(10-01-2017 08:52 AM)johnbragg Wrote:  Pure speculation--I have to wonder if Altice being a foreign conglomerate plays a role. French executives aren't going to feel anything about losing Monday Night Football or a baseball playoff game--they're going to have a slightly different perspective than American executives.

Now, this could mean that the French executives see more clearly, rather than overvaluing American manhood tentpole programming. Or it could mean that the French executives misread their American customer base, who will demand that American manhood tentpole programming. I just think it's a factor that Altice is not going to think the same way Comcast or Time Warner will.

What you are not considering is how this is an incredibly dangerous gamble by Suddenlink. In an environment where cable customers are leaving cable providers in droves, Suddenlink is going to go dark on ESPN and ABC in the middle of the college and NFL football seasons? What will happen is droves of football fans will take the opportunity to leave Suddenlink and go to competitors like a Comcast, ATT, Direct Tv, Dish, or to one of the newer streaming options like VUE, HULUtv, or Sling. So Suddenlink could literally end up losing a quarter to half their subscriber base. No football fan is sticking with Suddenlink just because the bill is $10 cheaper-----not when VUE would be half of the reduced price of Suddenlink and provides all the ESPN+ABC networks.

The French ownership can't afford to black out ESPN and ESPN knows it.