Disney, AT&T in Carriage Dispute Impacting ABC, ESPN

[Bruce]

Don't think that exists anymore

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No it still exists, just everyone is dropping it, from wiki-On October 1, 2014, ESPN Classic began a gradual transition into a video on demand-only service, with Dish Network becoming the first to discontinue carriage of the linear channel and carry it as a VOD service on that date. Other providers will follow suit on an unknown timetable.[3] In December 2017, cable companies Comcast Xfinity and Altice USA dropped the ESPN Classic linear channel from their TV lineups.[4] On February 4, 2019, Verizon FiOS removed the channel from the lineup. Spectrum, as part of their newest Disney agreement approved in August 2019, will begin dropping ESPN Classic from their systems on October 15, 2019.[5]


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[Jimbo]

I found this interesting ....

Don't blame AT&T and DirecTV if ESPN gets blacked out

 

[longhorn23]

How much do people watch ESPN for anymore ?

The only time I watch ESPN is for the College football games.
Thats It.

I watch ESPN for college football, college basketball, and the NBA.

 

[mdram]

but how much is worth a month to you?
last report i saw from 2017, it was @ $9 a month

that should be its own pay channel for that price

 

[SamCdbs]

that should be its own pay channel for that price

And that. my friend, is the crux of the problem. The ESPNs are 5/16th of the price of basic cable (or DBS, I will just call it cable for ease of understanding). The other sports channels are another 3/16ths. That adds up to HALF of you cable bill, just passing through you to the cable company to the leagues, to the players. Those zillion dollar contracts aren't paid by the zillionaire owners, they are paid by Y O U.

And, under the old paradigm, "everybody" (well, actually well over 90% of folks) had cable, so "everybody" paid.

But, and for sports fans this is hard to understand, but it is true, there are LOTS of people who really don't care about sports at all.

So Disney, et al, is on the hook to the various leagues for big $$, and the leagues are on the hook to the players for big $$. And the new paradigm has many people so-called "cord cutting" and getting internet based deals with NO SPORTS CHANNELS. Really the only money savings between "cord cutting" and traditional cable is sports.

So now Disney, et al, needs not $8 or $9 from "everybody" but, according to one report I read, something like $48 from people who actually like sports, which means it is unaffordable for all but the very rich.

At the end of the day, the Market will correct, and zillionaire players will only make quadtrillions and not quinttrillions, but that will take a generation. In the mean time, Disney stockholders will suffer, AT&T and eventually all cable company stockholders will suffer, and people who like sports on TV will suffer.

 

[Don in CT]

I found this interesting ....

Don't blame AT&T and DirecTV if ESPN gets blacked out

ESPN has gotten top heavy. And for them to use MNF as the reason to be upset is ludicrous. When was the last really great MNF game on ESPN?

 

[NashGuy]

No it still exists, just everyone is dropping it, from wiki-On October 1, 2014, ESPN Classic began a gradual transition into a video on demand-only service, with Dish Network becoming the first to discontinue carriage of the linear channel and carry it as a VOD service on that date. Other providers will follow suit on an unknown timetable.[3] In December 2017, cable companies Comcast Xfinity and Altice USA dropped the ESPN Classic linear channel from their TV lineups.[4] On February 4, 2019, Verizon FiOS removed the channel from the lineup. Spectrum, as part of their newest Disney agreement approved in August 2019, will begin dropping ESPN Classic from their systems on October 15, 2019.[5]

ESPN Classic seems like something that, at this point, they'd just make part of the $5/mo ESPN+ streaming service. Bulk up its on-demand library with access to various past games.

I do expect that we'll see ESPN+ become gradually more attractive over time. And then, at some point in the future, they'll decide to let folks pay an optional higher price to get the full ESPN experience -- all their live content from all their channels -- through ESPN+. Well, actually, that tier would probably just be called "ESPN," it would just be a standalone streaming service. And then ESPN+ would be separately available as a skinnier package of second-string content.

 

[NashGuy]

My cable company breaks out the cost of the locals and it is over $15 now. Directv and Comcast are larger and probably get better rates (or haven't renegotiated with my station owners as recently) but it has doubled in just over two years, and word is that the networks are going to keep asking for more which means station owner groups will have to keep asking for more. I wouldn't be shocked to see it at $25 or $30 in a few years.

If my cable company allowed me to drop locals, and Tivo had a model with a CATV input and an OTA input, I'd gladly pay someone to put an antenna on my roof. There used to be one there when I bought the house, but when I had the roof replaced I had it junked because I figured I'd never use it. But saving $20+ a month would be a good reason to upgrade my Tivo and install an antenna!

Yeah, it's just crazy what the major locals want any more. And around here, Comcast charges over $32/mo just for their Limited Basic package of locals (plus C-SPAN). If you want that in HD, I think it requires another $5 - $15 in equipment/service fees. (Their rate card isn't clear.) Nuts.

 

[longhorn23]

but how much is worth a month to you?
last report i saw from 2017, it was @ $9 a month

that should be its own pay channel for that price

I would say sports is the main reason I have cable/satellite. Otherwise I could prob cord cut and just stick to streaming services.

 

[Howard Simmons]

I watch ESPN for college football, college basketball, and the NBA.

I watch it for the corn hole championships and high school basketball.

 

[mdram]

I would say sports is the main reason I have cable/satellite. Otherwise I could prob cord cut and just stick to streaming services.

espn is available for streaming. most stations are nowadays

 

[Cypresstree]

ESPN has gotten top heavy. And for them to use MNF as the reason to be upset is ludicrous. When was the last really great MNF game on ESPN?

Why - just last Monday night.


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[slice1900]

espn is available for streaming. most stations are nowadays

No it isn't. It just only available for streaming providers that use the same package based assortments of channels. In my mind there is no real difference between Sling TV and Dish. If you drop Dish and go to Sling TV, you have no "cut the cord". You just chose a different delivery method for the same product. If you drop Dish and go to Disney+, then you have cut the cord.

 

[longhorn23]

espn is available for streaming. most stations are nowadays

espn is only available for streaming if you subscribe to espn via cable/sat/streaming provider. Espn+ is available for 5 dollars a month but that does not have any major sporting events.

 

[Tampa8]

No it isn't. It just only available for streaming providers that use the same package based assortments of channels. In my mind there is no real difference between Sling TV and Dish. If you drop Dish and go to Sling TV, you have no "cut the cord". You just chose a different delivery method for the same product. If you drop Dish and go to Disney+, then you have cut the cord.

I don't discount your point but I don't really agree. Sling has less expensive different packages of just about the most watched channels. They are different packages than DISH offres, and require no equipment, no contract. You say if someone drops DISH and goes to Sling, what if they drop their expensive Cable and go to a quite reasonably priced online Sling that isn't cutting the cord? Just because DISH owns the online service doesn't mean it isn't cord cutting.

Disney+, Netflix, and many others would for many families require more than one provider to get the shows you want. They too are cord cutting but require more effort and I'm not sure for much or any less when all is said and done.

As to the ESPN discussion, you will need some service from someone that includes ESPN to stream ESPN.

 

[Jimbo]

Why - just last Monday night.


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Yes, Opening week on ESPN was Very good ....

Not sure about the rest of the year.

 

[Andrew Sullivan]

Sports programming in general rule the airways. If it wasnt for ESPN and the various other sports channels there would be no cable or satellite TV. The profits are so high that it's really hard to fathom.

 

[mdram]

No it isn't. It just only available for streaming providers that use the same package based assortments of channels. In my mind there is no real difference between Sling TV and Dish. If you drop Dish and go to Sling TV, you have no "cut the cord". You just chose a different delivery method for the same product. If you drop Dish and go to Disney+, then you have cut the cord.

thats still streaming, i didnt say it was standalone

"You can watch ESPN live without cable with one of these streaming services: Hulu With Live TV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, PlayStation Vue, or YouTube TV. "

 

[Jimbo]

Well, we will see where this potential dispute stands soon ...
It's now Friday, so if it goes down ... it would be tonight (if Friday IS the last day, it's been speculated that its actually the end of the month) ...

I'm not sure why they would be posting all the warnings now if it really isn't till the end of the month.

Hopefully they resolve this issue without interruption, but of late, most have decided its more beneficial to get thier point across by blacking out the channels.

 

[slice1900]

thats still streaming, i didnt say it was standalone

"You can watch ESPN live without cable with one of these streaming services: Hulu With Live TV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, PlayStation Vue, or YouTube TV. "

IMHO if you go to one of them you have not "cut the cord". You have the same traditional channel/package based TV. You might as well call dropping cable for satellite "cutting the cord" since you actually could cut any cords between your house and the outside world with satellite (if you had cellular internet and solar power)

Cutting the cord is about dropping the concept of "channels" and "packages", and everything that goes along with them like the possibility of disputes & blackouts between the provider and the content owner, not taking scissors to some imaginary cord.