(08-20-2019 09:26 AM)JAE_VT Wrote: (08-20-2019 09:12 AM)Lou_C Wrote: (08-20-2019 07:46 AM)Hallcity Wrote: Frontier is the first carrier to say that they won't carry ACCN. They object to having to include ACCN on their most popular packages.
Unfortunate that Frontier won't be carrying it at this time. But this should be music to everyone's ears:
ACC Network is quite expensive.
Unfortunately, in order to get the biggest audience possible, ESPN/ACC Network would require that Frontier include their network in our most popular packages.
This is pretty encouraging to me. I think the smart fear was not "what if they can't get the ACC network picked up", the fear was "How much will they really be able to charge for it?"
This is basically confirmation that they aren't just giving it away. A lot of the predictions that the ACC would be lucky to get half the rate the SECN gets...well I'm not so sure that is going to be true, and that's great news.
It's not going to be about what the ACCN is "worth" relative to the SEC, it's always been about how much ESPN could force the carriers to take. I'm glad to hear it's expensive.
Now...Comcast is still a very big dog here. I'm not terribly worried about Dish, about them not carrying it, or what if they don't (and rumors are they will anyway). There certainly aren't any good rumors or leaks coming out about Comcast. I'm guessing they're betting people don't really cancel, so we'll just have to cross our fingers that cancellations come in enough volume to push them over.
There are enough carriers now that the ACC Network isn't dead on arrival. It can weather a year or two without Comcast if it comes to it. But I don't know long term if the ACCN thrives without Comcast, Comcast eventually could become what DirectTV is to the PAC, the albatross around it's neck.
I don't think it will come to that, Disney has a lot of tools in it's toolbox to eventually get Comcast on board, but I'm starting to doubt we see the ACCN on Comcast this year.
But isnt the real question, concerning any of these networks that are currently refusing the ACCN, how long can their product be viable without all of the Disney owned channels??? I thought I read in another article that quoted an ACC official as saying eventually when the contracts to renew the other Disney owned channels come-up, they will bundle the ACCN with those other channels.
Most definitely. The issue is that Comcast and Disney are signed for years...they're one of the ones that isn't up soon. Not sure about Dish. I think UVerse is up by the end of the year, and should be added.
The thing is, I'm not sure whether Disney has been able to force the network on any non-streaming carrier that they didn't have a renewal deal on. I could be wrong, but I think that's the case, but I could be wrong about DirectTV. That was always the plan, and why the long ramp up.
I'm not sure they've been able to crack any of these carriers that are in mid term, and not sure how long it will take.
It looks like part of the Spectrum deal involved some kind of arrangement around Disney+ and the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ package that's coming. I don't know the details, but I think that's about Spectrum being able to offer that directly to customers on their bills, probably with a cut, and on their boxes.
If that streaming service is successful and popular, and there seams to be some early enthusiasm for it, that might be the next leverage point with these other carriers that aren't up for renewal anytime soon. Comcast may want to be able to offer that direct to its customers and through it's boxes, and if it does that might provide some impetus for an agreement. But that probably wouldn't be a factor before the end of the year.
If Comcast (and Dish) do hold out, it could be for a long time. We'll see. Cancellations could end up being more than they plan on, and then I'm also sure that ESPN has other concessions they can make. I don't think they can really lower the price, but there are always things they can do with their other properties, like allowing say, ABC Family to be moved to a less popular tier or whatever.