Cord-Cutters are Winning? ESPN is losing?!

[Mike Sixel]

 

Well, that's really Disney's goal with the MLBAM purchase. Ultimately, we'll see ESPN streaming to devices.

 

D'oh. I had forgotten that. Good point.

 

Again, look at the revenue per subscriber vs subscriber prices.....unless I'm reading the data wrong, it's all about advertising.....not sure why we haven't moved on to almost free streaming with ads, or even "free" cable that isn't really "cable".

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I always thought that the regional sports stations paying these ridiculous prices for the local sports team broadcast rights would have been the first to collapse.

They'll collapse at some point but they won't be the first to collapse. They're specialized television, which is what people want now.

 

And cable companies have to pay their asking price, as live sports are one of the last bastions of cable-only content.

 

Ultimately, it will all collapse at some level. But the wagons have circled around sports, as it's the hardest to move to digital platforms.

[biggentleben]

If ESPN didn't have 30 for 30, I'd be off them completely...

[Pardon My Dinger]

30 for 30 is pretty sweet. They can always keep developing that sort of content. Maybe they don't have a vital network or a valuable website, but they have some crazy resources.

[#1ShaneMackFan]

Any advice?

 

I currently have DirecTV. I am looking to quit. The thing that will be the hardest to give up is the DVR. I know Playstation VUE is supposed to have DVR, but I did the free trial and it didn't seem to work very well.  Is there currently a streaming service where you can record live sports?

 

Also, my biggest thing is I start a lot of events late or especially pause events in the middle. Can you do that on any of the streaming services? 

 

If I go that direction, which is the best device to use? Roku? Amazon Fire?

 

Anyone with any experience, please let me know what you've found or would suggest.

[Vanimal46]

 

Any advice?

 

I currently have DirecTV. I am looking to quit. The thing that will be the hardest to give up is the DVR. I know Playstation VUE is supposed to have DVR, but I did the free trial and it didn't seem to work very well.  Is there currently a streaming service where you can record live sports?

 

Also, my biggest thing is I start a lot of events late or especially pause events in the middle. Can you do that on any of the streaming services? 

 

If I go that direction, which is the best device to use? Roku? Amazon Fire?

 

Anyone with any experience, please let me know what you've found or would suggest.

 

I use Playstation Vue and have nothing but good things to say about it. I'm surprised you were having difficulties with the DVR. Maybe it was just because it's a trial version? 

Anyway, with Playstation Vue you can record any and all sports events you want. Even as general as recording anything with the title "MLB Baseball" , "NFL Football" , etc. I've also had no issues with pausing things while you're recording. 

From my experience, the service works the best on a Playstation, but I've also tried it on Roku. I will say the look and user experience is the worst on Roku. My devices Apple TV and Roku are several years old, and that may play a factor in how well Vue works on it. But, I'm cheap and refuse to upgrade to the newer versions until the old versions break down. 

[nicksaviking]

We decided to give Vue a shot along with a Roku. Vue was nice but we couldn't pause live shows and you couldn't pick up and start a live show ten minutes in, you either had to miss the first ten minutes or wait until the next day to watch it.

 

If there is a work around for that, let me know.

 

Anyway we said we'd do it anyway and called to cancel DirectTV but they offered to lower their price to match VUE so we stayed.

[Vanimal46]

 

We decided to give Vue a shot along with a Roku. Vue was nice but we couldn't pause live shows and you couldn't pick up and start a live show ten minutes in, you either had to miss the first ten minutes or wait until the next day to watch it.

 

If there is a work around for that, let me know.

 

Anyway we said we'd do it anyway and called to cancel DirectTV but they offered to lower their price to match VUE so we stayed.

 

I'm surprised you and #1ShaneMackFan had issues pausing and resuming live TV shows... Were you using Vue on your Roku? 

When I watch Vue on a Playstation I have no issue doing that. 

[biggentleben]

I have no issues with pausing live TV on my Vue on my Roku TV.

[#1ShaneMackFan]

Does anyone use Amazon Fire TV with it? How does that compare to Roku?

[nicksaviking]

 

I'm surprised you and #1ShaneMackFan had issues pausing and resuming live TV shows... Were you using Vue on your Roku? 

When I watch Vue on a Playstation I have no issue doing that. 

 

I can try hooking it up the Playstation but it's about 20 years old. Are there newer models?

[nicksaviking]

 

I have no issues with pausing live TV on my Vue on my Roku TV.

 

I would pause it but then after about 30 seconds it would un-pause. After that it wouldn't stay paused for any length of time. And I couldn't rewind it, it would start to go through the motions but then quickly return to what was playing live.

 

Maybe it does have something to do with the trial version.

[Vanimal46]

ESPN has announced a bunch of layoffs today... Article here. 

 

Surprised to read Ed Werder got cut. He's been a key cog for their NFL coverage forever. They also finally gave up all NHL coverage, but let's be honest, they haven't cared about the NHL for a long time. 

[Mike Sixel]

Jim Bowden? wow.

 

I hardly go to espn.com anymore, and I know A LOT of these names.

[Vanimal46]

I'm also disappointed to read that Karl Ravech's role will be significantly reduced going forward. Don't watch Baseball Tonight as much as I used to, but he is very good hosting that show. He's also just one of those jack of all trades kind of people where they could have him cover most anything and he did great. 

[Mike Sixel]

Jason Stark, Trent Dilfer.....the big names are dropping also....

[TheLeviathan]

Wow, I heard big names would drop, not sure I really believed it until now.

 

A real changing of the guard.

[Vanimal46]

This is going to be chaotic. Lots of sports media people entering the job market at the same time, and very few spots to go. 

 

Jayson Stark I hope lands at MLB Network. 

[TheLeviathan]

 

This is going to be chaotic. Lots of sports media people entering the job market at the same time, and very few spots to go. 

 

Jayson Stark I hope lands at MLB Network. 

 

Guess they'll know what FA feels like for athletes!

[Vanimal46]

 

Guess they'll know what FA feels like for athletes!

 

They could go to Fox Sports 1 and seize to exist because no one knows what channel that is.... NBC Sports if they want to talk soccer and hockey all day... Other than that? Not much out there. 

[Mike Sixel]

This is a real opportunity to create a 538 or MMQB or even Bill Simmons' site again.....if any of them are really good writers, that part is missing as a niche.

[nicksaviking]

 

This is a real opportunity to create a 538 or MMQB or even Bill Simmons' site again.....if any of them are really good writers, that part is missing as a niche.

 

Looks like they cut a bunch of writers.

 

I know I'm pretty naïve about all this stuff, but couldn't Netflix or some other cord-cutting outlet snag up Stark, Werder and/or some of the other bigger named free agent sports personalities to start the streaming sports revolution that many of you have been suggesting needs to happen?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Looks like they cut a bunch of writers.

 

I know I'm pretty naïve about all this stuff, but couldn't Netflix or some other cord-cutting outlet snag up Stark, Werder and/or some of the other bigger named free agent sports personalities to start the streaming sports revolution that many of you have been suggesting needs to happen?

 

interesting idea, but I know I want actual sports games, not talking heads. I might be tempted to watch a short recap of the day in MLB and highlights, but I can't see MLB letting them stream that....

[drjim]

 

interesting idea, but I know I want actual sports games, not talking heads. I might be tempted to watch a short recap of the day in MLB and highlights, but I can't see MLB letting them stream that....

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Mike Sixel]

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Sure, if Netflix pays enough MLB will do anything. 

 

It sure would be an interesting experiment. I don't think Netflix does any "live" streaming right now at all. 

[Vanimal46]

 

Sure, if Netflix pays enough MLB will do anything. 

 

It sure would be an interesting experiment. I don't think Netflix does any "live" streaming right now at all. 

 

Yep, and that is the problem. Chelsea Handler is the only one I know that did a weekly program on Netflix. 

 

I think a weekly baseball show would work... Maybe Stark hosts the show and has weekly guests talking about the cool things that happened during a particular week during the season. 
 

[biggentleben]

This would just be rich if one or two of Stark, Stein, Werner, etc. end up as part of HBO Real Sports, one of the organizations that's truly done well with the streaming end of things.

[TheGiantTeapot]

Short piece about the four letter network's attempts to attract advertisers:

 

https://www.marketplace.org/2017/05/16/business/counting-television-viewers-outside-their-homes

[Mike Sixel]

 

Short piece about the four letter network's attempts to attract advertisers:

 

https://www.marketplace.org/2017/05/16/business/counting-television-viewers-outside-their-homes

 

Makes sense, actually.

[TheGiantTeapot]

I agree. What I find interesting is their reliance on a 50 year old model. One of the conundrums of selling broadcast entertainment to advertisers is proving how many listeners or viewers their ads will reach. There's never been a reliable method to measure the audience.

 

The new portable people meters are a great step forward, but they aren't carried by every person on the planet. (I just had a great idea for a very Orwellian science fiction script...) So, the numbers that networks try to sell to advertisers are still estimates.

 

But, you can precisely count mouse clicks and downloads and views and streams. Networks live and die by advertising dollars (which is why boycotts by "offended" groups work so well). The only conclusion I can come to is that the number of people consuming sports entertainment via "new" technology isn't significant enough to measure and sell compared to the old model of estimating viewers watching Sunday Night Baseball down at Bobby's Sports Hut. It just strikes me as weird, and perhaps a missed opportunity.