OT: are sports fans "cable TV freeloaders"?

[moqui]

Several media outlets have recently run stories on the anger of non-sports watching cable subscribers who feel they are being unfairly charged to keep basic sports programming on first tier cable platforms - essentially claiming that they are subsidizing sports viewers who do not pay the true cost of their fandom.

the economists at Marginal Revolution summarize these arguments and then submit them to empirical analysis in a very interesting post.

I won't give away their conclusion, but I will say that if cable (or, in my case, satellite) ever went to a la carte pricing, we would probably purchase no more than 75 channels, and could very easily live with as few as 15.

 

[Brooky03]

Anybody who doesn't watch sports is a communist and should be kicked out of the country.

 

[jordoo]

If it was a la carten pricing, I'd love it. Netflix is about $10.00 a month and its all my kids watch.
I think 15 would be plenty for us. We'd get the networks and then each have about 5 others to pick.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Aren't sports watching cable subscribers like me being unfairly charged for WE, Lifetime and OWN?

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Everything is available on the net now... I've never been happier than when I dumped my $200/month comcast bill.

 

[stuckinbig11]

I am equally pissed that my cable bill reflects the cost of carrying stations that broadcast reality shows. :bang:

 

[armory]

I hope Time Warner Cable and Comcast die horrible, gruesome, painful, publicly humiliating deaths. No companies have done more to prevent advances in telecom.

 

[Marsh01]

Screw it, I just pay the bill. More important things to worry about.

 

[bevosu]

Everything is available on the net now... I've never been happier than when I dumped my $200/month comcast bill.

Everything? (sports)

I'm pretty computer/internet savvy and I'd drop cable in a nano second if I thought that all the football/baseball/basketball games could be watched streamed through my internet connection.

Not sure that's the case...yet. ?

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Everything? (sports)

I'm pretty computer/internet savvy and I'd drop cable in a nano second if I thought that all the football/baseball/basketball games could be watched streamed through my internet connection.

Not sure that's the case...yet. ?

Yeah, pretty much anything i want to see is on espn3 or frontrow sports... i have a dedicated laptop hooked up via hdmi to my flat screen.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I was just talking with friends about this. I watch about 5 total stations. ESPN is on my TV 95% of the time I watch. I pay for all these stations that contain a bunch of slop I don't watch.

Anyone familiar with direct TV, dish network, or another? I have TWC but it seems pricey for my cable and internet package so I am thinking of changing providers.

 

[cusetown1]

Just switched my business 3 in 1 package to Directv, I was using TWC. I pay $140 a month now which is a business price, and those are always higher. When I was using TWC I was paying $185 for 75 less channels, and my bill would increase $120 a year just because. It took me 4 hours of being on hold for me to disconnect my services, if you have time warner you should switch its garbage.

 

[Moontan]

Anyone familiar with direct TV, dish network, or another? I have TWC but it seems pricey for my cable and internet package so I am thinking of changing providers.

At the end of the day, the prices are fairly similar for the same content.
If they weren't, competition would start to kill off the highest priced operators.

Homeowners in suburban America, near metropolitan centers, will now typically have 4 choices of video providers (cable, telco, and 2 dish options).

 

[cusetown1]

A the end of the day, the prices are fairly similar for the same content.
If they weren't, competition would start to kill off the highest priced operators.

Homeowners in suburban America, near metropolitan centers, will now typically have 4 choices of video providers (cable, telco, and 2 dish options).

I hope you are using "fairly" loosely.

 

[CuseinNYC]

I basically sign up for cable during college hoops season and disconnect it once the Dance is nationally televised. I wonder if they would complain that I'm being "subsidized"?

If cable went a la carte, it could allow people to exclusively sign on to ESPN for their sport seasons. So if you don't like baseball, maybe you drop ESPN for the summer? The NFL Network would have a clear analog.

I can't imagine that they'd be excited about that possibility at all. I suppose they could mandate "year-long" sign-ups but that might be tough to sell.

Several media outlets have recently run stories on the anger of non-sports watching cable subscribers who feel they are being unfairly charged to keep basic sports programming on first tier cable platforms - essentially claiming that they are subsidizing sports viewers who do not pay the true cost of their fandom.

the economists at Marginal Revolution summarize these arguments and then submit them to empirical analysis in a very interesting post.

I won't give away their conclusion, but I will say that if cable (or, in my case, satellite) ever went to a la carte pricing, we would probably purchase no more than 75 channels, and could very easily live with as few as 15.

 

[orange79]

F non-sports watchers

 

[texascpa]

Aren't sports watching cable subscribers like me being unfairly charged for WE, Lifetime and OWN?

Add Current, MSNBC and CNN.

 

[realorange]

I basically sign up for cable during college hoops season and disconnect it once the Dance is nationally televised. I wonder if they would complain that I'm being "subsidized"?

If cable went a la carte, it could allow people to exclusively sign on to ESPN for their sport seasons. So if you don't like baseball, maybe you drop ESPN for the summer? The NFL Network would have a clear analog.

I can't imagine that they'd be excited about that possibility at all. I suppose they could mandate "year-long" sign-ups but that might be tough to sell.

They could nail you bigtime every time they hooked you up again.

 

[JOC44]

I buy every DirecTV channel they will sell me. My philosophy is I work too hard to ever have a game I want to see that is on TV somewhere and I can't see it.

 

[Marsh01]

I buy every DirecTV channel they will sell me. My philosophy is I work too hard to ever have a game I want to see that is on TV somewhere and I can't see it.

Amen brother


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[SyracuseFan]

It is all coming to an end, maybe not with this exciting new offering from Intel but you can't ignore reality. The networks have to evolve and with content of all kinds becoming almost penniless to produce they will fall in-line. Maybe it will mean less revenue for the networks up-front but in the end, they can reach billions globally and they will start to realize these earnings not too far down the road, IMO.

I just read about this two weeks ago, actually I read a few well written predictions and analysis.
Intel Is Reportedly Going To Destroy The Cable Model By Offering People The Ability To Subscribe To Individual Channels
Intel Can’t Break TV’s Bundles
Inside Intel’s TV service: No CES announcement, but plenty of juicy details

 

[texascpa]

It is all coming to an end, maybe not with this exciting new offering from Intel but you can't ignore reality. The networks have to evolve and with content of all kinds becoming almost penniless to produce they will fall in-line. Maybe it will mean less revenue for the networks up-front but in the end, they can reach billions globally and they will start to realize these earnings not too far down the road, IMO.

I just read about this two weeks ago, actually I read a few well written predictions and analysis.
Intel Is Reportedly Going To Destroy The Cable Model By Offering People The Ability To Subscribe To Individual Channels
Intel Can’t Break TV’s Bundles
Inside Intel’s TV service: No CES announcement, but plenty of juicy details

Yeah, read that too, but there are significant hurdles to that. Also, don't forget that Congress is always lurking and could use their heavy hand of force to stifle competition, like they do in a lot of industries.

 

[SyracuseFan]

Honestly video production on every skill level has become accessible and affordable by just about everyone so these media outlets should expect much less return on much less risk and investment. Not to mention just like with the music industry you no longer need a label and I'm guessing TV will evolve much the same way music has.

Maybe a show like Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead moves their franchise online; contractually will exclusivity in distribution fall first or will an online media company... YouTube/Google or Apple be the purchaser of said exclusivity? I'm guessing the latter. I'm not too knowledgeable about this side, but I'm guessing the end of distribution exclusivity will be further down the road.

Household named directors and actors...? Will they need to cross union lines? That's a hard sell because an Amish shunning may be more amicable than being cast out of Hollywood.

I'm guessing groups of sponsors will move to start owning a series or being exclusive partners for certain shows, having more advertising power in the delivery through multiple channels. Maybe I'm being naive, or more accurately these trends will take longer to unfold as big media is a supremely powerful force. I'm also thinking network based television lineups will start being diluted or in reality, there is going to continue to be more and more creative channels gobbling up viewers and advertising dollars. There is however enormous potential in the first to stake their claim ala Intel, but I'm guessing it will be a funny named start-up funded by media conglomerates or former executives who truly nail down the marketing.

Actually, I truly believe the professional online movie/TV king of the future is already a household name and will be the best stock to own for the next 10+ years. The agreements are in place, the technology is there, the infrastructure is ready and they are already doing it without advertising for it. Amazon Prime.

Check out amazon prime, they will one day have distribution of every title ever made and they are creative and smart enough to pull it off without a hitch. There are 3 companies with over 100 million users credit cards, Apple, Amazon and Walmart. Amazon will win by a landslide as Apple comes crashing back to earth of mere mortal devices. The FanBoy bubble is bursting, IMO.

 

[SyracuseFan]

Yeah, read that too, but there are significant hurdles to that. Also, don't forget that Congress is always lurking and could use their heavy hand of force to stifle competition, like they do in a lot of industries.

True! But nobody can stop the relentless creativity and light-speed of evolution in online communication and entertainment. Not Even Congress! That is saying something, IMO.

 

[texascpa]

True! But nobody can stop the relentless creativity and light-speed of evolution in online communication and entertainment. Not Even Congress! That is saying something, IMO.

Don't ever underestimate Congress to kill a good thing.