ESPN Cutting Costs

[Lue]

Free ESPN And NFL Sunday Ticket? How Subsidized Content Could Disrupt

How could a content network or multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) make a business from giving away premium content for free? Best approach may be to deliver targeted advertising to subscribers who are willing to allow marketers to anonymously track their spending habits, location, and content of text messages, emails and even conversations captured in homes containing microphones and infrared cameras.

Recent patent applications from major telecom providers such as Verizon andCenturyLink indicate top executives are exploring ways to use targeted advertising to subsidize both content and high-speed Internet access.

Imagine if new DirecTV owner AT&T lined up sponsors that could help it market a programming package like NFL Sunday Ticket for free. Or what if Disney convinced the 10 million-plus consumers who have picked up MagicBand radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelets at theme park to track them both inside and outside their homes?

That might put a programmer like Disney in a position to sell not just ESPN and Disney Channel to consumers subscribing to over-the-top pay TV services. It could package content from providers like Hulu, Discovery, Turner or Scripps in over-the-top subscription packages that would rival those marketed by incumbents.

We’ll look for an update from Disney CEO Bob Iger on how soon that could occur when Disney reports earnings on Tuesday.

http://www.donohuereport.com/free-espn-and-nfl-sunday-ticket-how-subsidized-content-could-disrupt/

 

[ChadT41]

Free ESPN And NFL Sunday Ticket? How Subsidized Content Could Disrupt

How could a content network or multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) make a business from giving away premium content for free? Best approach may be to deliver targeted advertising to subscribers who are willing to allow marketers to anonymously track their spending habits, location, and content of text messages, emails and even conversations captured in homes containing microphones and infrared cameras.

Recent patent applications from major telecom providers such as Verizon andCenturyLink indicate top executives are exploring ways to use targeted advertising to subsidize both content and high-speed Internet access.

Imagine if new DirecTV owner AT&T lined up sponsors that could help it market a programming package like NFL Sunday Ticket for free. Or what if Disney convinced the 10 million-plus consumers who have picked up MagicBand radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelets at theme park to track them both inside and outside their homes?

That might put a programmer like Disney in a position to sell not just ESPN and Disney Channel to consumers subscribing to over-the-top pay TV services. It could package content from providers like Hulu, Discovery, Turner or Scripps in over-the-top subscription packages that would rival those marketed by incumbents.

We’ll look for an update from Disney CEO Bob Iger on how soon that could occur when Disney reports earnings on Tuesday.

http://www.donohuereport.com/free-espn-and-nfl-sunday-ticket-how-subsidized-content-could-disrupt/

Dish and DTV and really all the MVPDs have been doing this for a couple years now. There have been multiple threads about targeted advertising. Even the site found Scott mentioned about getting an out of state dairy farm ad. This is not really news.

 

[Lue]

Could be some nice subsidies for viewers using these type advanced remote controls, this segment is going to get interesting. The technology is there this time around. Looks like the advanced remotes from the tv providers themselves will be able to do the things that the earlier models of ESPN's remote could not.

Rovi announced on Wednesday that Dish will add its Rovi Conversation Services natural-language interface to its Explorer second-screen app for iPad, the Hopper Voice remote and the Dish Anywhere app. The technology will be deployed throughout the rest of 2015.

http://www.fiercecable.com/story/ro...ce-control-processing-dish-remotes/2015-04-15

http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/echostar-airtv.352311/

Once sports fans are able to vote on the penalty calls etc., the content providers will be able to extract the 30 buck subscription cost right out of their wallet while the viewer in a testosterone fueled frenzy rages about the call. Kind of like the Roman days of thumbs up/thumbs down for the gladiators. Some things never change.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2320503,00.asp

With the tax base dwindeling in most cities the sports bubble marches on, maybe interactive sports thru the new tech will stop the insanity and prevent another Roman thing. After all, history does repeat itself.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colosseum-Rome.jpg

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jul/21/chad-subsidized-stadiums-have-to-go/

Amazon product ASIN B00198LRPE

 

[Lue]

Will be one to watch, BYU might be the first Tier 1 college contract to be greatly reduced.

Numbers just don't add up.

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/2750073-155/scott-d-pierce-will-espn-cost-cutting

Cable unbundling makes college power brokers uneasy

giving subscribers a chance to choose means the end of a shell game.

http://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ac-12-espn-sec-network-bundle-cable/31052119/

 

[Yespage]

Dish and DTV and really all the MVPDs have been doing this for a couple years now. There have been multiple threads about targeted advertising. Even the site found Scott mentioned about getting an out of state dairy farm ad. This is not really news.

The article seems to be talking about old news, and needlessly adding 1984 imagery. What seems bizarre is that the article seems to ask how NFL ST could be given away for free, when all that is happening is that cable/sat companies are just trying to find other ways of generating income to battle higher costs for operations.

 

[Lue]

We’ll look for an update from Disney CEO Bob Iger on how soon that could occur when Disney reports earnings on Tuesday.

That might put a programmer like Disney in a position to sell not just ESPN and Disney Channel to consumers subscribing to over-the-top pay TV services. It could package content from providers like Hulu, Discovery, Turner or Scripps in over-the-top subscription packages that would rival those marketed by incumbents.

http://www.donohuereport.com/free-espn-and-nfl-sunday-ticket-how-subsidized-content-could-disrupt/

 

[Lue]

Disney shares fall after lower profit outlook

http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/08/05/disney-shares-fall-after-lower-profit-outlook/

The lowered forecast comes as Disney faces higher costs at ESPN. In part because of increased competition, the network has seen a dramatic escalation in the licensing fees it pays to broadcast marquee NFL, MLB and NBA games. Starting last year, ESPN's rights payments to the NFL for "Monday Night Football" jumped from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion per season.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...ct-disney-earnings-20150805-story.html#page=1

 

[harshness]

Starting last year, ESPN's rights payments to the NFL for "Monday Night Football" jumped from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion per season.

1.9 billion for one game to all viewers versus AT&T's billion and change for all the Sunday games OOM.

 

[Yespage]

We’ll look for an update from Disney CEO Bob Iger on how soon that could occur when Disney reports earnings on Tuesday.

That might put a programmer like Disney in a position to sell not just ESPN and Disney Channel to consumers subscribing to over-the-top pay TV services. It could package content from providers like Hulu, Discovery, Turner or Scripps in over-the-top subscription packages that would rival those marketed by incumbents.

http://www.donohuereport.com/free-espn-and-nfl-sunday-ticket-how-subsidized-content-could-disrupt/

Lue doesn't seem to get the current system. Disney doesn't want to sell over the top because that would mean they are only getting paid by people that want the service. They want the current model, the one where everyone pays regardless if they watch or not. Lue is under this rather naive idea that the poor channels are trying so hard to survive, when it is the channels themselves that are killing sat/cable.

 

[Yespage]

1.9 billion for one game to all viewers versus AT&T's billion and change for all the Sunday games OOM.

AT&T has rights for the Sunday games? Regardless, the revenue for the NFL for the MNF is absurd. It is so high, fans should be allowed to attend the game for free!

 

[pattykay]

AT&T has rights for the Sunday games?

Yes, through their new acquisition, a little company called DirecTV.

 

[Lue]

Lue doesn't seem to get the current system. Disney doesn't want to sell over the top because that would mean they are only getting paid by people that want the service. They want the current model, the one where everyone pays regardless if they watch or not. Lue is under this rather naive idea that the poor channels are trying so hard to survive, when it is the channels themselves that are killing sat/cable.

Wrong. Disney/ESPN will be forced to go over the top before all is said and done. Too bad they cannot keep the current model, the cat is out of the bag.
If you look at the CEO's and other officers of the networks, providers, content originators etc., they appear to be multi millionaires and Billionaires. The blame can be spread around.

The little channels will survive quite well in add on packs and their own stream. The average wholesale cost of channels to the networks is just .14 cents per channel.

If you want to boil it all down, it's just a simple matter of efifciency that will bring the shell game to an end.
No more satellites needed, 90% fewer employees needed, huge fleet cost reductions, greatly reduced call centers and cubicle farm employee's etc. etc.., combine that with the Net Neutrality regs that will allow new small entrants to purchase channels at the same price (average .14 cents) as the big networks. Competitors have been totally locked out from buying the channels due to the cartel that formed in the industry.

It is a lot easier to slip 20 bucks out of a 80 dollar cable bill vs. the new norm of 8 to 40 bucks for the new internet TV services. ESPN, Dish, Cable cos. everybody in the industry is going to have to adjust. Competition is coming hard and fast.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-cable-subscribers-pay-per-channel-1626/

http://www.multichannel.com/news/fcc/updated-sens-slam-pay-tv-set-top-market/392625

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/ne...comment-dates-video-competition-report/142344

 

[Lue]

“You have both legs of the media stool being kicked,” said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst with BTIG Research. “The consumer is shifting, and these media companies are not built to take advantage of technological disruption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/06/b...r-media-investors-worry-about-tvs-future.html

 

[ChadT41]

Wrong. Disney/ESPN will be forced to go over the top before all is said and done. Too bad they cannot keep the current model, the cat is out of the bag.
If you look at the CEO's and other officers of the networks, providers, content originators etc., they appear to be multi millionaires and Billionaires. The blame can be spread around.

The little channels will survive quite well in add on packs and their own stream. The average wholesale cost of channels to the networks is just .14 cents per channel.

If you want to boil it all down, it's just a simple matter of efifciency that will bring the shell game to an end.
No more satellites needed, 90% fewer employees needed, huge fleet cost reductions, greatly reduced call centers and cubicle farm employee's etc. etc.., combine that with the Net Neutrality regs that will allow new small entrants to purchase channels at the same price (average .14 cents) as the big networks. Competitors have been totally locked out from buying the channels due to the cartel that formed in the industry.

It is a lot easier to slip 20 bucks out of a 80 dollar cable bill vs. the new norm of 8 to 40 bucks for the new internet TV services. ESPN, Dish, Cable cos. everybody in the industry is going to have to adjust. Competition is coming hard and fast.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-cable-subscribers-pay-per-channel-1626/

http://www.multichannel.com/news/fcc/updated-sens-slam-pay-tv-set-top-market/392625

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/ne...comment-dates-video-competition-report/142344

http://www.broadbandmap.gov/demographics

According to this map here, and I know it cannot be reliable being a .gov site, most the country has less than 2.5Mbps available. That means, most the country has less then adequate speeds to go to the OTT world you beg for. Even with the OneSource you posted before, suffiecient use will not be a thing that can sustain a mass exodus to kill the cable industry, even though you beg of it. Your incessant posting on this topic is truly annoying, even while on ignore, and hopefully soon, a vacation gets warranted. If you present a story in the manner that you have, please stop posting one side of the argument and realize the other facts involved.

 

[Lue]

http://www.broadbandmap.gov/demographics

According to this map here, and I know it cannot be reliable being a .gov site, most the country has less than 2.5Mbps available. That means, most the country has less then adequate speeds to go to the OTT world you beg for. Even with the OneSource you posted before, suffiecient use will not be a thing that can sustain a mass exodus to kill the cable industry, even though you beg of it. Your incessant posting on this topic is truly annoying, even while on ignore, and hopefully soon, a vacation gets warranted. If you present a story in the manner that you have, please stop posting one side of the argument and realize the other facts involved.

Remember that you can stream video with just 3 mb, have seen it run smooth with just 2 mb,
25 mb is the new definition in order to use the word broadband
less than 30 million in the U.S. do not have broadband according to the site below. That leaves approx. 280 million that Do.
Just a 25% defection from Cable/Sat. will be enough to cause serious disruption in the market.
The market can and will be disrupted by services like SlingTV and the many new internet services that are coming.

Take a look here and see whats out there.

http://broadbandnow.com/

 

[ChadT41]

That site I posted said between 1.5 and 2.5. The better quality you want, the faster you need. Meaning, there is not consistent enough speed to match what you want to happen at the minimum requirement of 3mbps.

 

[ChadT41]

Now I want you to follow your own link, and go ahead and type in different zip codes. Find their service areas, and find their prices and data caps. For instance, I will use my girlfriend as an example. Her family had Suddenlink internet. was $50 a month. Was the only thing around. They had data caps at 250GB. They had overages every month using one simple service, Netflix. cost them more than $80 extra per month. Now lets look at that. Those dang millenials that want to cut the cord, do not want to pay $130 per month. Now, lets add on netflix, $8.99, SlingTV $20, plus any add on you want, want HBO on its own, $14, and HULU, $7.99.

That is $180.98. I currently pay less than that with AEP and my Cox internet package. So tell me where the deal is, while I still lose my sports, most areas locals, and the ability to watch live TV without Buffering. Can you please explain to me what I can do then? I am sure there are more services to pay for... but I cannot think of any for myself. Not sustainable.

 

[ChadT41]

I think you misunderstood what you were posting. Mainly,

"Broadband penetration is a key metric driving today's economy, yet as of 2013, the US is ranked #16 in the world for broadband connectivity and leaves over 39 million Americans underserved." In 2013, High speed internet was not 25Mbps. It was something like 5.

That said, for one person, to watch one SD show, 2 Mbps might be suffiicient, but for HD and now 4K, guess what, it is not going to be sufficient. Add in, that multiple users also could not do that on the same connection, you just eliminated households. You are talking something like College Dorms, but once they start to settle down, if they were to continue the lifestyle, they would require a much higher speed. Something like say, 25Mbps. You can try and spin this any direction you want, but again, you are trying to look at a very small picture. Will OTT be around. Yes. Will it dominate, not anytime in the near future. The speeds are not there, the money is not there, the providers and the channel owners are not there, and if it does start cutting into bottom dollar for those cable providers, they will just enact data caps to reduce usuage, and turn around and raise internet costs(already gone up 200% in under 5 years in Mesa, Az, to make up the difference. "But what about Google Fiber?" No. They will want to break out and figure out a way to make more money. You will see channel owners pulling content for higher prices if they start losing money from OTT, and you will see less quality produced. What you are talking about will need to combat the buffering issue, and unfortunately your prosposed linked resolutions do not fit that. You have a pipe dream. My guess what comes next, Dish buys or merges with Netflix, and interlinks SlingTV with it. Yup, price just went up to get all that content. OITNB on my Dish receiver, and Dish will have its own Exclusivity just like DTV with NFLST, but will allow people to get it thru Sling. There is a resolution that makes you cord cutters happy, but keeps the profits rolling in, and keeps Sat relevant.

Now please, move this cord cutting crap to the broadband forum. Although it "MAY" affect Dish, what you keep trying to annoy the audience with is broadband and OTT related, not Dish, nor DTV, nor Cable related in the root of it.

 

[Lue]

You might want to catch up on the new regs and their effects from the FCC. They will go a long way to fix everything you mentioned.

Thats quite a laugh that you think this does not effect Dish, Cable, ESPN and the other content guys.

Like any new technology, new business, there’ll be some carcasses,” Ergen said. “They’ll be on the side of the road. We just hope we’re not one of them.


Wyh would Charlie say the below if that is not the way the industry is headed?
Looking out five years, Ergen predicted all TV programs will be stored “in the cloud” for on-demand viewing and delivered via the Internet, given the lower cost and ubiquity of connected devices.

The streaming TV project Sling is almost four months along. The Web-based multichannel video service puts Ergen and Dish out front in an emerging field as more Americans watch television over the Internet. It’s expected to draw competition from Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc., Sony Corp. and Apple Inc., all of which plan similar “over the top” online TV services, separate from conventional pay-television.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ees-fit-with-t-mobile-as-he-develops-sling-tv

How many of these millions of rural newbs with braodband will defect from satellit/cable TV to the new Internet TV packages? I would say a good 25% at least. How many will Drop their Dish Internet services? That effects Dish/ESPN tremendously. I am curious why Frontier (a Dish owned co.) is doing this knowing it will cannibalize their sat. TV business, hmmm. must know something we don't.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/connect-america-fund-expanding-broadband-13-m-frontier-customers

Too late for Dish to merge with netflix, or maybe anyone for that matter, you must have missed todays news

http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/bad-bad-news-for-dish.352380/

The ONLY reason that other internet TV providers are not around as you speak is the Content providers have banded together and refused to sell them their channels, The new FCC rules will force them to sell their channels to the new emerging internet TV providers. This will effect Dish and the industry in BIG ways.
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-16th-video-competition-report

 

[ChadT41]

Go ahead and post that regulation that prevents cable co's from enacting data caps. That's universal data caps. Not net neutrality.