Sports Media

andyb 2021-10-06 18:00:15 UTC #241

Last week I got my "you may lose all NBC channels" warning but they resolved it.

It sounded like NBC wanted to force YTTV to bundle Peacock but they backed off on it. So I am assuming this is a short term deal for a year or two until the whole thing blows up again (with all the Fox/Bally channels already gone).

andyb 2021-10-13 17:22:16 UTC #242

MLB and the NBA not completely happy with the Bally/Sinclair standalone streaming plans. Though I think they are undecided on whether they just want a piece of the action (pun intended) or whether it is bad for their sports. Everybody thinks these services will fail at $25 a month. But won't generate enough money at $15 a month to justify the rights fee.

bkox 2021-10-17 23:43:08 UTC #243

Major League Baseball is in talks to launch a nationwide video-streaming service that would enable fans to watch their teams’ hometown games without a cable-TV subscription, The Post has learned.

The web-based service — which could address a decades-old annoyance for baseball fans that some have partly blamed for the league’s steadily declining viewership — could launch as early as the 2023 season, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.

The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League are also considering partnering with MLB on the new streaming service, sources said. Insiders say subscription rates would vary by geographic market and could be between $10 and $20 a month — well below the monthly cost of most cable-TV packages, which can easily stretch past $100.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/17/mlb-in-talks-to-launch-nationwide-streaming-service-for-home-games/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

andyb 2021-10-18 11:57:22 UTC #244

That is interesting. I am guessing MLB makes money because it is a new source of revenue and the production costs would be minimal (how different from MLB.TV would it be?).

The flip side is this would remove incentives for not only streaming services but also cable systems to offer RSNs. And lead to lots of lawsuits about rights fees (the small part about MLB compensating the cable channels is not small). I am guessing this is the future and something in the $10-$20 range that included MLB, the NBA, and the NHL might work. One would still need the national channels, but then that national cable package would have one less upward price incentive.

bkox 2021-11-04 20:27:18 UTC #245

zambonir 2021-11-05 03:30:03 UTC #246

It seems like baseball isn't as broken as we (and the game itself) likes to think

MLB and Fox certainly can brag that the 2021 World Series topped this year’s NBA Finals (9.91 million average over six games) and the Stanley Cup Finals (2.43 million average over five games). The World Series also easily won all the key advertiser demographics with young men and women, by large margins, on its broadcast nights.

“The World Series performed exactly in line with that we have come to expect. It beat everything on television except the NFL,” said Mike Mulvihill, a Fox Sports executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics.

He noted that the series did about 20 percent better than its prime-time competition, and brands love to advertise to the largest audiences.

“(The World Series) is a really strong factor in the advertiser marketplace. The demand for it is really strong,” Mulvihill said.

andyb 2021-12-29 20:24:28 UTC #247

Pour one out for NBCSN this weekend. Remember Versus?

The slow death of the cable bundle continues.

schillingfan 2021-12-29 20:55:09 UTC #248

Just this morning I switched from Hulu to Sling, which is less than half 5he price. Sling gives me all the news channels, plus the reality type like Food Network. I get my local channels and MSNBC sports Philly through my infinity basic streaming with my Internet, which gave me a fast modem. I also got free Apple through my Infinity phone, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Acorn, Disney Plus, paramount plus and Peacock. These change as I want to watch certain series on streaming channels. Still a lot less than what. Paid Comcast Infinity for their bundle package.

zambonir 2021-12-29 21:20:43 UTC #249

Heck I remember OLN

Philsmania 2021-12-30 17:21:09 UTC #250

Most of NBCSN's content will be moving to USA Network which will become more of a sports network.

https://www.sportspromedia.com/categories/broadcast-ott/media-rights/frauen-bundesliga-ata-football-nbc-tv-rights-deal-us/

zambonir 2021-12-30 17:38:45 UTC #251

Well arguably most of it already moved to TNT and ESPN

(Also I know you are right and that will be especially true of the Olympics but this article doesn't mention USA at all.)

andyb 2021-12-30 17:54:47 UTC #252

I am guessing all the content that was not directly related to live sports events on NBCSN has ceased to make money. It was either too expensive to produce or licensed stuff that nobody watched.

So might as well move the live events to USA and at least try to prop us those ratings for a few years. As long as the best Premier League games are still on NBC or USA there is really no reason to get Peacock for me. If they moved all of them that might be a different story (and that is the point where the cable or streaming bundle of live channels completely collapses).

I give USA channel 2-4 years before it disappears too.

schillingfan 2021-12-30 22:01:29 UTC #253

Aside from sports, USA put out good original content shows for years. It seems like they conceded that role to the streaming services

andyb 2021-12-30 23:21:13 UTC #254

Yeah. They have let most of their original shows end. Same with channels like TNT and Syfy. AMC is one of the last holdouts for original scripted shows and they are also putting much of their stuff on a streaming service first.

People want to stream shows and not really figure out what is on. Which makes live sports and news the only reason for these cable bundles and even that will go away as more stuff migrates to ESPN+ or CNN+ and the like.

Philsmania 2021-12-30 23:34:05 UTC #255

As a Tour de France nerd, I'm glad that USA will be picking it up and as a St. Joe's Hawk fan, I'm glad the Atlantic 10 Conference games will also head over there.

I guess what is kind of happening here is that NBCSN and USAN are basically merging with NBCSN's more valuable sports properties and USAN's dwindling entertainment options coming together. Makes wonder if NBC gets more competitive with sports properties, if USAN will end up having the NBCSN name again.

zambonir 2021-12-31 02:27:53 UTC #256

The kind of stuff that used to be on TNT and USA is pretty much on Hulu and Peacock and Netflix now. HBO Max also has a lot of shows that are nothing like you would have seen when it was just HBO. The same studios (including the ones that own networks) still produce the shows, except for the ones the streamers (Amazon/Netflix) make themselves. Back in the day a studio would spread its shows out over whatever network gave them the best deal regardless of ownership (i.e. a Fox-produced show might still be on NBC or a Warner-produced show on ABC) but now everything is pretty vertical, and streaming gets priority.

In the long run I imagine you'll have to subscribe to Peacock to see most of the sports, but it could be a very long run. What everyone is still wondering is the future of the NBC RSNs.

xogfog 2021-12-31 07:24:32 UTC #257

Good to know there is another Tour de France nerd on the board! I became one the year Lemond beat Fignon by 8 seconds with an epic time trial win on the next to last stage.

Philsmania 2021-12-31 16:04:12 UTC #258

Glad I am not alone! I got into it in 2009 when they were saying that Schleck-Contador would be the rivalry that would define the Tour for years to come. That didn't quite work out!

xogfog 2021-12-31 19:39:20 UTC #259

We have to pm about it sometimes as the rest of the board could probably care less. We can pick it up in July and see if Pogačar has any competition.

Philsmania 2022-01-01 05:42:29 UTC #260

We are in the age of the Slovenian. Pogacar vs. Roglic. But keep an eye on Van Aert.