Fox Regional Sports Networks Block DISH and Sling TV Customers

docdaddy · Jul 29, 2019

Sports are like movies and any other entertainment. They will pay what they need to put out a product that they think they can sell and the market will determine the costs and prices.

This RSN thing hurts me, as I really enjoy the live sports. It certainly makes me investigate options. We cannot get our local networks via any streaming service, and watching local weather, news, sports, etc. is a must for us. OTA will only get us 2 of the 4 locals.

I've had either Directv or Dish since 1995. I've had more outages on Dish than I had on Directv, but we certainly had some on Directv. I'm absolutely sick of it, and I can only hope some bill is passed that prevents this stuff, but I have very little faith in Congress.

Nate Bargmann · Jul 29, 2019

jasonh1965 said:
This is pretty good related article and he brings up Dish as well.

The Battle For the Future of Sports on TV Has Begun

If the 20% number noted upthread is correct, I wonder what that translates to. 1 hour/month? More or less? At a minimum, requiring those who view to pay means that an RSN sports package will cost each interest sub 5x whatever the amount is now that is spread among all subs, if Sinclair hopes to retain present revenue. The situation gets worse, as I see it, as I doubt more than half of the current 20% will sign up.

The article notes that ESPN gets something like $7/sub. Let's say the FSN package is $5/sub. For Sinclair to get the same revenue if only 10% of Dish subs take the RSN package, that is $50/month! That math doesn't work for me to watch a losing baseball team and a few local college football and basketball games. At that money every RSN better be open with no blackouts, ever!

The present model is doomed and Disney/ESPN may have just been hoist by their own petard.

NYDutch · Jul 29, 2019

Claude Greiner said:
I think Charlie is bluffing, but it’s possible he could be serious this time

Never forget Charlie's background as a pro poker player and a mountain climber. He's very comfortable with both playing the odds and taking risks...

Joe The Dragon · Jul 29, 2019

Nate Bargmann said:
If the 20% number noted upthread is correct, I wonder what that translates to. 1 hour/month? More or less? At a minimum, requiring those who view to pay means that an RSN sports package will cost each interest sub 5x whatever the amount is now that is spread among all subs, if Sinclair hopes to retain present revenue. The situation gets worse, as I see it, as I doubt more than half of the current 20% will sign up.

The article notes that ESPN gets something like $7/sub. Let's say the FSN package is $5/sub. For Sinclair to get the same revenue if only 10% of Dish subs take the RSN package, that is $50/month! That math doesn't work for me to watch a losing baseball team and a few local college football and basketball games. At that money every RSN better be open with no blackouts, ever!

The present model is doomed and Disney/ESPN may have just been hoist by their own petard.

no way that an RSN package can cost X2-X3 more then HBO. Even ESPN alone say $16-$20/mo maybe $25-$30 OTT only.
Local RSN's $7-$12/mo $15-20/mo OTT only (year round rate)

Maybe even an team pass for say $150-$200 ($250-$300 OTT only) an team per year (in market rate) (maybe with an discount to add on an 1 team out market package) also something in line with the costs so people can't just VPN to Alaska and get there local team 1 team out of market package for cheap

at some point people if they can may just get Shaw or bell satellite tv in the usa and pick an play there way to sports and shows they want.

Jim S. · Jul 29, 2019

JSheridan said:
Please no more political crap here! Take it to the Pit where we can properly ignore it.

I don't know how we can have these discussions WITHOUT it being political. After all, if we didn't have the government enforcing copyrights, nobody would be paying ANYTHING to watch people PLAY A GAME.

Joe The Dragon · Jul 30, 2019

Jim S. said:
I don't know how we can have these discussions WITHOUT it being political. After all, if we didn't have the government enforcing copyrights, nobody would be paying ANYTHING to watch people PLAY A GAME.

In international waters you can rebroadcast major league baseball with implied oral consent not express written consent

zippyfrog · Jul 30, 2019

I do wonder about what was said during the earnings call today that they hope to be able to cut prices. Come January, if there is another $5 increase for those who lost the RSN's, I would be pretty upset.

Juan · Jul 30, 2019

So move dish uplink facility to a floating platform in the south pacific

Joe The Dragon said:
In international waters you can rebroadcast major league baseball with implied oral consent not express written consent

Sent from my SM-G950U using the SatelliteGuys app!

HipKat · Jul 30, 2019

EarDemon said:
Ralph Wilson was a joke!

I will never understand why people in this area treat him as some type of God. He obviously didn’t care what happened to the Bills. He didn’t spend money of the team in decades, he wanted taxpayers to fund upgrades to the stadium, he had no plan on what to do with the team when he died. He wasn’t from Buffalo, he was born in Ohio. He didn’t live In Buffalo, he lived in the Detroit area hence why even to this day, there is always a Bills/Lions pre-season game every year, Buffalo wasn’t even his first choice for a team, it was Miami. Same thing with Jim Kelly. Sorry, he was not a nice dude and this area should not have this love affair with him.

I wasn't a fan of his and I can't disagree with anything you said. I think the culture has changed a lot now. The best move they made was getting rid of Russ Brandon after Ralph died

HipKat · Jul 30, 2019

Claude Greiner said:
The issue with stadiums is that they DO NOT need to be replaced every 30 or so years.

Tiger Stadium was 88 years old before it was replaced, Fenway park is 107 and Wrigley field is 102.

Why wouldn’t these owners replace their stadium if the tax payers where footing the bill?

It’s got to stop. Unless these teams want to start sharing profits, we need to stop giving money to build new stadiums

If a city wants to pass a bond issue to build a stadium that the team will pay back, fine! But enough with the corporate welfare

The Bills have been in the same Stadium since 1973, but haven't some owners put up the funds or most of the funds on new stadiums?

HipKat · Jul 30, 2019

There is already the National Action pack that could be available for all Channel packs as an add-on and include the RSN's or drop that and just stick with the Multi-Sport Pack (Which reminds me, it's about that time of year for me to add it for college football)

ncted · Jul 30, 2019

HipKat said:
The Bills have been in the same Stadium since 1973, but haven't some owners put up the funds or most of the funds on new stadiums?

A very few: Jets, Miami, Patriots, and a few others. It is rare these days for a new stadium of any size to be built without public funds.

PortlandChris · Jul 30, 2019

Fox is selling the RSNs because the model is unprofitable. Teams want more and more of the revenue, and cable/satellite just can't justify rates of $5 or more per a channel that has limited programming....operator can't make any money on their investment....so this model breaks, and here we are. This is really MLB, NBA, and NHLs mess....greed got them here....

Bruce · Jul 30, 2019

PortlandChris said:
Fox is selling the RSNs because the model is unprofitable. Teams want more and more of the revenue, and cable/satellite just can't justify rates of $5 or more per a channel that has limited programming....operator can't make any money on their investment....so this model breaks, and here we are. This is really MLB, NBA, and NHLs mess....greed got them here....

Fox already sold them, Disney owns them now and wanted to keep them but are being forced to sell them as conditions for the merger.

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Claude Greiner · Jul 30, 2019

I hate to say it, I would rather see ESPN go away rather than the RSN’s

I see absolutely no value in ESPN

comfortably_numb · Jul 30, 2019

Claude Greiner said:
I see absolutely no value in ESPN

Neither do I, anymore-

It was once a great channel.

Joe The Dragon · Jul 30, 2019

Claude Greiner said:
I hate to say it, I would rather see ESPN go away rather than the RSN’s

I see absolutely no value in ESPN

the mouse will take away FOX networks, ABC, etc if some where to drop ESPN.

satjay · Aug 2, 2019

HipKat said:
There is already the National Action pack that could be available for all Channel packs as an add-on and include the RSN's or drop that and just stick with the Multi-Sport Pack (Which reminds me, it's about that time of year for me to add it for college football)

Multi-sport is a great add for college football season almost that time of year!

tspangle · Aug 2, 2019

I applaud Dish for trying to fight to keep carriage fees down, but at the end of the day, I'm going to choose a provider that gives me the channels I want, and losing Fox Sports Detroit is a big one for me. I can live without HBO by getting it on streaming, but I watch the Tigers, Wings, and Pistons all on FSD. Do I now need to subscribe to 3 different leagues' streaming services? I live in an area with excellent internet, good OTA reception, and 4 TV providers (Dish, DirecTV, Comcrap, and Uverse). I like Dish and love the Hopper 3, but if I'm not getting the channels I want, I will make the switch, and I must admit Dish's picture quality is a factor, too.

One other question that I probably already know the answer to, but, has anyone ever used one of these carriage disputes to get out of a contract without paying ETFs?

charlesrshell · Aug 2, 2019

tspangle said:
I applaud Dish for trying to fight to keep carriage fees down, but at the end of the day, I'm going to choose a provider that gives me the channels I want, and losing Fox Sports Detroit is a big one for me. I can live without HBO by getting it on streaming, but I watch the Tigers, Wings, and Pistons all on FSD. Do I now need to subscribe to 3 different leagues' streaming services? I live in an area with excellent internet, good OTA reception, and 4 TV providers (Dish, DirecTV, Comcrap, and Uverse). I like Dish and love the Hopper 3, but if I'm not getting the channels I want, I will make the switch, and I must admit Dish's picture quality is a factor, too.

One other question that I probably already know the answer to, but, has anyone ever used one of these carriage disputes to get out of a contract without paying ETFs?

Take care

Fox Regional Sports Networks Block DISH and Sling TV Customers

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