Very Disapponted...

[TexanMark]

yes, we all did.

how could you not?

its also as simple as going to the FoxSportsGo app.

it was on there too.

Doesn't work for me in Florida (with Xfinity Internet, YoutubeTV and ESPN+)

 

[TexanMark]

I have DirecTV as well, after cutting the cable for like 2 weeks this summer & trying YouTubeTV... I ended up going back to DirecTV (in part because it cuts my internet bill in half as well). I did have to spend way too much time on the phone initially getting set back up... my biggest gripe is that the monthly bills seems to fluctuate too much. However, since getting DirecTV back I haven't missed a game of football or basketball, either it's on a DirecTV channel locally (Dayton, OH) - I was able to watch the Rider game on Fox OH crystal clear, or DirecTV gives me access to Watch ESPN which carries the games too. It's a great set up

How much is your monthly bill combined for Internet/DirecTV
Are you on any promos?

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

I hadn’t heard this. Interesting. If they actually do this, I think the practice of syndicating college sports to regional sports networks gets turned on its head. The conferences sold to these regional sports networks thinking they were getting wide distribution of their product over a huge geographic footprint.

I wonder if this change is significant enough to get the ACC out of the RSN contract. It would be awesome if all that extra content was shown on ESPN channels, including ABC and ACCN, and ACCN Extra.

The two big remaining issues that plague ACC fans trying to watch their teams play are
1) games farmed out to RSNs fans who signed up for ESPN still can’t receive and

2) Comcast subscribers.

I believe the Comcast problem will be solved when the existing ESPN/Disney contract with Comcast expires at the end of 2021.

The contract with the RSNs doesn’t expire until 2026-27 but maybe this development will kill it earlier. Any lawyers or media experts willing to weigh in on this? It should be noted that YES, one of the primary RSNs that covers ACC content, was sold separately from the rest of the Fox RSNs. It was sold back to the Yankees, with Sinclair and Amazon, among others, also holding major shares,

sutomcat they finally came out and discussed what I had mentioned in this thread. Good to see they're moving forward with it.
Link

 

[KaiserUEO]

Doesn't work for me in Florida (with Xfinity Internet, YoutubeTV and ESPN+)

Then you guys need to just,now stay with me here...get cable.

the app shlit bullshit is over.

I do both, it’s awesome.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Then you guys need to just,now stay with me here...get cable.

the app shlit bullshit is over.

I do both, it’s awesome.

Kaiser you are no longer old school. You're just old. I like the flexibility of the streaming options (YTTV), but I also will just pirate the feed if it's not there. It's pretty easy to find so not really worth complaining. Stream it to my big screen and it's just as good as watching on ESPN U or whatever.

 

[sutomcat]

sutomcat they finally came out and discussed what I had mentioned in this thread. Good to see they're moving forward with it.
Link

Very interesting.

It sure look like they are going forward with this. How would this impact the agreements these RSNs have made with conferences like the ACC, B12 and Pac12?

I can’t see fans of college games going crazy subscribing to these channels to get their games. The ACC sells rights to something in the range of 15-17 football games to the RSNs each season. I think the number for basketball is a little higher. 20-25. Something like that. Most of the games are OOC, they are the most unattractive games possible and most schools have 1 or 2 games televised on the RSNs a season.

I think going to this model changes things significantly. There will be a lot less subscribers. Does it really matter if there is a small amount of content most subscribers do not care about a few times a year, if there is no longer going to be a linear channel? Who cares about finding more content to flesh out your channel when it isn’t a channel any longer, but really a pay service? I can see the RSNs will really have incentive to pay up the rights to other pro sports (baseball, basketball and hockey, maybe soccer). But college athletics doesn’t seem to fit. The markets aren’t going to line up well and there would be a lot of conflicts and I think the fan base is often inherently different.

So I am hopeful the agreements between the RSNs and the conferences will be voided, since they do not make sense for either side. The conferences should be able to make more money off this content via other means, where the fans can more easily and consistently access the broadcasts.

 

[TampaLaker]

Kaiser you are no longer old school. You're just old. I like the flexibility of the streaming options (YTTV), but I also will just pirate the feed if it's not there. It's pretty easy to find so not really worth complaining. Stream it to my big screen and it's just as good as watching on ESPN U or whatever.

Bragging about stealing a streaming service.. So do you brag about shoplifting too? Nothing big, you know, ink for your printer here, external hard drive there... nothing big...

 

[wfschrec]

I've had trouble in Georgia with Xfinity as well

Use AT&T TV ... its what I use and I don't miss a game.

 

[JDubbin]

How much is your monthly bill combined for Internet/DirecTV
Are you on any promos?

I don't think I'm on any promos, more so customer loyalty benefits. Currently, I have the DirecTV Xtra Channel Package + DirecTV the Sports Package (ACC Network included), bundled with AT&T Internet 24 for a combined total of $130 a month. At some point I may call them back up & see if I can get it down some more... but over the last few months it's come with additional benefits. When I signed back up I was given a $100 digital pre-paid credit card. I was given credits for overpricing on my bundle, my DirecTV & Internet cost last month was $17. Like I said, I'm pleased overall with my access to the sports/teams I want - most specifically with Syracuse (I've seen all the football & basketball games this season). That DirecTV commitment also gives me direct access to Watch ESPN, which is clutch.

If you sign up, I'm sure there's some new customer promos running that'll benefit you. It's great for my family as well.

 

[DBCooper]

Bragging about stealing a streaming service.. So do you brag about shoplifting too? Nothing big, you know, ink for your printer here, external hard drive there... nothing big...

Yeah. and he probably has engaged in jaywalking and failed to claim his football pool winnings on his taxes too.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Bragging about stealing a streaming service.. So do you brag about shoplifting too? Nothing big, you know, ink for your printer here, external hard drive there... nothing big...

EXACTLY the same thing. When large media companies realize they can't have their cake and eat it too, I'll stop seeking out games any way that I can.

The fact of the matter is, they want a premium for their content and they want to deliver it in a way that is cheapest for them. They look at streaming as another revenue chain that they should be able to bilk and charge way too much for. So as soon as they stop stealing from me, their consumer, I'll stop stealing from them.

And by the way - I would GLADLY pay for that content through ESPN+, YTTV, or an RSN app (that they are developing and I will 100% purchase). But when my only option is to sign a three-year contract with a company that will charge me double for exactly what I get now EXCEPT for the one regional channel I can watch three SU games on a year, I'll gladly find another way to do it.

I'm not going to pay essentially an extra 2500 dollars over three years for what amounts to about a dozen SU basketball games. When that is the price of entry you better believe I'll sneak in the backdoor every single time and I won't feel guilty about it at all. If they can gouge me at every turn, I have no problem gouging them from time to time. I'm sure the billion-dollar company will miss my 2500 dollars and have to get a corporate bailout because of it. Give me a break.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Very interesting.

It sure look like they are going forward with this. How would this impact the agreements these RSNs have made with conferences like the ACC, B12 and Pac12?

I can’t see fans of college games going crazy subscribing to these channels to get their games. The ACC sells rights to something in the range of 15-17 football games to the RSNs each season. I think the number for basketball is a little higher. 20-25. Something like that. Most of the games are OOC, they are the most unattractive games possible and most schools have 1 or 2 games televised on the RSNs a season.

I think going to this model changes things significantly. There will be a lot less subscribers. Does it really matter if there is a small amount of content most subscribers do not care about a few times a year, if there is no longer going to be a linear channel? Who cares about finding more content to flesh out your channel when it isn’t a channel any longer, but really a pay service? I can see the RSNs will really have incentive to pay up the rights to other pro sports (baseball, basketball and hockey, maybe soccer). But college athletics doesn’t seem to fit. The markets aren’t going to line up well and there would be a lot of conflicts and I think the fan base is often inherently different.

So I am hopeful the agreements between the RSNs and the conferences will be voided, since they do not make sense for either side. The conferences should be able to make more money off this content via other means, where the fans can more easily and consistently access the broadcasts.

Personally reading the tea leaves I think they will still offer the RSN's via premium subscriptions through cable or satellite. The streaming services (Hulu, YTTV, Sling, etc...) I think will never get those RSN's back. I think Sinclair realizes that they can sell directly to those customers as they are already streamers, to begin with. I expect to see an RSN package that will sell for between 6 and 10 dollars a month with some added content (archived games, etc...). I will gladly purchase it when they release it, as I'm done with cable and satellite and long-term contracts that serve only the purposes of the company.

 

[sutomcat]

Personally reading the tea leaves I think they will still offer the RSN's via premium subscriptions through cable or satellite. The streaming services (Hulu, YTTV, Sling, etc...) I think will never get those RSN's back. I think Sinclair realizes that they can sell directly to those customers as they are already streamers, to begin with. I expect to see an RSN package that will sell for between 6 and 10 dollars a month with some added content (archived games, etc...). I will gladly purchase it when they release it, as I'm done with cable and satellite and long-term contracts that serve only the purposes of the company.

I agree they RSNs are headed towards stand alone distribution.

I just think that this is such a big change in distribution that any contracts signed when they were distributed through cable systems as linear channels will be considered null and void.

Distributing a handful of college football and basketball games doesn't really make sense for them any longer.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

I agree they RSNs are headed towards stand alone distribution.

I just think that this is such a big change in distribution that any contracts signed when they were distributed through cable systems as linear channels will be considered null and void.

Distributing a handful of college football and basketball games doesn't really make sense for them any longer.

I agree with that. I think there will be major renegotiations but I still think the DirecTV's of the world will still have the RSN's as part of a linear package at the end of the day while the streaming entities like YTTV will not. I'll be really interested to see how that looks at the end of the day. Fox Sports has never had a great streaming option (Fox Sports Go and Fox Sports have never been great), so I'm interested to see how this partnership with Bally's and the monetary infusion might change the way they put this together.