Sinclair CEO warns Dish: Agree to deal or risk becoming irrelevant

[rvvaquero]

I’d like to see something supporting this idea. I don’t think the “vast majority” like to watch sports. Not even close.

Last I read, something like a third follow football regularly. Another third off and on. The remaining third, not at all.

Think about how few women follow sports. That alone cuts out “vast.”

This chart is the latest thing I could find. It's a Gallup poll from 2017, I doubt it's changed much since. It says 57% watch Pro Football and 51% Pro Baseball and so forth. I'm not saying that the vast majority like any particular sport, but that most are sports fans of some type. Even those who don't watch a sport during the season want to see the Super Bowl, World Series, The Masters, The World Cup in Soccer, The Olympics, etc. I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of Americans like to watch sports. Gallup-Sports-Fan-Bases-in-US-Oct2017 - Marketing Charts

Here's another article based on a Gallup Poll. It states that 60% of Americans identify themselves as sports fans. As Industry Grows, Percentage of U.S. Sports Fans Steady

Aren't the most watched programs usually sports programs? I don't know, you could be right.

 

[navychop]

And how many are willing to pay, or pay more, for their sports of interest?


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[GPM]

I for one am willing to pay, or pay more for sports. I signed up for YouTubeTV and dropped it after the free week. Confusing policy about on demand vs recordings and the forced showing of commercials in one or the other was annoying, the lack of 5.1 audio was a problem, but repeated buffering of live sports was the deal breaker. My internet connection was fine, it was their problem.

I hate to say it but if the RSNs aren't back by baseball season I'll likely have to fork over the $50/mo just for that. It would be nice if there were a source for sports only as I could then lower my Dish package and pick up all the sports separately. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[jerryez]

I notice that more and more sports are going to Sports channels, whereas they used to be on OTA networks. Even most of the bowl games are on sports channels now.

 

[Bobby]

I notice that more and more sports are going to Sports channels, whereas they used to be on OTA networks. Even most of the bowl games are on sports channels now.

Most of the bowl games have been on ESPN for many years....

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Most of the bowl games have been on ESPN for many years....

ESPN has to try and maintain their relevance and importance to sports fans somehow....SportsCenter and WSOP just won't cut it.....

 

[eddie willers]

I notice that more and more sports are going to Sports channels, whereas they used to be on OTA networks. Even most of the bowl games are on sports channels now.

We gave the networks free spectrum as they were suppose to serve the public. Major sporting events free to the public would seem to qualify.

We should sell that spectrum to the highest bidder.

 

[mwdxer1]

What Channels are exclusive to dish?

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For one, I am grandfathered into the Super Stations, so if I was to drop Dish, I could never get those back. The Movie pack has a lot of material in there and available free On Demand on Dish Anywhere that Spectrum or Direct do not offer. Add to that, the movie pack gives me one Starz channel (Starz kids) that gives me the Starz On Demand also on Dish anywhere, by having just one Starz Channel. There are other reasons too. So I am stuck to buy AT250+Movies+Supers to get everything I want which does include dozens of Sports channels I could care less about.

 

[rvvaquero]

And how many are willing to pay, or pay more, for their sports of interest?

I don't know. Millions have been paying for many years to watch sports. Quite a few, I would guess. Even cord cutters are watching sports.

You commented about women watching sports. Maybe it's geographic dependent. Any place I've ever lived, women watched sports. I've only known two women in my 70 years who didn't watch some kind of sports on TV. They were both hippie types. All they wanted to do was smoke dope and procreate.

Time will tell.

 

[mwdxer1]

In order to get the channels you want, you feel it's worth it to subsidize the sports channels. I'm sure there are people who just want the sports channels and don't care about Lifetime, History, Discovery, DIY, etc. Would I like to reduce my bill and ONLY get the channels I want? Sure. What if they go to an a la carte model, so you only get the channels you want to watch, BUT it costs you the same or more per month? Is that better? You're not subsidizing any else's viewing, but they're also not subsidizing yours.

Charlie used to talk about that on Charlie Chat years ago, if you could pick the channels you want, the cost per channel would be a lot higher as you would no longer be buying them in bulk. I don't know if the bill would be as high, because the sports channels would be out of the picture, but probably more money per channel. The only thing I asked for not ale carte, but just like the premium movie channels that are generally sold separating, putting the sports channels in a different package. Generally either a person like sports or they do not.

 

[GPM]

I don't know. Millions have been paying for many years to watch sports. Quite a few, I would guess. Even cord cutters are watching sports.

You commented about women watching sports. Maybe it's geographic dependent. Any place I've ever lived, women watched sports. I've only known two women in my 70 years who didn't watch some kind of sports on TV. They were both hippie types. All they wanted to do was smoke dope and procreate.

Time will tell.

You may be right. My wife is from Nebraska and is a serious sports fan. Nebraska football of course (she's not been in a good mood in years) but virtually all major team sports as well as golf. She is the main reason we have two H3s. She's very particular about her sports watching habits, records a lot and expects them to resume where she left off. Were we to share a DVR and I watched one of her recordings thus advancing from where she left off it wouldn't be pretty.

 

[navychop]

I’ve only known one woman interested in sports, other than my oldest sister.

We got divorced.


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[sam_gordon]

We gave the networks free spectrum as they were suppose to serve the public. Major sporting events free to the public would seem to qualify.

We should sell that spectrum to the highest bidder.

Where to start...
1) The land your house sits on was once given away also. Does that mean it was free to you?
2) "Serving the public" has absolutely NOTHING to do with providing sports (at least when it was first created). It was to inform the public, especially in times of emergency.
3) Spectrum keeps getting taken away and sold to the highest bidder. Do some research on the television broadcast repack that we're on phase 7 of 10.
4) The networks don't have spectrum (with the exception of the O&O stations).

 

[GPM]

I’ve only known one woman interested in sports, other than my oldest sister.

We got divorced.


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Guess you've never been to Nebraska. Or if so, you avoided the women.

I've had this wife for 34 years so I'll likely keep her around. Her love of sports is only one of her enduring qualities.

 

[jaredbo]

Anyone heard any rumblings or rumors about the RSN channels coming back to Dish? Seems like things have essentially died off.

Was hoping there would be some movement before MLB Opening Day.

 

[osu1991]

I doubt they come back until Sinclair takes a price reduction and/or allows the RSN’s to be a removable ala-carte option like locals.

 

[zippyfrog]

There is an interesting article on SI about Diamond Sports and facing bankruptcy. The interesting part is the 4th paragraph where it talks about Comcast and the FOX RSN's. The agreement between the RSN's/Comcast expires in June, and there is a sense Comcast is going to drop them due to cost. But then the argument could be made that if Comcast drops them but keeps their own RSN's there could be some anti-trust litigation. To avoid that litigation, Comcast could put their RSN's in a higher tier, which would be to their advantage financially because it would limit how much they pay out to the teams that they cover.

Lack of Rebrand Indication that Diamond Sports’ RSNs are in Trouble?

Industry observer Ben Miller reasoned, “if Diamond Sports was still going through the carriage disputes, but had rebranded the properties and was expanding their content offerings one would assume the company had a plan and was going to weather the storm. It begs to wonder why Sinclair has been...

www.si.com

It makes me wonder if Dish is just sitting back to see what transpires. If Comcast can force Sinclair/Diamond Sports hand with the higher tier and also raise their own RSN's to a higher tier, I think Dish would be much more willing to bring them back. If Comcast comes to a deal where they are on the same tiers they are now, I don't see Dish getting them back for 2020.

 

[Bogy]

I moved last year. I did the Dish Mover thing, primarily because I wanted the RSNs for MLB. Partly to make it easier for the installer, I switched out my cabled Joeys for wireless. And got stuck with a new 2 year commitment. Then, icing on the cake, the RSNs went away. I have been willing to pay for MLB for years, through the Sports Packages, and I'd still be wiling to do so, but of course it's no longer an option, apparently. A few months ago I switched from the 200 package to Flex, but of course after a nice drop in price, it went up again this month. If baseball is not an option this summer, I figure in June when I have one of the two years completed, I'll be at the break even point where it will make sense to drop dish. I'm already streaming Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN, Netflix and Amazon Prime with CBS All Access. I have two homes, and the Dish Anywhere has worked at the second home, except its a hassle everytime I turn on a different TV I have to reactivate that receiver again. Thanks Dish, your making it easy to say goodbye.

 

[Howard Simmons]

I moved last year. I did the Dish Mover thing, primarily because I wanted the RSNs for MLB. Partly to make it easier for the installer, I switched out my cabled Joeys for wireless. And got stuck with a new 2 year commitment. Then, icing on the cake, the RSNs went away. I have been willing to pay for MLB for years, through the Sports Packages, and I'd still be wiling to do so, but of course it's no longer an option, apparently. A few months ago I switched from the 200 package to Flex, but of course after a nice drop in price, it went up again this month. If baseball is not an option this summer, I figure in June when I have one of the two years completed, I'll be at the break even point where it will make sense to drop dish. I'm already streaming Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN, Netflix and Amazon Prime with CBS All Access. I have two homes, and the Dish Anywhere has worked at the second home, except its a hassle everytime I turn on a different TV I have to reactivate that receiver again. Thanks Dish, your making it easy to say goodbye.

Well I'd add MLB TV or ESPN + to that if you drop Dish.

 

[Bogy]

Well I'd add MLB TV or ESPN + to that if you drop Dish.

Yep, there are a couple of options. I'm in Iowa, which is one of the most blacked out states you can find. But with my schedule, I seldom get to watch a game in real time anyway.