Sports costs at ESPN weigh down Disney's Force-ful quarter
LOS ANGELES - ESPN, the sports network that drives Disney's profit engine, has hit a soft patch. Subscribers have fallen by about 7.2 million over the last three years, according to Nielsen, and it's coming off a round of layoffs in the latest quarter. As more people cut the cord to watch programming online, its perch on top of the pay TV empire is looking unsteady at best.