http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journ...twork.aspx

Thoughts?

I'm going to say ESPN (and the ACC) have carriage figured out. I'm sure that's part of the 3 year delay. Everyone has been explicit about wanting to avoid the embarrassing carriage PR nightmare, so I imagine they've got a pretty good plan.

(07-26-2016 01:36 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  I'm going to say ESPN (and the ACC) have carriage figured out. I'm sure that's part of the 3 year delay. Everyone has been explicit about wanting to avoid the embarrassing carriage PR nightmare, so I imagine they've got a pretty good plan.

Plus they have already mentioned that they are open to multiple ways of delivering content. Mobile carriers are always looking to one up each other with exclusive content plus sites like Twiiter are looking to raise revenue thru live streaming games. Then you have the multiple skiny bundles services that are coming online including YouTube & Hulu

I did a little extra digging for my blog.* What I found was that the Sports Business Journal article only gives expiration dates for a few of the major cable and satellite providers - many of them are not listed (and it's very hard to get information about the length and expiration dates of their ESPN contracts!). Here's what I came up with, in a nutshell:

ESPN Contract Renewals
Distributor_ Renewal subscribers*
ATT U-verse / DirectTV ? 26.0
Comcast / XFinity 2021 22.4
Charter 2021 18.4
Dish Network 2022 13.9
Verizon Fios ? 4.7
Cox Communications ? 4.5
Altice _ 2017 3.9
Frontier ? 1.7
Mediacom ? 0.86
Windstream ? 0.36
RCN ? 0.33
* in millions

I'd love to tell you when the rest of these contracts expire, but I just don't know.

* for more, check me out at http://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2016/0...urdle.html

(07-26-2016 01:04 PM)uofl05 Wrote:  http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journ...twork.aspx

Thoughts?

What struck me in that article is that the carriage rates could be almost as high as the SEC network.

Even a worst case scenario...

Half of Florida will demand the ACC Network
South Carolina
North Carolina
Virginia
Most of Kentucky
Half of Georgia (Lots of ACC fans in Georgia, not just GT)
Parts of the North East and Indiana

This the WORST case

(07-26-2016 01:04 PM)uofl05 Wrote:  http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journ...twork.aspx

Thoughts?

The people who were skeptical that the cable operators would pay for the ACC network are cable operators. I wouldn't expect them to say they were eager to pay for the ACC network. What they say and what they end up doing may be two different things.

Despite all of the hand wringing, ESPN is doing great. Revenues and profits for Disney's Cable Networks division are both up for the first six months of the year. Subscriber levels are down, but this more than is offset by increased fees paid by carriers.

The biggest threat to ESPN's profitability is the increased cost of rights fees. ESPN paid huge increases to the NFL and NBA, which ESPN arguably overpaid for. No other network, for instance, is paying anything close to what ESPN is paying for the NFL. These big payments will be squeezing ESPN's margins pretty hard, making it difficult to increase profitability moving forward. Combined with subscriber losses, is driving the cost cutting efforts. ESPN's strategy with the Big Ten, for instance, was a lot more conservative (not overbidding in the first round) than what it did for the NFL and NBA, but it still obtained the rights it needed.

Critically, the SEC Network has been an extreme bright spot for ESPN. It has added to the total number of channel subscribers for all networks combined and increased revenues from subscriptions, offsetting some of the lost subscribers for other networks. ESPN will do absolutely everything it can to duplicate the success with the ACC.

Live sports remains the one thing that cable can deliver well that cannot be replaced by over the top services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Now unless ESPN itself decides to do so. Without exclusive live sports, cable has no advantage over these type of services. Despite all of their squawking, cable providers know this. Focused networks like the ACC Network, SEC Network, and regional sports networks, guaranty that fans of individual teams have to stay connected to have access to their teams' games. Further ESPN, TBS, TNT, and others now have important playoff and championship events that can't be viewed without cable. These help keep even casual fans committed.

Finally, while some number of folks, including myself, have gone over the top (thank you Sling TV!), most folks are going to keep sucking it up and forking over $100+ per month to the cable company for traditional cable.

(07-26-2016 01:36 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  I'm going to say ESPN (and the ACC) have carriage figured out. I'm sure that's part of the 3 year delay. Everyone has been explicit about wanting to avoid the embarrassing carriage PR nightmare, so I imagine they've got a pretty good plan.

I agree with Lou

(07-26-2016 03:01 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 01:36 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  I'm going to say ESPN (and the ACC) have carriage figured out. I'm sure that's part of the 3 year delay. Everyone has been explicit about wanting to avoid the embarrassing carriage PR nightmare, so I imagine they've got a pretty good plan.

I agree with Lou

For that matter, what's wrong with signing up some carriers in 2019, more in 2020, and the rest in 2021?

Mark...Brighthouse is another major carrier in the ACC area. They will be merging with TW into Spectrum.

So a Maryland grad writes a negative article about the recent good news for the ACC.... Hmmm...

Yeah, I'm putting my money on the ACC/ESPN doing their homework and knowing a little more about the media market.

Dish will likely fight, which means I will have to switch.

Air is mostly nitrogen. It's about 21% oxygen. I don't find the article very informative, it's really just summer filler. The P-12's issues are unique to their area on the West Coast and they don't have ESPN carrying their water. In the ACC's case, there is a Carolina, Syracuse, ND, Duke, WF, or UVa mole hiding in every organization that has to be brought along. Now that Syracuse has learned to act in concert with the rest and to keep a lower verbal profile, what more is needed?

The ACC network could turn out to be a bust but if it is a bust the cause will probably be rampant cord cutting in which case the other conference networks will also go bust.

(07-26-2016 01:04 PM)uofl05 Wrote:  http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journ...twork.aspx

Thoughts?

This is how you negotiate.

ESPN is investing in live content. It's one of the few properties that will have value no matter how it is delivered. People will continue to watch sporting events live unlike other forms of televised entertainment. It's the shows and other filler that are hurting them.

(07-26-2016 09:58 PM)L-yes Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 01:04 PM)uofl05 Wrote:  http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journ...twork.aspx

Thoughts?

This is how you negotiate.

ESPN is investing in live content. It's one of the few properties that will have value no matter how it is delivered. People will continue to watch sporting events live unlike other forms of televised entertainment. It's the shows and other filler that are hurting them.

Well put! Thank you, that was exactly what I was thinking but trying to put into words. I love Saturdays for college football, and I have Time Warner Cable's Sports Digital Package. And I love having all the ESPN channels, all the Fox Sports channels, the Big Ten Network, The SEC network, and the PAC 12 Network. And I love it! And I look forward to the ACC network!

(07-26-2016 05:21 PM)domer1978 Wrote:  Dish will likely fight, which means I will have to switch.

Ditto

skepticism is waning.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-footbal...ord-072516

Even earlier this year, as buzz about an impending ACC-ESPN venture gained steam, I figured, well, it will probably be a new-fangled digital or over-the-top offering. No way is ESPN, having already lost several million subscribers to cord-cutting, going to try launching another traditional cable channel.

But here we are, days after the conference officially announced an honest-to-goodness linear network coming in 2019. Clearly, ESPN —€“ which will fully own the network — believes it can be successful. And after talking to several sources with knowledge of the venture, my skepticism is waning.


Part of that is due to some wonkish cable details. ESPN strategically delayed the channel’s launch to coincide with several of parent company Disney’s expiring carriage deals with major providers. When it comes time to renegotiate, it can include the ACC Network as part of larger bundles with ESPN, ESPN2, etc.

This speaks to the unique appeal of ACC basketball, what with heavyweight brands like Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse and Louisville. ESPN networks carried 21 UNC regular-season games last year. Come 2019 it could shift a large number of those to ACCN. Folks in the state of North Carolina aren't going to storm their cable company over a UNC-Georgia Tech football game, but Tar Heels hoops? That's a different story.

(07-26-2016 04:05 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 03:01 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 01:36 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  I'm going to say ESPN (and the ACC) have carriage figured out. I'm sure that's part of the 3 year delay. Everyone has been explicit about wanting to avoid the embarrassing carriage PR nightmare, so I imagine they've got a pretty good plan.

I agree with Lou

For that matter, what's wrong with signing up some carriers in 2019, more in 2020, and the rest in 2021?

Maybe nothing, but I think the plan is to get everything lined up between now and launch. I'm pretty sure they're committed to launching with full carriage, and I'm assuming the three year delay is part of that.