You Can Bet Whether ESPN Will Fall Out of Top 30 Most Visited Sites by April

• ESPN.com is now favored to fall out of the Top 30 most visited sites in the US
• The site flirted with a spot among the Top 50 in the world during the football season but has nosedived dramatically over the past week
• Get all the odds and insight into what lies ahead for the Worldwide Leader in Sports in the story below

As the shutdown that has paralyzed the sports world enters its second week, media outlets have been scrambling to provide readers and viewers with compelling content to hold them over until their favorite sports leagues return. This week’s NFL free agent frenzy has enabled outlets like ESPN to provide sports fans with timely and fast-breaking news.

However, the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is likely to struggle to provide sports fans with timely content as the NFL offseason goes quiet, fueling strong -180 odds that ESPN will fall out of the Top 30 most visited web sites in the United States by April 1.

Odds ESPN Falls Below 30 Most Visited Sites In USA Before April 1, 2020

Odds taken on Mar. 19, 2020. Any wagers placed on the same day mentioned website exits the US Top 30 Visited List will be deemed void.

ESPN a Major Rights Holder

ESPN has long been among the pre-eminent sports media outlets in the world. Among the sports properties to which the network holds rights are the NFL, XFL, college football, MLS soccer, an array of international soccer events, Major League Baseball, college basketball, Formula One, UFC, and three grand slam tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

ESPN's Burke Magnus on deciding which platform is right for a sports property: "We would be foolish not to use every asset at our disposal to make smart, disciplined rights deals that flow across all of our platforms." #SBJDEALMAKERS pic.twitter.com/CrFw83K46K

— Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd) December 4, 2019

But with all of the above currently idle, with the exception of the UFC, TV ratings and online rankings seem destined to take a hit. Consistently perched among the Top 60 on Alexa.com’s worldwide rankings in the fall of 2019, ESPN.com’s ranking faded expectedly with the close of the football season while remaining among the Top 80. However, the site has seen its ranking nosedive over the past week, tumbling to 109th worldwide.

And while ESPN has held onto the No. 27 position on the US rankings, a further dip looks increasingly likely. And while a dip in sports coverage will hurt ESPN’s rankings, it could prove a boon for other sites, with odds released on the number of visits and ranking of sites like Pornhub.

Prolonged Shutdown Bad News for Sports Media

Initially expected to last only until the end of March or early April, it is becoming increasingly evident that the current sports shutdown could drag on much longer. The US Centers for Disease Control issued a call earlier this week that no gatherings of 50 or more people take place for at least the next eight weeks.

#BREAKING: CDC recommends no events of more than 50 people for next eight weeks https://t.co/Zd3rZCBOAc pic.twitter.com/E8Ns3ghAHB

— The Hill (@thehill) March 15, 2020

In addition to delaying the start of the MLB season until at least late May, it extends the pause in MLS, NBA, and NHL action. But the most heartbreaking casualty of the current showdown is March Madness.

Since March Madness is cancelled maybe ESPN airs March Medical Madness were college med schools compete to find a vaccine for corona and I’m gonna buy a Berkeley Bioengineer jersey

— Blake Anderson (@UncleBlazer) March 12, 2020

Sports media and sports bettors alike look forward to the most important month of the year in college basketball, but with conference tournaments and the Big Dance all getting canceled, the annual flood of traffic at ESPN seeking to keep pace with NCAA Tournament action has tapered off dramatically this time around.

Further Rankings Dip Appears Inevitable

ESPN has continued to do their best to connect with their customers. In addition to ramped up NFL offseason coverage, the site has provided extensive coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its rapidly evolving impact on the sports world. ESPN should also get a lift from the UFC 249, which will feature a clash for the UFC lightweight title between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, and is set go ahead at some point in April.

Statement by the UFC regarding UFC 249: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/iPwfopEQFk

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) March 19, 2020

The site is also serving up a host of classic games and features such as a March Madness simulation. But as their target audience grows accustomed to a world without sports, a further drop in ESPN’s ranking appears inevitable before the end of March, adding value to a wager on the site to fall out of the Alexa.com’s US Top 30 rankings by April 1.

Pick: Yes (-180)