ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery Forming Joint Venture to Launch Streaming Sports Service

[Cuse181]

No one should be paying $180 for cable TV alone. I’m assuming that’s your bill for TV + Internet + phone.

You can get decent cable packages for $70 bucks. And that’s what it’s going to cost if you buy this new service and tack on Peacock, Paramount+ and Amazon to fill in the gaps.

Comcast right now, to get the sports channels is like 80/month + 25/month broadcast carriage fee + another 14/month regional sports fee + 10/month cable box rental. So ~130/month

(sorry, regional sports fee, not service)

 

[KellySyracuse]

I’m an out of towner that switched from DirecTV to YouTube TV simply because they now have the NFL Sunday Ticket,.Anyone know my best option to get all the Yankees games this season?Always had the MLB extra innings package but YouTube doesn’t offer that.

DirectTV or as was mentioned you can pay monthly for the YES app. It's the only reason I keep DirectTV streamer

 

[Millhouse]

Aye, it’s still better than paying $180 and being on hold for 4 days while some intern talks you through 18 options for staying w cable

It was always about choice and freedom - and the new system, while problematic - provides that. If they start saying you only can get all this stuff in an overpriced bundle, the same market forces that broke up the cable bundle will break up the next one

Unbundling went exactly how I said it would (it should've been obvious to people)

 

[Millhouse]

If you’re outside the NY market (broadly speaking) you buy MLB.tv. In market you buy YES.

Vpn used to work but now it's hit or miss

 

[Scooch]

Comcast right now, to get the sports channels is like 80/month + 25/month broadcast carriage fee + another 14/month regional sports fee + 10/month cable box rental. So ~130/month

(sorry, regional sports fee, not service)

$25 broadcast fee?!

Those networks don’t charge that much in total to the cable operator. So if that's actually the consumer fee then you’re being royally ripped off.

Are you sure that’s $25?

 

[TheCusian]

You can get decent cable packages for $70 bucks. And that’s what it’s going to cost if you buy this new service and tack on Peacock, Paramount+ and Amazon to fill in the gaps.

That's 100% my point. You can choose what you add on.

(You're right it was for internet + cable. Which was fine, but they bundled that together and made the experience to cancel just one a pain, customer service vs upselling, etc.)

 

[Cuse181]

$25 broadcast fee?!

Those networks don’t charge that much in total to the cable operator. So if that's actually the consumer fee then you’re being royally ripped off.

Are you sure that’s $25?

You betcha, right on the website

 

[TheCusian]

Unbundling went exactly how I said it would (it should've been obvious to people)

Eh, ok. The truth is cable bundles didn't serve everyone and unbundling doesn't either. What makes the most sense to customers and the market is choice about all of it.

I know it's built on things that don't really work for this kind of thing, but the way for it to work best (and the most pure market driven solution) would be "bundle what you want" with every possible choice. Won't happen, obviously.

 

[orangecuse]

Now that you're YouTube TV, you just order MLB.tv directly thru MLB.com, and you watch the games on the MLB app. Unless it's one of the national games on ESPN or TBS, then you go through YTTV.

Only problem for me personally is that YTTV doesn't carry MASN and I live in the DC area. So if the Yankees are playing the Orioles or Nationals, there's no way to watch at home. MLB app blacks them out and my 'TV provider' doesn't carry the channel.

Same as JustPherU, I switched to YTTV after 2 plus decades of being with DTV because of the Sunday Ticket.

I'm a Cleveland pro sports fan, so I've subscribed to the MLB package and NBA package for years. I live in the Charlotte area, and for the life of me, I'll never get how this area is considered the Baltimore region for baseball. So, when the Indians are playing the Orioles, I'm SOL when it comes to watching the Tribe (I refuse to call them the Guardians) as the games are blacked out on MLB.TV.

When I had DTV, MASN was included with my particular package, so it was never an issue as it is now. And, to my knowledge, there isn't any way around it as DTV is the only place where one can pick up MASN, at least in NC.

Additionally, I preferred the MLB extra innings package over MLB.TV, and the NBA Full Court over NBA.TV as with 'Extra Innings' and 'Full Court,' those packages gave you the option of watching your team's own PBP guy/analysts. With MLB and NBA TV, you are stuck getting the opposing team's broadcasters when your team is on the road.

 

[Chip]

Additionally, I preferred the MLB extra innings package over MLB.TV, and the NBA Full Court over NBA.TV as with 'Extra Innings' and 'Full Court,' those packages gave you the option of watching your team's own PBP guy/analysts. With MLB and NBA TV, you are stuck getting the opposing team's broadcasters when your team is on the road.

Interesting, I've had the exact opposite experience. MLB extra innings thru Fios didn't have enough channels to put both teams' home PBP games on.

When I go on the MLB app and watch, I can always get the Yankee PBP.

 

[Scooch]

You betcha, right on the website

That’s severe price gouging.

 

[Cuse181]

That’s severe price gouging.

Yup and they claim they have to do it because those darn greedy broadcast channels ask for so much money!

 

[Phillymoose]

Eh, ok. The truth is cable bundles didn't serve everyone and unbundling doesn't either. What makes the most sense to customers and the market is choice about all of it.

I know it's built on things that don't really work for this kind of thing, but the way for it to work best (and the most pure market driven solution) would be "bundle what you want" with every possible choice. Won't happen, obviously.There is

This is correct. Of course, like-kind content was going to aggregate to be bundled, that's a product of real competition between subscription services. (as opposed to zero-choice / monopolistic cable territories)

The money may seem to be the same as before, but the volume and quality of content available to the consumer have exploded. This is the natural result of a highly competitive landscape. That is what's new, and TV has never been better.

 

[Scooch]

This is correct. Of course, like-kind content was going to aggregate to be bundled, that's a product of real competition between subscription services. (as opposed to zero-choice / monopolistic cable territories)

The money may seem to be the same as before, but the volume and quality of content available to the consumer have exploded. This is the natural result of a highly competitive landscape. That is what's new, and TV has never been better.

One thing... TV is on its way to being worse. Now, it's not going to be "bad", but we're already off of "peak TV".

That was funded by the cable bundle that everyone hates. There's no Breaking Bad or Mad Men if AMC isn't getting subscriber revenue from the bundle. Half the FX shows that people love don't get made. Nor do the USA originals. And on and on.

Plus, the explosion of original series on the traditional media-owned streaming services (Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock) doesn't hapen without the profit generated by cable networks.

So yeah, Netflix is going to keep cranking out stuff, but most everyone else is dialing back because the financials don't work like they used to.

 

[Phillymoose]

One thing... TV is on its way to being worse. Now, it's not going to be "bad", but we're already off of "peak TV".

That was funded by the cable bundle that everyone hates. There's no Breaking Bad or Mad Men if AMC isn't getting subscriber revenue from the bundle. Half the FX shows that people love don't get made. Nor do the USA originals. And on and on.

Plus, the explosion of original series on the traditional media-owned streaming services (Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock) doesn't hapen without the profit generated by cable networks.

So yeah, Netflix is going to keep cranking out stuff, but most everyone else is dialing back because the financials don't work like they used to.

I agree with this, but I see it more as water finding its level. These services didn't quite understand how much they should invest in original content and things are now coming back to earth.
A single show, like Outlander for Starz, can drive subscriptions and keep things afloat. It's still settling, but the services are understanding their ROI.
HBO has been at this for a while, so it's no surprise they are very good at it.

 

[SmilinBob]

One thing... TV is on its way to being worse. Now, it's not going to be "bad", but we're already off of "peak TV".

That was funded by the cable bundle that everyone hates. There's no Breaking Bad or Mad Men if AMC isn't getting subscriber revenue from the bundle. Half the FX shows that people love don't get made. Nor do the USA originals. And on and on.

Plus, the explosion of original series on the traditional media-owned streaming services (Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock) doesn't hapen without the profit generated by cable networks.

So yeah, Netflix is going to keep cranking out stuff, but most everyone else is dialing back because the financials don't work like they used to.

What you wrote reminded me of MTV. They made all those videos in the beginning and started with "Video killed the radio star" but it was too expensive to keep making them and radio adapted along with streaming and now MTV is quite different. Things might circle back just as music but with some additions just like what you wrote.

 

[ForCuseSake]

This headline (not intending to knock the thread title) read eerily similar to the “ACC, PAC12 and B1G agree to scheduling alliance” for me.

I wonder if this joint venture will meet a similar fate. Perhaps this is how Disney spins off ESPN?

 

[Millhouse]

One thing... TV is on its way to being worse. Now, it's not going to be "bad", but we're already off of "peak TV".

That was funded by the cable bundle that everyone hates. There's no Breaking Bad or Mad Men if AMC isn't getting subscriber revenue from the bundle. Half the FX shows that people love don't get made. Nor do the USA originals. And on and on.

Plus, the explosion of original series on the traditional media-owned streaming services (Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock) doesn't hapen without the profit generated by cable networks.

So yeah, Netflix is going to keep cranking out stuff, but most everyone else is dialing back because the financials don't work like they used to.

Yep. It's not just that the bundle makes everyone better by giving access to channels they might enjoy occasionally. The additional money generated can subsidize high quality prestige shows like the ones you mentioned, if that's what the networks are interested in

Everyone who hates bundling dismisses and forgets the value they get from watching some channels from time to time. There is all sorts of stuff bundled into gym memberships that I don't want but everyone's ok with that

 

[Scooch]

Yep. It's not just that the bundle makes everyone better by giving access to channels they might enjoy occasionally. The additional money generated can subsidize high quality prestige shows like the ones you mentioned, if that's what the networks are interested in

Everyone who hates bundling dismisses and forgets the value they get from watching some channels from time to time. There is all sorts of stuff bundled into gym memberships that I don't want but everyone's ok with that

Precisely.

The problem with the cable bundle was never the bundle. The problems were:

- Value. Prices kept escalating and customers didn’t feel like they were getting enough in return, which directly tied to…

- Experience. The cable box experience stunk, and when people were exposed to internet experiences they realized how awful the cable experience was. Clunky navigation, poor on demand choices, terrible portability, etc.

- Customer service. We all know about this one.

I firmly believe that if the cable operators had managed price increases better, deployed IPTV boxes 10-15 years ago, and cut deals with programmers to offer the entire back catalog of their shows on demand, then we wouldn’t have seen the collapse of the industry like we have.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

[storange]

Did anyone else get a headache from this thread?

 

[David332]

We already have YouTube TV, Disney Plus and Paramount. Not adding anything more.

 

[SUforme]

Best deal their was is. I signed up for ESPN +, Disney+, Hulu for $15 a month.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Best deal their was is. I signed up for ESPN +, Disney+, Hulu for $15 a month.

Same but mine is $0 thought my Verizon wireless plan

 

[TheCusian]

Yep. It's not just that the bundle makes everyone better by giving access to channels they might enjoy occasionally. The additional money generated can subsidize high quality prestige shows like the ones you mentioned, if that's what the networks are interested in

Everyone who hates bundling dismisses and forgets the value they get from watching some channels from time to time. There is all sorts of stuff bundled into gym memberships that I don't want but everyone's ok with that

I don't think that's everyone's experience? I don't miss the value at all and have plenty to watch. Instead of randomly flipping until I land on something vaguely interesting, I end up binging a whole series of something or a movie that I'm more interested in.

Flipping and finding something passable is not pleasurable by comparison, IMO.

 

[Killdozer]

Same as JustPherU, I switched to YTTV after 2 plus decades of being with DTV because of the Sunday Ticket.

I'm a Cleveland pro sports fan, so I've subscribed to the MLB package and NBA package for years. I live in the Charlotte area, and for the life of me, I'll never get how this area is considered the Baltimore region for baseball. So, when the Indians are playing the Orioles, I'm SOL when it comes to watching the Tribe (I refuse to call them the Guardians) as the games are blacked out on MLB.TV.

When I had DTV, MASN was included with my particular package, so it was never an issue as it is now. And, to my knowledge, there isn't any way around it as DTV is the only place where one can pick up MASN, at least in NC.

Additionally, I preferred the MLB extra innings package over MLB.TV, and the NBA Full Court over NBA.TV as with 'Extra Innings' and 'Full Court,' those packages gave you the option of watching your team's own PBP guy/analysts. With MLB and NBA TV, you are stuck getting the opposing team's broadcasters when your team is on the road.

I feel your pain, I'm a Met fan living in Charlotte also and every game is blacked out on MLB.TV when they are playing Washington and Atlanta. It's very irritating because I have to watch on their network instead on SNY.