ESPN has declined for 3 major reasons, two of which you accurately pointed out already:
1. Reduction of on air talent and sports journalists
2. Rise of argumentative-based programming that feature loud-mouths like Stephen A Smith instead of guests that can provide intelligent analysis
3. Mass adoption of social media companies like twitter, instagram, etc.
People used to turn on ESPN to watch highlights of games or top 10 crazy plays but now you can pull up highlights instantly on your phone without having to change the channel or wait for a certain segment to roll back around. ESPN has lost their cultural significance and has been in a self-damaging pursuit to generate buzz on social media through the rise of “hot-take” debate shows intended to farm engagement, good or bad being irrelevant.
