WSJ Article: Pay-TV Providers Bid to End Sports Networks' Win Streak

From what I hear its only 120-180$ for the full season depending on your provider and you can select like 5 teams

 

If Comcast is really "in charge" of this, it seems that they have a conflict of interest in favor of playing hardball that wouldn't be shared by the Rockets and Astros.

If the providers cave, both Comcast and the teams get paid. But if the providers don't cave, Comcast is sitting pretty, increasing their market share as fans switch over, while the teams loose viewers, money, and long term market interest in their product. Not a bad consolation prize for Comcast, and a pretty ****ty outcome for the teams.

 

i'll continue to watch online...

 

all we need is one to cave in. Once one provider caves the rest will. But unfortunately the ball is in CSNH hands right now. they have all the leverage and they know it. Someone will eventually cave and once one caves they all will.

 

I know how it can work out: change Bullard with Calvin and have Drexler take care of the drinks.

 

Is Austin a rockets/mavs/or spurs city? The spurs minor league team is here.. but the dallas stars minor league team is here too lol

 

buy a vpn softwre.. it costs 29 dollar a year. i use homeshield. it allows u to select an ip location to use.

 

Would this work on something like an Apple TV that I could leave connected to my TV, or is it only for the machine that the software is installed on (i.e. laptop)?

 

It's a Spurs market (FS Southwest broadcasts Spurs games in that area).

 

Check the terms of service before you buy. video streaming is a bandwidth hog. Some providers don't allow video streaming for that.

 

not sure about apple tv cuz the only apple device i got is an ipad and it works on my ipad since one vpn account can be activated or used in 6 different devices.

 

29 is unlimited for a year. i used to buy 2gb at a time that is good for 2 games until i learned about the unlimited offer.

 

How will the VPN trick work for DirecTV? Are you saying it only works if you are using NBA league pass on a computer, and then use the VPN on your computer or is there a way to make this work through the main TV through DirecTV?:grin:

 

$3.4/subscriber is ridiculous for a regional channel. ESPN charges almost $5 dollars but most channels are less than that.

More watched channels cost less than a $1 per subscriber. What CSN Houston is asking for is laughable.

 

Plus games are blacked out for everyone when they are on ESPN or NBATV, etc. Glad we signed Howard but that probably means fewer games on League Pass.

I would gladly pay for League Pass but last year their blackouts forced me to learn how to get the streaming video feeds, so I won't return as a subscriber next year.

 

And the Astros are blacked out on MLB.TV for the whole 5 state area including all of Texas.

 

http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/would-you-pay-30-per-month-for-espn-1200563396/

Would You Pay $30 Per Month for ESPN?

A la carte would decimate the pay TV industry, resulting in loss of $70 billion in revenue, Wall Street analyst warns again

Todd Spangler
Digital Editor, New York


If pay TV providers were forced to sell channels a la carte, retail prices would skyrocket — with ESPN costing in the ballpark of $30 monthly — and the industry overall would lose half its revenue, or $70 billion, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Cable and satellite companies and their programming suppliers have for years fought a la carte, warning that it would only result in higher prices and fewer choices. Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin, who subscribes to the same school of thought, weighed in on the topic again in a research note Monday.

“We can find no math where unbundling is the best economic answer,” she wrote. Martin cited declines in the value of newspaper and music industries, which have been disrupted by Internet distribution models, for her analysis.

According to Martin, only about 20 cable channels would survive in an a la carte world. Industry execs have repeatedly raised the specter of niche-oriented and minority-targeted channels becoming unsustainable in such a marketplace.

SEE ALSO: McCain: Pay TV Business Is Rigged Against Consumers

With a la carte, ESPN’s audience would shrink by about one-fifth, to 20 million “super fan” homes, and the cost of the network would rise to $30 monthly because ESPN would need to recoup lost subscriber fees and ad revenue, according to Martin.

In a statement ESPN said, “The report underscores what economic studies have said time and time again — that the cable package presents an undeniable value and the consumer would pay more and get less with a la carte.”

As a political issue, a la carte TV plays to a populist base — appealing to consumers’ feeling that they should pay for only what they want, and nothing more. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in May introduced a bill that would require cable and satellite TV to offer channels on an a la carte basis; however, the legislation has no cosponsors and is not expected to make headway.

McCain and other advocates of a la carte say bundled channel pricing forces people who aren’t interested in certain kinds of programming to subsidize it — as in the case of relatively expensive channels like ESPN and regional sports networks.

At a Senate subcommittee hearing in May, National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. chief Michael Powell argued that government-mandated a la carte would be highly disruptive to the industry and would be unlikely to benefit consumers.

“It’s a very serious question mark whether consumers would have lower bills or cheaper service as a result of a la carte,” he said, citing past studies including one by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004.

 

Clearly the dude has never been to Toyota Center

 

I think it's ridiculous to not offer it as a la carte, as the channel isn't even available on CSN's own basic "Digital Economy" package.