A generic sports channel like ESPN seems to appeal primarily to the gambling crowd. Someone willing to wager on many games a night will watch whatever sports-ball game is broadcast. Daily Fantasy Sports players fall into this group as well. The question for ESPN is: Is this market large enough to sustain the network?
Localized networks like the various Regional Sports Networks, Fox Sports (insert City or State Name Here), Big Ten Network and Pac12 Network are stealing the casual fans of specific teams. All of the major sports offer streaming of pretty much every game a fan of a specific sport could want.
It's telling that the first new program ESPN added following the layoffs was a simulcast of MLB's Intentional Talk. Yet another talking heads show with a TMZ bent. I don't see this ending well for them.