Comcast to Drop BTN
PS Vue.
I will be too. I think Comcast has a monopoly on my neighborhood though so I will have to think about what to do....
How fucking stupid can they be? Is this because the NBC thing and Fox w/ B10?? Considering writing the FCC about how Comcast is limiting non NBC content which the merger told them NOT TO DO.
I have Youtube TV too and it is good. However, it's not the same as watching on cable.
They have a monopoly in the east bay too, and I like watching the Warriors on Comcast Sports. But this is fucking war.
So glad we have Rutgers and Maryland now that the bubble is bursting.
I mean they helped contribute to a massive tv contrac that is making big ten schools the richest in the country and providing them with the resources necessary to make a few mistakes navigating in a different enivroment.
Unbundling isnt going to be a good thing for consumers, I hate the direction this is all going and its just going to cost more to get less.
All the excess TV contracts have done is allow Big Ten schools to dump unnecessary funds on facilities and administration. I mean, does anyone feel like the Big Ten is more competitive because it got more money? The only reason football improved was because they finally went out and hired real coaches.
And let's not pretend like the TV contracts made it possible for Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State to hire real coaches. They paid the old coaches a ton of money too.
The unbundling is going to be awful for sports teams and fans. However, it's going to be great for just about everyone else. The most expensive cable channels are the sports channels, yet like half the population doesn't even watch them. Not having to pay for those channels is going to save them a lot of money.
If I was a Big Ten Athletic Director, I would be researching my options for what happens after this bubble finishes (it already started) bursting. Schools like Michigan and Ohio State are going to be carrying around dead weight like Maryland and Rutgers. Once the TV contracts disappear, teams need to reconsider the option of going independent.
Yeah except that isn't true about being bad just for sports fans. It will certainly be the worst for sports fans but if you enjoy watching tv shows on things like fx, tbs, tnt, etc you are also going to get fucked because if each of those chanels are sold seperately none of them are viable at the rates they currently charge. So individuals would have to pay large amounts for each individual chanel. Not to mention services like hulu and netflix will not work as aggregator sites anymore because each of those places will have to create direct delivery systems of their own to be viable and those won't exist if you can just pay hulu or netfllix less.
Hulu and netflix have recognized this which is why they are betting big on original content, because they know they won't exist as aggregator websites. So each website will essentially be HBO and people budgeting out like netflix will still cost $10 per month are living in a fantasy world. Plus the same companies that run cable also run internet. So congrats on a world where you get to pay $60-70 a month for just mediocre internet plus an addiitonal $100 per month to get the 10 chanels you watch things on and see the quality of shows decrease as budgets get cut and fring chanels with interesting content cease to exist. Should be a great swing from the current golden age of tv we have.
All they really need to do is just convert to a streaming service and use their existing BTN2Go app, or partner up with Fox's app since they are half owned by Fox. Offer fans a $50 football package, or a $30 basketball package, or a whole year package for $99 that gives access to all sports and content. Give them access to all the games live and on demand, and then just drop all of your live studio programming since there's no need for it, and do on demand shows. Like do a weekly Michigan football show for 30min or so. Or make it daily if there's enough content and demand.
Basically do what ESPN+ is doing, except without any of the barriers ESPN has due to their existing TV contracts.
Losing Comcast is going to cost the conference millions and millions a year, but if they tried going the streaming and on demand route, I think they could get a decent amount of that back. I'm pretty sure I'd at least pony up the $50 for the football season.
They can't do that because they still have contracts with fios, time warner, directv, youtube tv, etc and losing those contracts will be infinetely more costly than they could make back up charging $100 dollars a year for a streaming service.
There is no way the big ten network has enough interest to survive as a viable entity with people paying $50 a year for football content who care enough about the 3 football games a year on the network.
WAT!?
What is the rationale? Is the BTN charging too much? I can't imagine it's just due to ratings.
So Delany's trying to shake down the cable companies? Not that I exactly sympathize with them, but ugh. The most important thing is for the network to be on the air.
Glad I have Direct Tv
That sucks, glad I have WOW!
This best get sorted before football, Comcast is all that's available in my area.
Plenty of other options out there including but not limited to Playstation Vue, Hulu Live, & YouTubeTV all carry BTN.
True but the cost to cut the cord and still be able to watch all I want to watch/maintain my DVR functionality is a wash if not more expensive than cable. And like I said, Comcast is all that's available in my area, that includes high speed internet so the prices they have for *just* internet are jacked up because they KNOW people are cutting the cord.
It's a racket is what it is.
Of course if the cost is a wash and Comcast no longer has all the shit I need...
Most of the Internt TV services are $35-$40. Many have DVRs, some that are even better than cable (See Youtube TV with unlimited DVR). That's still worlds cheaper than cable. Unles syou didn't have internet at your house, which I guess could be a thing.
Yes. For $80/month I get my internet and all the TV access I could need from standard subscriptions.
Agree on cutting the cord! I've had PS Vue for over a year now...no regrets. Haven't missed cable one bit.
I imagine every Michigan game is still going to find its way onto one Comcast channel or another, at least in the local area... This is going to be a blow to the Minnesotas and Illinoises of the conference, though.
thats not how it works, when Michigan is on BTN it wont be shown on another channel just because comcast doesnt have BTN.
The flip-flopping of channels only happens between sister networks like ABC & ESPN or Fox & Fox Sports 1
Two Words(?):
YouTube
TV
Tweeter Juan > counterstrike guy
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Maybe a precursor to BTN adding a stand alone streaming service.
Question for cord-cutters: I like to follow along on Twitter while I watch sports. Is the feed delay with your service significant enough that I would need to stop this in order to not be spoiling every play ahead of time?
I have Youtube TV and it's not a problem following Brian/Ace/etc on twitter. Maybe 2-5 times per game something will be ruined, but that's it.
If you have ESPN open on your laptop and are watching CBB, occasionally the score will update before you see it, but not all the time.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the decision to switch.
• Why piss off literally millions of customers across a huge swath of the country?
• Does Comcast not care that many will use this decision as the tipping point to cut the cord?
• Is Comcast adding programming that it thinks will make up for lost BTN customers?
• Is this just hardball to extract a better deal from Delaney and the BTN?
Just a couple of minutes of googling reveals that midwest retirees/transplants in Florida are going to lose their Comcast access to the BTN, so they're up in arms about this as well.
**I just called Comcast to register my intent to drop them, and the CSR I spoke to had no clue about it until she checked while we were on the phone. She acknowledged that Comcast customer service people are going to have an unpleasant time dealing with angry customers and said several times she hopes Comcast doesn't follow through.
Your last paragraph is where I'm at with it. Just going to call Comcast to voice my displeasure then wait for August and see where we stand. I don't really have a need for BTN in the meantime so I'm hoping someone flinches and they add BTN back.
WTF?? I was looking into dropping DirecTV for Comcast due to cost. But if there's no BTN, Comcast is out. Guess I'll just continue to pay exhorbitantly for Xfinity internet access coupled with DirecTV.
I've looked into cord cutting, but have to have Nickelodeon for the kid. Its few and far between where Nick is offered by the various cord cutter services...
Direct TV Now has Nick and its various sister channels.
I was about to say pump the brakes and lets wait for a real source. Then i walked into my living room - which like the rest of my house is outside the BTN footprint - and realized I no longer have BTN. I definitely do not recall any notification about this and will be cancelling soon. This must be tied to a contract negotiation and coudl get resolved but if not resolved in a few days, I'll be cancelling.