Off to a good start.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/20/espn-str...onths.html

Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

(09-20-2018 10:16 AM)orangefan Wrote:  Off to a good start.

That is impressive. They will never get me to subscribe, but I admit that is a good milestone.

For hoops and other sports, A10 has gone big with ESPN+.

Quote:NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Atlantic 10 Conference and ESPN have reached a multi-year media rights deal for more than 500 conference events each year to be carried on ESPN+, the first multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

The comprehensive new deal makes ESPN+ the exclusive streaming home for most Atlantic 10 sports and includes exclusive games from multiple A-10 Championships including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse.

“The A-10 and ESPN have had a long-term linear television agreement that has been a win-win for both parties,” stated Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “This additional agreement gives the Atlantic 10 and its membership unprecedented visibility on some of the best streaming technology in sports, and it gives ESPN+ a wealth of high-level collegiate sports content. I can’t thank ESPN enough for their partnership with the Atlantic 10 Conference.”

http://www.atlantic10.com/ViewArticle.db...=211717410

(09-20-2018 10:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

Thats what I expected as well. I suspect there has a been a very sharp bump up since the college football season began. That will likely continue as I think there are still more than few teams that have not had their debut game on ESPN-Plus. I would expect growth to level off about mid way through the football season as hold out fans from conferences with ESPN+ deals finally relent and sign up once conference play begins in earnest.

ESPN+ will be a bargain for college hoops. A10, Valley, and nearly everything below it.

(09-20-2018 10:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

College football is the biggest thing they have to offer, but I expect pretty good growth as hoops season starts as well. Seems like ESPN+ has quite a stockpile of pretty good basketball games.

Looks like ESPN is going to be a fairly significant part of the CUSA TV platform. This week, 3 games that are part of the CUSA package are on ESPN+ or ESPN-3. Four other CUSA teams will be on ESPN+, ESPN3, or linear ESPN networks as well---but those other contests are OOC games covered by other conference media deals.


Rice at Southern Miss (ESPN+) 6 pm
Texas State at UTSA (ESPN+) 6 pm
New Mexico State at UTEP (ESPN3) 6:30 pm

(09-20-2018 01:12 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 10:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

College football is the biggest thing they have to offer, but I expect pretty good growth as hoops season starts as well. Seems like ESPN+ has quite a stockpile of pretty good basketball games.

How will they react when half of their subscribers leave in April after NCAA basketball is over?

The cable business model had setup and cancellation fees, so subscribers stayed on year-round. But with streaming, people can hop on/off any month. I get the idea that ESPN hasn't factored that into their pricing strategies yet.

(09-20-2018 03:32 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 01:12 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 10:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

College football is the biggest thing they have to offer, but I expect pretty good growth as hoops season starts as well. Seems like ESPN+ has quite a stockpile of pretty good basketball games.

How will they react when half of their subscribers leave in April after NCAA basketball is over?

The cable business model had setup and cancellation fees, so subscribers stayed on year-round. But with streaming, people can hop on/off any month. I get the idea that ESPN hasn't factored that into their pricing strategies yet.

Unless you use a card about to expire, you have to undertake an affirmative act to cancel. I'd bet that a significant number of "I'll cancel after the season" people just don't think about it and keep getting dinged $4.99 a month.

If they do like cable, if someone calls ESPN will likely offer them a sweetheart deal to try MLB.tv

Can someone PLEASE tell me the difference between ESPN+ and ESPN3?

(09-20-2018 03:57 PM)Chuck A Wrote:  Can someone PLEASE tell me the difference between ESPN+ and ESPN3?

ESPN3 is “free” to you if your cable/internet company has a deal with ESPN to give it to you.

ESPN+ is a paid subscription, whether you have a traditional paid TV service or not.

ESPN + is available to everyone (who is willing to pay)

ESPN3 is not

(09-20-2018 04:07 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 03:57 PM)Chuck A Wrote:  Can someone PLEASE tell me the difference between ESPN+ and ESPN3?

ESPN3 is “free” to you if your cable/internet company has a deal with ESPN to give it to you.

ESPN+ is a paid subscription, whether you have a traditional paid TV service or not.

ESPN + is available to everyone (who is willing to pay)

ESPN3 is not

What about the programming? Are there games on + that aren't on 3? And vice versa.

If I have ESPN3, is there a point to ESPN+?

Yes, big difference in programming. ESPN + has a lot of soccer content, UFC content in 2019, daily MLB game, and NHL games coming up. ESPN + content is only available with a subscription and you cannot get that on ESPN3. I am not sure if ESPN3 content is available if you only have ESPN +. I would say yes, but not 100% on that

I have DirecTV, ATT internet and ESPN +, so I can watch all content I want

(09-20-2018 03:32 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 01:12 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 10:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Good number but I wonder how much is the transition of Insiders subscribers.

I would expect to see nice growth to the end of the college football season then a slower pace for hoops and baseball.

College football is the biggest thing they have to offer, but I expect pretty good growth as hoops season starts as well. Seems like ESPN+ has quite a stockpile of pretty good basketball games.

How will they react when half of their subscribers leave in April after NCAA basketball is over?

The cable business model had setup and cancellation fees, so subscribers stayed on year-round. But with streaming, people can hop on/off any month. I get the idea that ESPN hasn't factored that into their pricing strategies yet.

FWIW, I've never faced a cancellation/setup fee for cable services, at least not for packages. E.g., if I want to add or drop HBO, i can do that at any time with no fees.

It would shock me if ESPN and Disney haven't factored in something so basic as people choosing to pay or not pay. In fact, I think the $50 for a year deal is precisely designed to get people to subscribe for the whole year.

(09-21-2018 09:47 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  It would shock me if ESPN and Disney haven't factored in something so basic as people choosing to pay or not pay. In fact, I think the $50 for a year deal is precisely designed to get people to subscribe for the whole year.

That, plus the fact that anyone who has looked at what's on ESPN+ can see that it's a service designed to appeal to people who watch (and are interested in) more than one sport. It's not a "narrowcasting" service for people who are only interested in one team or one sport.

(09-20-2018 05:07 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  What about the programming? Are there games on + that aren't on 3? And vice versa.

If I have ESPN3, is there a point to ESPN+?

It depends on your interests, because yes, there is substantial content on ESPN+ that is no longer on ESPN3 - in fact, many of us who have ESPN via cable and thus have ESPN3 are irked that ESPN has shifted some stuff that used to be on ESPN3 exclusively to ESPN+ to make ESPN+ more attractive.

That said, I have ESPN3 and I have no interest in ESPN+, because I am not interested in ESPN+ content, which primarily is exclusive MLB and NHL games (neither of which i watch), MLS (ditto) and a raft of college sports, mostly G5 football and basketball (I get all the college football and hoops I want to watch on regular cable).

But, if you are a big MLS fan, or can't get enough MLB or NHL, or are a fan of a non-P5 conference such as the A10 or CUSA that has a big deal with ESPN+, it may very well be worth it to you.

(09-21-2018 10:14 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-20-2018 05:07 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  What about the programming? Are there games on + that aren't on 3? And vice versa.

If I have ESPN3, is there a point to ESPN+?

It depends on your interests, because yes, there is substantial content on ESPN+ that is no longer on ESPN3 - in fact, many of us who have ESPN via cable and thus have ESPN3 are irked that ESPN has shifted some stuff that used to be on ESPN3 exclusively to ESPN+ to make ESPN+ more attractive.

That said, I have ESPN3 and I have no interest in ESPN+, because I am not interested in ESPN+ content, which primarily is exclusive MLB and NHL games (neither of which i watch), MLS (ditto) and a raft of college sports, mostly G5 football and basketball (I get all the college football and hoops I want to watch on regular cable).

But, if you are a big MLS fan, or can't get enough MLB or NHL, or are a fan of a non-P5 conference such as the A10 or CUSA that has a big deal with ESPN+, it may very well be worth it to you.

Plus the 30 for 30 library and I see some tennis, golf and UFC but since I have no interest I cannot give any sort of assessment as the quality of that content.

It's very much a niche product and more so if you live "in market" for your the MLB, NHL, MLS teams you support and don't have interest in out-of-market games.

(09-21-2018 09:57 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-21-2018 09:47 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  It would shock me if ESPN and Disney haven't factored in something so basic as people choosing to pay or not pay. In fact, I think the $50 for a year deal is precisely designed to get people to subscribe for the whole year.

That, plus the fact that anyone who has looked at what's on ESPN+ can see that it's a service designed to appeal to people who watch (and are interested in) more than one sport. It's not a "narrowcasting" service for people who are only interested in one team or one sport.

It's a bit both.
It's narrow in that you won't run into P5 (I have seen some ACC football but can't honestly say whether it was E3 or E+ content). The NHL and MLB is out-of-market as is the MLS so it is narrow in that it only appeals to a segment of fans of those sports.

But it is broad in that it covers so many sports and leagues.

ESPN+ is a bundle of niches, if you will.

I subscribed because I wanted to watch MLS matches. So few of them are on regular TV and I can follow Atlanta United locally, but I also like to check out the competition or just see some of the better players in action.

But you also have other content for soccer fans. The Italian Serie A is now on ESPN+ in addition to some other European domestic competitions. If you're a soccer fan then it's a cool way to access a lot of matches.

I doubt I'll watch very many G5 or FCS football games as I'm watching mostly Power schools on Saturdays, but come basketball season I will probably tune in to some of those leagues. I haven't taken advantage of the MLB or NHL games, but I'll probably check out the UFC when they start broadcasting. BTW, UFC is year round so if you're not into getting PPVs then ESPN+ will be a great and cheap way to keep up with the sport.

Also, I'll bet you anything that this current lineup is more of trial run. I think eventually ESPN will mix and match as much of their overall content as possible on ESPN+ in order to encourage more subs. I'm guessing P5 football/basketball along with more pro sports although most of that content will still be on the prime cable channels.