Bummer...is every Fox Sports regional channel owned by Sinclair?? Eastern Iowa YTTV fans will feel the impact here...I currently get FS-North and FS-Midwest...lots of MLB and NBA on it...tons of college football...damn!
YTTV Dropping Sinclair Owned Regional Sports Channels
- Thread starter cyfanatic
- Start date
I think sports fans are gonna be in for a rude surprise as streaming service balk at the cost charged by the sports networks.
The fact is that a lot of people don't watch sports and don't want to pay the premium for it. Under the traditional cable TV model, all of those non-sports watchers subsidized the cost of the sports fans.
I think these streaming companies are realizing that they can save on cost and not lose a substantial subscriber base. Meanwhile, sports networks will probably start offering their own subscription services, but since its not subsidized like under the old model, it'll have a significant cost.
I recall reading an article several years back that said something like ESPN changing $5 per subscriber for cable service, but most people didn't watch it. If only sports watchers paid, it'd be something like $25 per subscriber.
As we go into the next round of contracts for the various conferences, I wonder how this will impact the sports landscape, I don't think many people would want to pay $25 a month for just ESPN, so they can't charge that amount, and if they can't charge it, then they can't afford to pay the premiums the different conferences will want during the next round of negotiations.
The fact is that a lot of people don't watch sports and don't want to pay the premium for it. Under the traditional cable TV model, all of those non-sports watchers subsidized the cost of the sports fans.
I think these streaming companies are realizing that they can save on cost and not lose a substantial subscriber base. Meanwhile, sports networks will probably start offering their own subscription services, but since its not subsidized like under the old model, it'll have a significant cost.
I recall reading an article several years back that said something like ESPN changing $5 per subscriber for cable service, but most people didn't watch it. If only sports watchers paid, it'd be something like $25 per subscriber.
As we go into the next round of contracts for the various conferences, I wonder how this will impact the sports landscape, I don't think many people would want to pay $25 a month for just ESPN, so they can't charge that amount, and if they can't charge it, then they can't afford to pay the premiums the different conferences will want during the next round of negotiations.
Any network that is titled as "Fox Sports {Location}" North/Midwest/Atlantic/South will be removed. I think NESN (New England) is the same deal. I can now join the dozens of people mad about MLB.tv only showing out of network games
It doesn't seem like we have nearly as many games on those channels as we used to (have we had any recently? I seem to remember maybe one?), but that still sucks.
F*** Sinclair, regardless of this.
You can't even trust local news to be independent anymore.
You can't even trust local news to be independent anymore.
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Only football. Last year the game vs KU was on regional FS. The year before vs Akron and at KU were on regional FS. Going forward I'd expect those to wind up on ESPN+ (cue the rabble)
I got YTTV's email as well. My first thought was whether this is just a threat, like all of the annoying TV ads they air every time contracts are negotiated between content providers and carriers.
My second thought was, will they be lowering prices to compensate customers for this loss? (lol...I think we know that answer)
Regardless, I wonder if the future is carriers like YTTV siphoning off sports networks entirely as an add-on. That makes their regular pricing more attractive for non-sports fans and gives the rest of us the chance to turn it on and off as we please.
Then again maybe ESPN would never allow that to happen.
My second thought was, will they be lowering prices to compensate customers for this loss? (lol...I think we know that answer)
Regardless, I wonder if the future is carriers like YTTV siphoning off sports networks entirely as an add-on. That makes their regular pricing more attractive for non-sports fans and gives the rest of us the chance to turn it on and off as we please.
Then again maybe ESPN would never allow that to happen.
The interesting thing is that in the past, ESPN being part of Disney/ABC, they could say that ESPN had to be provided to get the other channels. Now with streaming though, every company wants their own premium subscription app. So ESPN loses a little leverage if Disney/ABC can't hang that carrot out for them.
I really think we're gonna end up with each network having their own subscription service soon. It'll be good in one respect because it allows a wider choice, but that'll drive up the cost of the individual services to the point where I'm not sure we end up better than the old cable model. The real winners were the folks who cut the cord early on.
I can't imagine there won't be bundling of some kind in the future though. People aren't going to want to be nickel and dimed and have to manage five or six or ten different streaming services just to get their shows. Maybe that takes the form of Disney pulling all of its networks (ESPN/ABC) under Disney+ or something.
But I think there will be a lot of networks that just dry up. Once you start paying for things piecemeal, people are going to realize pretty quickly there's a lot they can live without.
I'm also pretty curious to see if more cable/internet companies just decide to give up offering cable TV altogether. Some smaller ones have already done so, others have struck up deals with providers like YTTV.
I saw this coming years ago. Cable/Internet/Telephone monopolies started buying content, so they can continue to control what consumers receive. On the up side, by only subscribing to 1 or 2 services, I'll spend less time flipping through 70+ stations with nothing I want to watch and likely save money. Those that need a lot of options are going to get gouged just like cable companies now.
Seriously ESPN+ is the **** for $5 a month if you like sports.
Here pretty soon, all of us cord cutters are going to end up back on the cable/satellite tit due to skyrocketing pricing. It's obnoxious.
This Cubs fan did enjoy watching Cubs vs Cards on FSM when the Cubs were crushing the Cards over the recent years. But we suck now, so I'm good with this.
I'll cancel YTTV after March madness anyway. Pick it back up when football starts this fall
I'll cancel YTTV after March madness anyway. Pick it back up when football starts this fall
You know what is cool about streaming though. It would cost $0 in fees and take about 3 minutes on my Roku Ultra to drop YTTV and add Hulu Live if you wanted to get this content.
The other good thing is that companies like Google owns YTTV and Disney owns Hulu and there’s not a much stronger position to be in when it comes to leveraging the crap out of smaller companies.
Enjoy your $9 a month regional sports fee, $10 broadcast networks fee, $10 per tv equipment rental fee, $15 sports pack add on. Oh and enjoy that ETF when you decide you’re done with it
It takes a couple of clicks to switch from YTTV to Hulu Live
