(02-08-2019 09:38 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(02-08-2019 09:30 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-08-2019 08:26 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I think ESPN will set it up with an all or nothing deal and I think the AAC will accept it because it will give them a few games on ABC. ESPN is pushing their + platform and needs as many captive conferences it can get.
I see an increase to 5-7 million from ESPN with a long term deal of 10 years. If the AAC rejects ESPN then I see the AAC getting 3-5 million/school with various networks.
I think the homework is already done by Aresco and knows the ballpark value from other networks...it’s just a matter of a few issues to clear up and signing

Yes, I think the biggest sticking point might be ESPN's desire to put more AAC games on the "plus" format, which Aresco will resist.

What's the difference between ESPN3 and ESPN+?

Basically what Clifton said, but to be a little more specific - ESPN3/WATCH is something you pay for through your internet provider, if they have an agreement to do so with ESPN (many do, some don't). You can also get it via XBOX Live, Sling, DISH, and Direct TV, which have deals with ESPN as well. In all these cases, the ISP pays ESPN for the ESPN3 service, but as a consumer you don't see that because it is rolled in to your internet bill.

In contrast, the only way to get PLUS is to directly pay the $5 a month fee that ESPN charges for it.

ESPN3 and PLUS are similar in that you don't need to have "cable TV" to get either. Many don't realize this about ESPN3, because they have cable and also get their internet from their cable provider, so they think it is part of their ESPN cable TV package, but it really isn't. Access to it is via your internet provider.

But you can't get PLUS the same way you get ESPN3, you have to pay that separate $5 direct fee to get it. Of course to justify this, ESPN is trying to put as much unique content on PLUS as it can, to induce people who already get the ESPN channels to pay extra for it. So another key difference is that the only way you can get some PLUS content is to buy PLUS, as this content is not available on ESPN3 **.

E.g., I have a cable TV package that is quite extensive, i get ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, and ESPNU. And, since my cable provider, COX, is also my internet provider, and they have a ESPN3 deal with ESPN, I get ESPN3/WATCH as well.

But because I don't pay the $5 directly to ESPN specifically for PLUS, I do not get PLUS.

** This has pissed many of us long-time ESPN customers off, as it has become clear since the launching of PLUS that quite a few events that we used to get for "free" on WATCH/ESPN3 have now been shifted to PLUS, even though ESPN said they would be doing very little of this.