Comcast/XFINITY customers, could lose Big Ten football
August 10th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
It seems like I'd save about $60/month if I switched to CenturyLink and DirecTV. I'm sorely tempted. I've not had any customer service or regular service issues with Comcast, but it just seems to be getting too expensive.
August 10th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
Dtvnow
August 10th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
So tired of the annual cable provider/BTN (or insert favorite channel here) fight. They try to put the onus on fans to rally and demand to not lose a channel, when really they're just negotiating who gets a bigger slice of the pie as they continue to raise prices and provide shitty service.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
If Xfinity calls their bluff. Then WOW follows thru next year, and so on, BTN is going to have to drop their prices. And then the consumer wins. Short term pain = long term gain. TBH I cannot wait for the sports bubble to burst. Will be really interesting when the first league has a salary cap decrease.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
"BTN is going to have to drop their prices. And then the consumer wins."
When do you think Xfinity will announce that they're going to reduce my rates? My guess is any minute now. They'll reduce overhead and immediately pass those full savings on to me. Can't wait.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
When Xfinity losses all it's cable subscribers to streaming, they will either need to abandon cable or offer it at a more competitive rate. More than likely Xfinity will just raise it's internet costs and offer a huge discount with cable, but that only effects those people who are in areas where Xfinity owns a monopoly. That sucks for those rural areas, but go to your local government and push for them to treat internet like a commodity.
August 10th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
Honestly, it wouldn't kill me for football. If I have to find a bar with BTN to watch the Michigan v. Maryland or Rutgers football game or a pre-conference game against Who Cares it won't be that big of a deal. It would suck really bad for basketball though. My outrage would be real then. I think they will get this worked out. Xfinity will lose a lot of customers if this happens.
August 10th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
This is where I'm kind of at in this situation. I've found BTN's programming to have gotten worse, not that it was that great to begin with. They have basically nothing OnDemand. I don't care about talking head shows or stuff about campus restaurants. In short, it's not a huge loss if it goes.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
This feud includes FS1, which will broadcast our games against msu/osu.
August 10th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
BTN is every bit as fault for this as Comcast it’s hilarious they’re playing the victim card. Comcast will give in last minute because they’ll lose too many customers if they don’t. Hulu live and YouTube tv would probably be the best option for football and basketball viewing.
August 10th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
Do yourself a favor, drop cable TV and get YoutubeTV, DirecTV Now, or Hulu Live. Save yourself at least $40 a month that way, and get access to almost all of the same stuff, including BTN.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^
Do you know if Hulu Live or Youtube TV Stream their channels in 4K?
August 10th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
I went YouTubeTV after canceling Comcast and love it. Only real limitation is I don’t think it has the alternative BTN channels when that’s a factor. But it does provide BTN2Go access if that’s a thing.
It also doesn’t have Red Zone or P12 networks. I might get Sling Blue to cover those just for football season. Another $35, sure, but I’m paying $180 less per month without Comcast anyway.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
Lol. I just dropped Comcast. 2nd time I dropped them partly due to BTN. When the BTN first came out years ago Comcast was airing negative BTN commercials and all along they said, they're going to have the channel.once the season starts. Well the season started and they didn't have the channel. Kinda just strung their customers along for a few months.
I mean i kinda get Comcast's side being how much money BTN want a but in the end I want the channel .
August 10th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
Is Comcast intentionally trying to lose all of their TV subscribers?
August 10th, 2018 at 1:25 PM ^
I really don't see Comcast as the only evil in this situation. If they don't play hardball, TV prices will continue to be insane. My PS Vue has gone up $10 in the past year (25%) and I can't get Youtube TV because my user name checks out. Neither BTN or Comcast is innocent.
August 10th, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^
There are people on the board who can sell you a slot on their Youtube TV accounts.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^
Blame Xfinity all you want, but this is just the market righting itself. Suppliers no longer want cable due to prices, and a majority of that pricing is sports channels. ESPN pays $1.9 billion on NFL rights, and Xfinity has to pay ESPN for ESPN rights. Same with BTN, albeit on a smaller scale.
The Xfinity/BTN deal is up, and they do not have an agreement.
BTN probably wants more money, and Xfinity probably is losing money on BTN as it is.
Maybe they will meet in the middle, maybe not. At the end of the day, these TV deals are way out of hand, and at somepoint cable companies are going to try to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Xfinity/BTN is happening first because it came first.
Brian thinks this is just posturing by both sides, and I agree. BTN is only doing this coaches video to put pressure on Xfinity. More than likely a last minute deal will be reached. If one isn't reached, I think it can only be good news for consumers, as it is a sign that cable companies are trying to keep costs down for their customers.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
Comcast is a terrible company that manipulates the rules to so they have a de facto monopoly in most areas. They make billions at huge profit margins despite terrible service and record settings poor customer satisfaction. The fact they think they can even pull off a stunt like canceling BTN in B1G country shows you how much control they have over the market.
You could *maybe* make a case that their fight with ESPN is one huge evil corporation vs another, but vs BTN they are 100% the bully asshole in the dispute.
FUCK COMCAST
August 10th, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
You seem to be forgetting that Comcast forces me to pay for the 80% of the channels that I never, ever watch.
I'm ready for usage-based TV programming.
August 10th, 2018 at 4:26 PM ^
cancel cable and use any of your other options (hulu, PSVue, Youtube, etc.). It'll be cheaper and you don't lose much if any function.
August 10th, 2018 at 1:30 PM ^
This isn't new and it isn't exclusive to Comcast. Somebody needs to push back against the Sith Lord Jim Delany and his push to screw me out of every last penny. We need this to happen at least occasionally as part of market balance.
August 10th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
I cancelled my Xfinity/Comcast service just for making me think I might lose BTN. I told them precisely that as well.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Got xfinity about a year ago. They assured me that I would have BTN with my package. The next fucking week it was announced they were going to pull this shit.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
I have PS Vue and love it.
100 mbps internet along with Netflix, Hulu, Xfinity streaming local channels I basically get all sports and all Michigan games for the cost of cable alone.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
In typical f-the-customer fashion, Comcast likely won't renegotiate with B1G until they see the deact/churn rate this fall. Should have it back by the Indiana game.
August 10th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
That would give me the incentive I need to get off my ass and sign up for YouTube TV and finally give overpriced, bloated Comcast the boot!
August 10th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
There is only one reason I still have Comcast, and that's because my wife will not live without the CBC and the shows she watches on that network out of Canada. I would love to ditch cable, but haven't found a workable solution to the CBC access. Most content will not stream across the border, and VPNs are not always accessible.
August 10th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Can you not just get channel 9 with an antenna?
August 10th, 2018 at 2:12 PM ^
I can ... But then my wife will complain that she can't just use the same remote blah, blah, blah.... In other words, I can listen to my wife complain, or grit my teeth and use Comcast.
In what other human circumstance would the cable company be considered "the path of least resistance?"
August 10th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
Hey, a duplicate entry! Woo!
August 10th, 2018 at 2:34 PM ^
If comcast drops BTN I will drop them in a heartbeat. I likewise use them for nothing else... and they know it as they know what we all use their services for. I think this is just negotiating a new contract and likely nothing to worry about.
August 10th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
I'm out of Big Ten country so I dropped TV when they dropped BTN from the premium sports package I was paying for. I switched to PS Vue (which has raised its rates on me a little bit) and am about $75 cheaper per month.
Vue generally works well, but the performance isn't as good as cable. The DVR, while better than YouTube's, isn't as good. I also miss the Pac12 Network and CBC. I also don't get all of my local channels because PS Vue doesn't carry live locals owned by Sinclair though the antenna I had easily fixes that. Any streaming service is going to have to have some performance trade off, but overall the price + BTN has made me a happy customer so far.
![Comcast-van-720x340[1].jpg](/sites/default/files/users/user96084/Comcast-van-720x340%5B1%5D.jpg)
August 10th, 2018 at 6:38 PM ^
When Comcast dropped BTN here in Atlanta I dropped them...Comcast is the WORST....it was like a sense of relief when you get out of a relationship that you know is BAD..
August 11th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
In the places where they "dropped" the BTN, can you not get it at all, or can you get it but you have to pay extra?
I have been getting it on a Comcast sports package for which I pay extra, but at least I can get it.
Will that change that I can't get it no matter what?
August 12th, 2018 at 1:53 AM ^
Out here in Seattle it's gone completely.