ESPN to launch stand alone streaming service by fall, 2025
More informational. Here's hoping sports don't get isolated off like on Peacock or they don't included it as part of the standard Disney+ Bundle.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:02 PM ^
Here's hoping sports don't get isolated off like on Peacock
That is exactly what will happen.
My Golden Age of College Football, where I can watch parts of every single interesting game, every single week, is over.
I mean, I loved me some Pac 12 After Dark, but was I going to pay $9.95 just to peek in on it from time to time? No.
The College Football Saturday Buffet is closed, and I will miss it greatly.
*sigh*
February 8th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
Eh, 2 hours worth of commercials helped me quit that habit a while ago. Every time I switched over to an "interesting" game, it was on commercial break anyway. This just puts the final nail in the coffin.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
i agree that it is not great news, but there is at least the possibility that the streaming stuff won't work. i don't know the numbers for peacock, but i can't imagine that if it had to start up without contracts already in place by NBC, that it would be a big money loser. ESPN has a better brand, for sure, but they could easily kill the cash cow if they get too cute.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:23 PM ^
The reality is netflix killed their cash cow - the cable bundle - which was getting bloated anyway. So as non-sports fans cut the cord and sports became more valuable, sports distributors are now trying to find a way to return all that revenue. It'll either be re-bundling somehow, or by squeezing us for what non-sports fans used to pay. It will probably be both.
I still think my YTTV+internet bill is less than what I used to pay for cable to get BTN. And as long as you stick to one streamer instead of ALL the streamers, it nets out to less, especially because YTTV doesn't rope you into a contract. But it's not much better. It's also not worse. But it likely will get worse.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:38 PM ^
And as long as you stick to one streamer instead of ALL the streamers, it nets out to less
This x1000!
The days where having access to all "TV" for an "affordable" price are over. The truth is Cable fees have been bloated for quite a while now, causing all the cord cutting. But in this next era of streaming, it will not be possible to have access to everything without paying HUGE monthly bills. For those who pick an choose what to subscribe to, it should come out less than the traditional cable package.
I definitely see a monthly rotation of streaming services in my future...Netflix one month, HBO the next, Hulu for a month, then Disney. Just watch the shows you want to for a month, and then move on to the next. By the time you return, there will be enough new content to fill a month of watching. It will suck not being "current" on all shows, but I don't see the feasibility of sustaining 8 different subscriptions.
February 8th, 2024 at 4:23 PM ^
This is what our family has been doing for years and it's perfect. Maybe it wouldn't work with older kids or heavy users, but we permanently keep Hulu+Disney (elementary age kids) and rotate the rest as needed.
February 8th, 2024 at 7:37 PM ^
There is one caveat to your rotation strategy and it mainly applies to people who have had Netflix all this time. If youve been a Netflix "Basic Plan" subscriber for a while then your monthly charge is only $11. The Basic Plan isnt an option anymore for new subscribers. The new standard plan is $16 or you have the $7 with ads option. The second a Basic Plan member cancels Netflix they will lose their cheap Basic deal and would have to pay for the Standard plan in the future.
I imagine more streaming sites will start using this method of slightly lower pricing for recurring subscribers in order to encourage people to not service hop.
February 8th, 2024 at 8:46 PM ^
But in this next era of streaming, it will not be possible to have access to everything without paying HUGE monthly bills.
For my family to piece back together what we watch now will probably cost $1,000+ a month when this all settles out.
It will be ugly. And it won't happen.
These streaming services that think they are all going to get $10+ per month are delusional.
February 8th, 2024 at 8:51 PM ^
From within Comcast, employees are not happy with the boatload of cash Peacock is bleeding every month. Puts a drain on the stock price.
Along with Euro Soccer (US eyeballs equal to a MAC game) and old NBC shows, the programming is lame.
February 9th, 2024 at 10:18 AM ^
I just signed up for a year of Instacart+ for $19, and it includes the ad-supported tier of Peacock for free for as long as I keep my Instacart+ membership. Also, last November Max had a deal on their ad-supported tier for $2.99 a month for six months, with the B/R Sports package included.
Deals like these are becoming more and more common.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:45 PM ^
Honestly, unless it’s Michigan or a big time national matchup, there’s not too many CFB games I feel it’s a must to watch live.
That said, CFB and the conferences are betting on their specific fan/alumni fanbases shelling out $$ to watch these games. At least the current state allows even the most casual CFB to pop in and watch. Eventually I think these moves to streaming apps will backfire as nobody gives a shit about Miss St. vs Vanderbilt or Arkansas vs Mizzou.
February 8th, 2024 at 4:17 PM ^
sparty v. rutgers comes to mind.
February 8th, 2024 at 5:53 PM ^
Sparty v. ___ (anyone other than us) comes to mind.
February 8th, 2024 at 5:20 PM ^
Thus far I've successfully boycotted Peacock. This is exactly why. Peacock is only the first step.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:58 PM ^
Having to switch streaming services to flip through games is also really annoying.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:07 PM ^
I thought they were opening a collab with Fox and CBS or something.
Glad they don't broadcast the B1G
February 8th, 2024 at 3:24 PM ^
sounds like they're trying a few different directions at once. Disney CEO says it'll be substantially cheaper than the collab.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:31 PM ^
They are collaborating with Fox and Warner. The available sports and networks will include:
NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR, college sports, golf, tennis, and the FIFA World Cup. The networks expected to be included are ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:41 PM ^
Yeah article wasn't very clear on the Fox Sports side of how this will work. Nevertheless, if ESPN was going to make its own network, FOX would too. Have to.
If either option is cheaper than YTTV then I'm in.
February 8th, 2024 at 4:43 PM ^
So this new streamer, which includes ESPN, Fox, BTN and ABC, will cover virtually all M games. The occasional stray CBS/NBC game will be annoying, but there's always a workaround.
At roughly half the price of YTTV or Hulu Live, it will be a net win.
February 8th, 2024 at 9:12 PM ^
EDIT - misread the intent of your comment ---- whether we play much on ESPN the new service would still be cheaper than YTTV etc....
.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you won't have any conference games on ABC or ESPN as of next fall.
Same with any home games OOC. I suppose there will always still be the random road game at Texas or Oklahoma (SEC) or an ACC school but very little.
If ESPN gets booted from its monopoly over the Bowls and CFP you may never have to watch that smoldering wreck of a once great network.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:28 PM ^
SpankyThrowingMoneyOutWindow.gif
February 8th, 2024 at 3:31 PM ^
I have DTV, I like being able to record and FF through commercials, streaming is cumbersome and annoying and forces you to watch commercials, this sucks!
February 8th, 2024 at 3:33 PM ^
Us folks not on the West Coast prefer to watch our sporting events live.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:43 PM ^
Speak for yourself. Outside of Ohio State and the playoffs why give up an hour or two of your life when you can fast forward through those commercials. I can cut myself off social media for 3-4 hours during the game, no problem.
February 8th, 2024 at 4:38 PM ^
Exactly Carpetbagger, I watch Michigan sports and Detroit sports live but try to watch as much recorded stuff as I can.
Watching Michigan games where it feels like I'm watching commercials ad nauseam with a football game sprinkled in is brutal but I do it because I'm a Michigan fan like no other.
February 8th, 2024 at 4:49 PM ^
Right. What I like to do is record the game, and watch it "almost live" on about a 15-30 min delay. That way I can FF thru commercials, do some other stuff or whatever, then go back and watch, maybe at some point I will catch up to being "live"/maybe not. If I do catch up then I will watch some TV ads if necessary, but for the most part I can keep the delay in place so as to avoid watching many commercials.
I can even delay reading the game threads a little as to not spoil the drama, but I'm not a purist such that if I do spoil it I don't feel like I am losing anything. My hatred for commercials outweighs my desire to not spoil the drama.
February 8th, 2024 at 11:25 PM ^
I’ll start 45-60 minutes late so I can also FF thru the halftime blather. I usually catch up by mid-4Q so if it’s a close game I can text with my brother. He knows not to message me until I send him the Brent Musberger inspired text, “I am LOOKING LIVE at Michigan Stadium.”
February 8th, 2024 at 11:09 PM ^
In this order, I've lived in the Eastern, Central, and now Pacific time zone as of two CFB seasons. I could never fathom the appeal of 9 am kickoffs. Now I get it.
February 8th, 2024 at 11:27 PM ^
Sleep in, wake up for an hour of pre-game, eat some cereal and proceed to watch 12 hours of football. What could be better?
February 8th, 2024 at 3:35 PM ^
ESPN burned me something vicious the last 6 months. Screw them.
February 8th, 2024 at 3:40 PM ^
Get off my lawn
February 8th, 2024 at 4:06 PM ^
v2.sportsurge.net
February 8th, 2024 at 4:27 PM ^
espn has had their own streaming service for forever, I was watching Rich Rod and early Beilein games on it...
February 8th, 2024 at 6:08 PM ^
Cable was propped up by sports. ESPN used to get [$7.00] a month where as AMC and FX got [$0.15] a month. People didn’t cut the cord because of sports. The NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, etc keep going through tv networks and sports aggregators like ESPN because the prices were bid up. People will watch Abbott Elementary* if there is an NFL lead in or they see some ads for it during the game, making the NFL a great loss leader.
ESPN is going to have to spend big to be of value. The logical conclusion is all of the leagues going direct. Though I think local games will still be broadcast OTA.
February 8th, 2024 at 6:39 PM ^
This has zero impact on us illegal streamers.
February 9th, 2024 at 8:46 AM ^
*high five*
February 8th, 2024 at 9:00 PM ^
They will probably charge extra if you want the service with all the insufferable, loudmouth, talking heads scrubbed from the broadcasts.