https://www.keepbigten.com

Looks like another carrier is threatening to drop the BTN.

Looks like Comcast/Xfinity is adjusting their tiers and what’s available for each sports package. BTN should still be available, it’s just customers will have to upgrade to include the right package or sports package to get that channel.

Reminds me of Dirctv turning the Longhorn Network into a regional network as opposed to the national channel it started out as. This will significantly reduce the number of subscribers and revenue of funds were relied on the market model.

This will just make content additions in the next round of realignment that much more valuable.

To me this sounds like some "posturing" by Comcast to get a "better deal" (ie., lower price and/or better "terms") from the B1G for Comcast to continue to carry the network. Since this is the expiration of a 10 year agreement AND since the "blurb" from Comcast talks about "continuing negotiations" that seems the likely reason to me. If Comcast had already made the decision to drop the network, I wouldn't see any point in a need for "further negotiations". P.S. If Comcast DOES get the BTN to lower its price somehow, or even move to a "higher tier" on the Comcast system, I wouldn't expect it to result in lower cable bills from Comcast!!!

(07-25-2018 09:35 AM)ICThawk Wrote:  To me this sounds like some "posturing" by Comcast to get a "better deal" (ie., lower price and/or better "terms") from the B1G for Comcast to continue to carry the network. Since this is the expiration of a 10 year agreement AND since the "blurb" from Comcast talks about "continuing negotiations" that seems the likely reason to me. If Comcast had already made the decision to drop the network, I wouldn't see any point in a need for "further negotiations". P.S. If Comcast DOES get the BTN to lower its price somehow, or even move to a "higher tier" on the Comcast system, I wouldn't expect it to result in lower cable bills from Comcast!!!

No, it won't result in lower cable bills. Rather, it would just raise the Comcast profit margin. Here's where the cable networks are going to use the cord cutting story to their benefit. Gee, in the light of the news from Wall Street yesterday, cord cutting is expected to accelerate to the loss of 33 million more cable subscribers. So Jim we just can't continue to carry the BTN at it's present rate. But if your guys will pay for it on an upper tier we'll pay you x next year instead of the y you were accustomed to.

But I agree the consumer won't see a penny of that savings.

There's some interesting quotes from Silverman in this article.

From Awful Announcing:

The following are tweets from John Ourand and can be found in the article:

Silverman: Comcast has not responded to negotiations yet.

9:21 AM - Jul 24, 2018


Silverman says BTN was not notified when Comcast dropped the channel in out-of-market systems.

9:23 AM - Jul 24, 2018


Silverman on Comcast-BTN negotiations: "We should be much further along than we are. It's extremely concerning."

7:23 AM - 24 Jul 2018


Last year, Comcast paid a surcharge to get access to Big Ten games on FS1. That deal also ends next month.

7:28 AM - 24 Jul 2018


If Fox and Comcast don't come to an agreement by the start of the season, FS1 would run alternate programming in place of Big Ten games.

8:26 AM - 25 Jul 2018



@TheChewDefense
2h2 hours ago
Replying to @Ourand_SBJ
only on comcast systems i assume. Similar to a blackout where the network airs other programing

@Ourand_SBJ
2h2 hours ago

Correct. Only Comcast.


Comcast is playing a heavy hand here and sounds like they are dealing from a position of strength.

I think we should zero in on the fact that a 10 year agreement is ending. The world is a different place than it was 10 years ago.

More bad news for the BTN. The State of New York has now gotten rid of Charter Spectrum as a carrier in the Empire State.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/artic...-the-state

(08-02-2018 07:12 PM)JRsec Wrote:  More bad news for the BTN. The State of New York has now gotten rid of Charter Spectrum as a carrier in the Empire State.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/artic...-the-state

The interesting thing is that whichever company comes in and takes over the infrastructure might not have an incentive to maintain all the same carriage going forward.

Companies aren't really in the business of buying up new subsidiaries right now. Someone will purchase it, but they'll probably want to save some money on the back end. If a channel like BTN isn't getting good ratings then it could be on the chopping block.

(08-02-2018 08:41 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(08-02-2018 07:12 PM)JRsec Wrote:  More bad news for the BTN. The State of New York has now gotten rid of Charter Spectrum as a carrier in the Empire State.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/artic...-the-state

The interesting thing is that whichever company comes in and takes over the infrastructure might not have an incentive to maintain all the same carriage going forward.

Companies aren't really in the business of buying up new subsidiaries right now. Someone will purchase it, but they'll probably want to save some money on the back end. If a channel like BTN isn't getting good ratings then it could be on the chopping block.

Well the good news for us is that we are in with Altice.

(07-25-2018 11:28 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-25-2018 09:35 AM)ICThawk Wrote:  To me this sounds like some "posturing" by Comcast to get a "better deal" (ie., lower price and/or better "terms") from the B1G for Comcast to continue to carry the network. Since this is the expiration of a 10 year agreement AND since the "blurb" from Comcast talks about "continuing negotiations" that seems the likely reason to me. If Comcast had already made the decision to drop the network, I wouldn't see any point in a need for "further negotiations". P.S. If Comcast DOES get the BTN to lower its price somehow, or even move to a "higher tier" on the Comcast system, I wouldn't expect it to result in lower cable bills from Comcast!!!

No, it won't result in lower cable bills. Rather, it would just raise the Comcast profit margin. Here's where the cable networks are going to use the cord cutting story to their benefit. Gee, in the light of the news from Wall Street yesterday, cord cutting is expected to accelerate to the loss of 33 million more cable subscribers. So Jim we just can't continue to carry the BTN at it's present rate. But if your guys will pay for it on an upper tier we'll pay you x next year instead of the y you were accustomed to.

But I agree the consumer won't see a penny of that savings.

I was looking at PS Vue, Direct TVNOW, and Sling last night. They have all raised prices since I last checked. They have things moving their direction and can screw it up by being greedy.

(08-03-2018 03:13 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  

(07-25-2018 11:28 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-25-2018 09:35 AM)ICThawk Wrote:  To me this sounds like some "posturing" by Comcast to get a "better deal" (ie., lower price and/or better "terms") from the B1G for Comcast to continue to carry the network. Since this is the expiration of a 10 year agreement AND since the "blurb" from Comcast talks about "continuing negotiations" that seems the likely reason to me. If Comcast had already made the decision to drop the network, I wouldn't see any point in a need for "further negotiations". P.S. If Comcast DOES get the BTN to lower its price somehow, or even move to a "higher tier" on the Comcast system, I wouldn't expect it to result in lower cable bills from Comcast!!!

No, it won't result in lower cable bills. Rather, it would just raise the Comcast profit margin. Here's where the cable networks are going to use the cord cutting story to their benefit. Gee, in the light of the news from Wall Street yesterday, cord cutting is expected to accelerate to the loss of 33 million more cable subscribers. So Jim we just can't continue to carry the BTN at it's present rate. But if your guys will pay for it on an upper tier we'll pay you x next year instead of the y you were accustomed to.

But I agree the consumer won't see a penny of that savings.

I was looking at PS Vue, Direct TVNOW, and Sling last night. They have all raised prices since I last checked. They have things moving their direction and can screw it up by being greedy.

There's a lot going on there. Some had lowballed rates to get business and they can't afford to keep it up. Some have raised rates because they've shrunk the size of content they are buying and their rates have gone up. Some probably are just greedy. Others have absorbed the loss and are trying to convert to new models of delivery. And some are just saying we aren't paying more and more of packages on basic tier levels that should be put on upper tier platforms where general subscription rates no longer cover them. I think the argument that Comcast was making was that there was not general enough demand for the BTN for that rate to come out of basic cable level tiers.

The deal with Charter is that they really didn't make a good faith effort to offer service in rural areas of New York so the state is holding them accountable.

This is exactly why Mizzou joined the SEC. We knew this back in 2010, so our governor scared the B1G into taking Nebraska. Our goals were to destroy the vaunted Nebraska football program, rid ourselves of Big Daddy Longhorn, and join the best conference in the USA. Ingenious!!!

(08-05-2018 12:00 AM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  This is exactly why Mizzou joined the SEC. We knew this back in 2010, so our governor scared the B1G into taking Nebraska. Our goals were to destroy the vaunted Nebraska football program, rid ourselves of Big Daddy Longhorn, and join the best conference in the USA. Ingenious!!!

Well played, my friend. Well played.

Speaking of New York, check this out:

(08-20-2018 07:32 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  The answer is yes and they already have Altice signed to a deal...

"I am blown away by the fact that ESPN was able to get carriage for both ACC Network and SEC Network on cable systems that span Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York — areas that never will be confused for Tobacco Road or Tuscaloosa. ACC brass, in particular, have to be overjoyed, as this one deal makes its planned 2019 launch as close to a sure thing as you can get."

Link
https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news...-deal.html

Wow!!! Notice, this is not just the ACC Network, but the SEC Network too, which is exactly why I posted it on here.

(08-22-2018 11:20 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Speaking of New York, check this out:

(08-20-2018 07:32 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  The answer is yes and they already have Altice signed to a deal...

"I am blown away by the fact that ESPN was able to get carriage for both ACC Network and SEC Network on cable systems that span Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York — areas that never will be confused for Tobacco Road or Tuscaloosa. ACC brass, in particular, have to be overjoyed, as this one deal makes its planned 2019 launch as close to a sure thing as you can get."

Link
https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news...-deal.html

Wow!!! Notice, this is not just the ACC Network, but the SEC Network too, which is exactly why I posted it on here.

From an ESPN perspective, they are getting half the profits from BOTH the SECN and the ACCN, so why wouldn't they want BOTH networks distributed into every market possible? That means SECN in the Northeast and (probably) ACCN in the Deep South and into Texas. You've also got inroads into Mexico (Texas A&M) and the Caribbean (Miami). Syracuse gets into Canada a little, and Notre Dame reaches all the way to California...

(08-22-2018 12:05 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(08-22-2018 11:20 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Speaking of New York, check this out:

(08-20-2018 07:32 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  The answer is yes and they already have Altice signed to a deal...

"I am blown away by the fact that ESPN was able to get carriage for both ACC Network and SEC Network on cable systems that span Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York — areas that never will be confused for Tobacco Road or Tuscaloosa. ACC brass, in particular, have to be overjoyed, as this one deal makes its planned 2019 launch as close to a sure thing as you can get."

Link
https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news...-deal.html

Wow!!! Notice, this is not just the ACC Network, but the SEC Network too, which is exactly why I posted it on here.

From an ESPN perspective, they are getting half the profits from BOTH the SECN and the ACCN, so why wouldn't they want BOTH networks distributed into every market possible? That means SECN in the Northeast and (probably) ACCN in the Deep South and into Texas. You've also got inroads into Mexico (Texas A&M) and the Caribbean (Miami). Syracuse gets into Canada a little, and Notre Dame reaches all the way to California...

If the SEC winds up getting the two Texas state schools look for those two schools to have a smattering of games against ACC opponents for no other reason than to try to spur interest for your product in that region. I also think this why Auburn will be having a home and home with Penn State. While the Lions are a Big 10 product it is a game that will draw interest in the Altice area.

(07-25-2018 01:15 AM)JRsec Wrote:  https://www.keepbigten.com

Looks like another carrier is threatening to drop the BTN.

Comcast is always threatening to drop some one. Happens on a regular basis. Just a bargaining technique.

Comcast was going to drop one of our local stations last year.

(08-23-2018 02:51 PM)RocketCitySooner Wrote:  

(07-25-2018 01:15 AM)JRsec Wrote:  https://www.keepbigten.com

Looks like another carrier is threatening to drop the BTN.

Comcast is always threatening to drop some one. Happens on a regular basis. Just a bargaining technique.

Comcast was going to drop one of our local stations last year.

I'm not so sure this time. Usually it is just a bargaining technique. But they have already followed through on a threat to drop the BTN out of footprint. We'll have to wait and see on this one.

BTN will be back on Comcast although it looks like they won't have the same penetration with the new deal.

(08-25-2018 12:11 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  BTN will be back on Comcast although it looks like they won't have the same penetration with the new deal.

The numbers is what I want to see.

(08-25-2018 12:11 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  BTN will be back on Comcast although it looks like they won't have the same penetration with the new deal.

This is correct. They will be on FS1 inside their footprint and in D.C and parts of Northern Virginia.

Everywhere else you have to buy the extra sports tier to get them.