Fox Regional Sports Networks Block DISH and Sling TV Customers

I think $50k/year is way too low as pro athletes do actually have a lot of expenses to cover, but I look forward to seeing how the market forces teams/networks to adapt over time. People want their sports, but, like the new prices at Disneyland, there are limits before the revenue starts dropping off.
 
From your response I will assume you wouldn't turn down that payday.

The money is in the game, should it be? We can debate that all day. I prefer the money go to the performers, sounds like you might own a baseball team and would like to keep all that media money for yourself. ;-)

I prefer the first cut of the $$$ go to pay for the stadiums / arenas / Etc. so that the tax payers are not footing or subsidizing the "sport"
 
I have a feeling this may be the end of the regional sport networks on Dish. They already have proven they don’t need regional sports in the NY DMA. Many dish customers don’t care about sports , and I believe Charlie said that not many customers watched the regional sports channels. Last time they took down fox sports it was 2011 and the channels where off for 30 days, and that was in October after baseball season had ended. I’m predicting this either gets resolved soon, or doesn’t get resolved at all. If this goes 30 days, they are going to loose any customers who actually cared

I agree with you on this. In 30 days we are through the dog days of August and people who want to see their teams in the pennant races will be looking for the games. But I would give it a little longer before saying they won't come back. I would say if they aren't back by the time NBA/NHL seasons begin, then we won't see them come back. I'm in Chicago, and if NBC Sports Chicago were to be dropped right now, being an NBA fan, I really wouldn't care until October. If the RSN's aren't back by then and you have your MLB/NBA/NHL fans all switching and Dish feels they are in a good position, I don't think the RSN's are coming back unless they owners make them a la carte.
 
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I prefer the first cut of the $$$ go to pay for the stadiums / arenas / Etc. so that the tax payers are not footing or subsidizing the "sport"
Stadium costs are outrageous but a lot of that is made up for by Skyboxes and such. Corporations and billionaires pay dearly for these as they make great perks for their customers and friends. There is one other thing to think about when you realize that stadiums are not just filled with locals. There are out of towners who flock to the stadium for games and concerts. This brings money into the city with purchase of rooms and food. So, tax payers are not totally subsidizing the "sport" but are bringing dollars into their city that wouldn't be there without that stadium.
 
Stadium costs are outrageous but a lot of that is made up for by Skyboxes and such. Corporations and billionaires pay dearly for these as they make great perks for their customers and friends. There is one other thing to think about when you realize that stadiums are not just filled with locals. There are out of towners who flock to the stadium for games and concerts. This brings money into the city with purchase of rooms and food. So, tax payers are not totally subsidizing the "sport" but are bringing dollars into their city that wouldn't be there without that stadium.
Unfortunately skybox revenue goes to the team not the taxpayer, plus most leagues exempt skybox revenue from revenue sharing, hence the owners love them.

You aren't wrong about the out-of-town revenue with attendant hotel taxes,etc. The problem several economic studies indicate that the out-of-town revenue doesn't ever really make up for the initial taxpayer cost and on-going costs. We need to go back to the model where the team builds and owns the stadium, like Wrigley and Fenway.
 
Stadium costs are outrageous but a lot of that is made up for by Skyboxes and such. Corporations and billionaires pay dearly for these as they make great perks for their customers and friends. There is one other thing to think about when you realize that stadiums are not just filled with locals. There are out of towners who flock to the stadium for games and concerts. This brings money into the city with purchase of rooms and food. So, tax payers are not totally subsidizing the "sport" but are bringing dollars into their city that wouldn't be there without that stadium.
Exactly, especially with the NFL. Years ago, then Bills owner Ralph Wilson began marketing the team as a regional draw, marketing into Southern Ontario and Central, NY. Any home game, the Bills forums are filled with out of towners looking for info because they're coming to Buffalo for the game
 
Live sports are really the only thing keeping me from dropping my $135/month Dish service. If Dish drops RSN's, I'll probably find the cheapest streaming option that includes my local RSN, supplement that with my antenna and Amazon Prime, and call it a day. I'm willing to ride out expensive Dish programming packages for as long as possible against the alternatives, but not if they no longer provide the channels that I want the most.
 
Exactly, especially with the NFL. Years ago, then Bills owner Ralph Wilson began marketing the team as a regional draw, marketing into Southern Ontario and Central, NY. Any home game, the Bills forums are filled with out of towners looking for info because they're coming to Buffalo for the game

Ralph Wilson was a joke!

I will never understand why people in this area treat him as some type of God. He obviously didn’t care what happened to the Bills. He didn’t spend money of the team in decades, he wanted taxpayers to fund upgrades to the stadium, he had no plan on what to do with the team when he died. He wasn’t from Buffalo, he was born in Ohio. He didn’t live In Buffalo, he lived in the Detroit area hence why even to this day, there is always a Bills/Lions pre-season game every year, Buffalo wasn’t even his first choice for a team, it was Miami. Same thing with Jim Kelly. Sorry, he was not a nice dude and this area should not have this love affair with him. So much stuff was swept under the rug about this guy. I have relatives who were with the Orchard Park PD back in the early-mid 90s who could write a novel on the former Houston Gambler. My aunt, who is a retired 40+ year nurse from South Buffalo Mercy had the displeasure of taking care of another pride of Buffalo, OJ Simpson on more than one occasion. Scumbag exposed himself to her and when she spoke to the head nurse about it, OJ wrote her is couple word apology on a signed photo. She still has in somewhere in her basement.

In my previous job, I would go to St. John Fisher College every week. I dealt with the buildings & grounds crew and maintenance departments mostly. Every employee I would come in contact with hated this time a year. They would all say that the Bills players are a bunch of arrogant prima donnas, and slobs. The players don’t pick up after themselves, they leave their trash all over, they don’t take care of the dorm rooms and they have no appreciation for the situation they find themselves. Also used to work with a guy who worked part time security at Prior Aviation, who never had anything nice to say about Bills players. He told me his personal dealings with Marshawn Lynch and on how the team would let him do and say whatever he wanted was why he stopped watching the Bills for a while.

I was contemplating giving up on the National Felons League for a while. Almost did when I saw how a scumbag like Aaron Hernandez was put on a pedestal, and Tim Tebow was vilified. No desire to support these kneelers and criminals anymore.


NFL Arrest-Database - NFL Football - USA TODAY
 
Stadium costs are outrageous but a lot of that is made up for by Skyboxes and such. Corporations and billionaires pay dearly for these as they make great perks for their customers and friends. There is one other thing to think about when you realize that stadiums are not just filled with locals. There are out of towners who flock to the stadium for games and concerts. This brings money into the city with purchase of rooms and food. So, tax payers are not totally subsidizing the "sport" but are bringing dollars into their city that wouldn't be there without that stadium.

The issue with stadiums is that they DO NOT need to be replaced every 30 or so years.

Tiger Stadium was 88 years old before it was replaced, Fenway park is 107 and Wrigley field is 102.

Why wouldn’t these owners replace their stadium if the tax payers where footing the bill?

It’s got to stop. Unless these teams want to start sharing profits, we need to stop giving money to build new stadiums

If a city wants to pass a bond issue to build a stadium that the team will pay back, fine! But enough with the corporate welfare
 

Dish Wally

Hopper w/Sling & Adding Super Joey