a so-called 'over-the-top' delivery system." Van Pelt: "It’s not like we’re losing money, we’re just not making as much. It’s a giant difference" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/8).
