Comcast Dropping B1G Network in the Footprint?

Submitted by Kwitch22 on

So before Urbz spoke today the Fox Sports BTN president spoke and said Comcast was close to not renewing their contract with BTN & Fox Sports 1. Obviously this would lead to a lot more of the cord cutting threads that make people super excited. I have already contacted Comcast/Xfinity whatever they like to be called today. They have a website set up that will help you contact the provider or you can tweet at them. 

www.keepbigten.com

This is probably just a negotiating ploy, but it might be worth a few minutes to let them know what you think.

 

 

InterlopingYooper

July 24th, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^

They have no leverage here. You can get the B1G Network on FS1 as part of a robust streaming package through Hulu for a fraction of the cost. Comcast holds no cards. Welcome to the future, a glorious place where your cable company can no longer hold you hostage.

1VaBlue1

July 24th, 2018 at 2:43 PM ^

Who is providing your internet service that lets you stream Hulu (or whatever), to avoid paying for Comcast cable?

If you're like most households, you get an option of one land-based internet purveyor, or satellite.  If you're lucky, you have access to two land-based purveyor's and/or satellite.  Personally, after having Hughesnet satellite internet for 11 years, I don't ever want it again.  So Comcast it is...  That single option gives Comcast all the leverage to get a better deal out of BTN/FS1.  They (your lone internet provider) can restrict data rate to the point where Hulu won't be viable unless it raises prices enough to make Xfinity competitive.

You can thank the new Net Neutrality for that...

InterlopingYooper

July 24th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^

That is an excellent point. For most people, the cable company is also their high-speed Internet provider, so in many cases, you have no other choice. That's one major area where Net Neutrality will hit home, I'm afraid. 

I'm fortunate to live in a place where our power company has installed fiber and offers Internet, phone and cable service. Competition is a wonderful thing. If the cable companies do start throttling back their Internet in an effort to thwart cord-cutting, they do so at the risk losing Internet customers if a utility or phone company is prepared to step in and fill the void.

CD420

July 25th, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^

If we all don't think the undoing of Net neutrality was so that companies ( Comcast) can start charging or making it hard to stream through HULU, Directv , etc.. we are all stupid. THey are going to make sure that if they don't own it they will make it cost or flat out just not work well

J_Dub

July 24th, 2018 at 3:51 PM ^

This is the future.  Net neutrality regulated cable providers into "dumb pipe" status.  Without it, they are the "critical backbone" to anything you want to do with media.

5G residential wireless broadband will be a competitive possibility for some markets but not for years (Verizon starting rollout in Sacramento, LA, Houston but I wouldn't hold my breath even if I lived in one of those cities).

If broadband providers increased prices 3x, you would still pay it.

MGoGrendel

July 24th, 2018 at 4:49 PM ^

I'm in an area that has both AT&T and Comcast into the homes.  As Comcast's speeds got faster, AT&T started building out their fiber to offer faster speeds than their 3x1 DSL.

I think this would be a good thing if more households had two carriers actually competing to deliver services.  From this post and past posts, most of the comments tell me that a single provider is more common.

BlueWon

July 24th, 2018 at 4:52 PM ^

We need a round of deregulation that unbundles the last mile of cable and allows different contect providers to ride it. The cable monopolies must be broken up.

Tell your congressperson to support the Sprint-TMobile merger as they have the spectrum to deliver HD video wirelessly and allow for a true over the top offering. They just can't afford to do it now -- 5G solves the problem.

Jack Be Nimble

July 24th, 2018 at 10:47 PM ^

Your antitrust suggestions are wrong, and in fact, precisely backwards. The Sprint-TMobile merger would be terrible for the industry, which is why they want to merge. It would likely result in a dramatic increase in prices in cell phone service which already has too little competition.

But the cable companies are what economists refer to as a "natural monopoly." Breaking them up won't solve the problem because the very high fixed costs and very low variable costs that characterize the industry make it nearly impossible for small companies to compete against large ones. The cable companies should not be allowed to expand into other industries, such as the recent unfortunate purchase of NBC by Comcast, but breaking up the cable providers won't do much good.

bluebyyou

July 24th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^

Can't you use Comcast for your internet and go with someone like DirecTV for TV?

Cord cutting sounds great but every time I've tried alternate services, the quality of the image on a large TV just plain sucks. Bad compression or lack of bandwidth I would think.

1VaBlue1

July 24th, 2018 at 10:38 PM ^

That's currently what I have - Comcast internet and DirecTV.  They work well, but its costs ~$300-350/month for the two of them.  And that's crazy!  I've looked into the streaming services, but only two of my four TV's have the right apps, and (so far as I can tell) they're only good for one TV.  Also, I need Nickelodeon for the kid and it's not available on most of the streaming services.

I've built my own hell!!!

Kwitch22

July 24th, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^

In my townhouse complex, we get standard comcast with our dues, I would still be paying for comcast while paying for something else, so I hope they solve this. 

Hugh

July 24th, 2018 at 2:21 PM ^

In Oregon, I switched from Comcast to Direct TV because they dropped the BTN in the Spring. It has saved me some serious money.

1VaBlue1

July 24th, 2018 at 2:47 PM ^

Going from Comcast to DirecTV has saved you money?  I'm looking at dropping DirecTV for Comcast to save serious money.  DirecTV is costing me ~$220/month, on top of $100/month for Xfinity internet.  I'm looking at getting a Comcast TV/internet bundle to pay just $150/month total.  I'm not sure how going the other way is helping you!

mtzlblk

July 24th, 2018 at 2:22 PM ^

I dumped Comcast/Xfinity TV the moment they dropped BTN in San Francisco market.....I doubt they cared, but man what an epiphany for me to go to YouTube TV and get a MUCH better service.

1. BTN Now in HD not SD

2. A guide that has just channels i want that doesn't take 45 minutes to scroll through, configurable to omit channels i don't care about

3. Better quality video across the board

4. Can likely split the cost with someone else in my area code by sharing to their google account

That said, I'm almost completely used to watching ad-free television now via Netflix, Prime, HBO and Showtime. the only thing i watch on YTTV is live sports, I just cannot tolerate TV with ads in it anymore. I am not a huge sports fan outside M athletics and major events like NBA playoffs, Superbowl, etc., so I'm not even sure I'll keep YTTV year-round. TBD.

Goggles Paisano

July 24th, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^

I went from 20+ years of Directv to Youtube Tv.  While I have saved $90/mo, it sucks compared to Directv.  Navigation and flipping between games is non-existent and the "playback errors" occur constantly.  My internet speed is 50 mbp, which is much more than Youtube Tv recommends.  My experience for a few months of Youtube Tv blows.    

Quail2theVict0r

July 24th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^

If Comcast ever drops any of the channels I keep them for, mostly sports related, I will instantly switch to a streaming service. That's only barely keeping me on now as most streaming services have all the sports channels now days. If Direct TV Now ever gets a DVR service, I'm gone anyway. 

Michigan4Harbaugh

July 24th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^

Verizon used to have the Big Ten Network a few years ago, as I had it at that time. Since we moved into the new house, Comcast was the only game in town in this area. Verizon is now about to be available in our area. Does anyone who has Verizon currently know anything about their contract situation with BTN? 

Engin77

July 24th, 2018 at 3:51 PM ^

Comcast dropped BTN on the West Coast about 3 mos ago.

I haven't really missed BTN, but with August rolling around, it's time to cut the cord.

Bye, bye Comcast.

wildbackdunesman

July 24th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^

Comcast is my only high speed internet provider.   I hate them for many reasons including them telling me that I didn't return equipment that I did return after 2 freaking years after the fact and then saying I was in the wrong for not keeping a receipt that I don't think they gave me...2 years after the fact...

Comcast just told me that I was going over my data limit from YouTube TV streaming and needed to pay them 50 bucks more a month.

Not one more penny to Comcast...I will get Dish to cut back on my data usage. 

bluesalt

July 25th, 2018 at 8:34 AM ^

Yeah, Comcast is my only high-speed data option.  On top of that, their service in my area is not reliable enough for streaming (my neighborhood complains all the time but we can’t get any competitors to move in, which is sad since most of us would switch).

I’m very jealous of all you cord-cutters.

DTOW

July 24th, 2018 at 4:49 PM ^

Also thinking about cutting cable with my provider. They just jacked up my cable and internet to $187 and at the same time removed BTN ect. I can get 150 mbps download with 15 mbps upload internet for $75 and YouTube TV or PlayStation Vue for about $45. Would save me about $800 per year. 

My question for the board is:

is that internet speed sufficient to stream sports without buffering issues while also using the internet on my laptop? I HATE buffering when watching sports on live streams. 

wildbackdunesman

July 24th, 2018 at 5:49 PM ^

You should be fine.  Hook your TV or streaming device with an ethernet cable for better results.

Be careful though, if you have kids streaming a lot and Comcast - the HD streaming eats up so much data that you will go over your limit and then they will make you pay a lot more for your internet.

BornInA2

July 24th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^

The huge money pile house of cards is starting to collapse.

But I'm certain if we start paying the teenage players, all the problems will be solved /sarcasm

jsquigg

July 24th, 2018 at 5:41 PM ^

I would ditch them in a millisec if they weren't basically the only decent internet where I live, and if you try to get only internet they gouge the hell out of you.  Bastards.

Synful

July 24th, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^

I can't see Comcast doing this honestly in the B1G footprint.  I can see why they'd do it outside as even with alumni out there the numbers aren't enormous but inside?  I suppose it does come down to how much Delany & Co are wanting for B1G from them but to alienate potentially millions of viewers?  Never a good idea in this age of cord-cutting.

MGoArchive

July 24th, 2018 at 7:23 PM ^

Hello MGoBrethren - I'll be streaming games like I did during Michigan's tournament run in basketball earlier this Spring. If you have a working internet connection, you'll be able to watch the football games (for free) this Fall. I'll make a thread before every game with a link to join the Discord server. 

Once you join the Discord server, you'll see the www URL posted in the topic. See you then!

UMProud

July 24th, 2018 at 7:53 PM ^

I hate Comcast with the ferocity of 1,000 burning suns.  Can't wait til I have another choice for internet access then I'll be done with these guys forever

MC5-95

July 25th, 2018 at 1:35 PM ^

I switched to Playstation Vue (which carries BTN) last year and haven't regretted it once. Once you throw in my other streaming services Netflix and Prime, I still end up paying the same as I did for Comcast cable, but I don't have to deal with stunts like this or the cruddy service that Comcast provides.