Many Cable Providers Not Signned On

Most of this is in Atlanta area, and the ACC footprint.

Quote:Several large television providers, including some with a presence in the Atlanta market, have yet to agree to carry the soon-to-launch network in the ESPN family. Without access to the network, Yellow Jackets fans cannot watch coach Geoff Collins’ debut game against the defending national champions in their homes or, for that matter, the home opener the following week against USF. The ACC Network will carry that game, also.

Quote:In its initial budget forecast for the 2020 fiscal year (which began July 1), Georgia Tech was counting on $31.8 million in distribution from the ACC, a healthy bump from the $28.0 million it was projecting for fiscal year 2019 (which ended on Saturday) when all the bookkeeping was completed. Of the $3.8 million increase, $1 million was expected to be the fruit of the ESPN-owned network, which launches Aug. 22.

One thing that this article do not point out are the lack of viewers for the ACC's football games on tv. Most of the games are in the range of the G5. I think cable companies are bulking on paying more money for another network that people do not watch. They do not want to lose cable cutters since many households are on the lower end of middle class, and the working poor. They could be phased out, and the companies have to raise prices on the upper middle class which could cut cable and stream online. If ESPN can't get more providers on board? The ACC Network will fail.

Wow, what a troll job!

1. The ACCN is actually ahead of where the SECN was at the same number of days before launch. It's also ahead of where the BTN was AT launch and where the Pac-12 is now. So any claims that it's behind schedule just doesn't make sense, IMO.

2. The money is always a concern. The fact that GT budgeted just $1M from the ACCN may be a concern... or just an AD being conservative (IDK)

3. Regarding TV ratings, comparisons of Tier 1 ratings are totally irrelevant; what matters is the Tier 3 ratings. ACC typically gets around 1 million viewers per game for those - which is very much in line for a conference network, I believe.

None of that guarantees success OR failure, so it's definitely premature to call it EITHER way.

With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not sure the past provides us any guidance in this environment. Going to be interesting for sure.

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not shocking that a company (AT&T) that owns more than a dozen cable channels (TBS, TNT, CNN, HBO, etc., etc.) and also owns a big satellite TV provider (DirecTV) might be hostile to paying to carry other companies' cable channels...

(07-17-2019 12:09 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not shocking that a company (AT&T) that owns more than a dozen cable channels (TBS, TNT, CNN, HBO, etc., etc.) and also owns a big satellite TV provider (DirecTV) might be hostile to paying to carry other companies' cable channels...

Directv signed on. Dish Network is not listed. ATT's CNN, TBS, TNT and those channels home office is Atlanta. That is where the most people are at. Altice/SuddenLink and Charter are not there yet. SuddenLink is a smaller provider that do not have that many customers comparing to ComCast and them. Not sure Altice/SuddenLink will add this Network. ESPN already drove smaller cable providers out of business.

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not sure the past provides us any guidance in this environment. Going to be interesting for sure.

With CBS going dark on Uverse there is going to be a major war in the Southeast in about a 45 days.

(07-17-2019 01:47 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not sure the past provides us any guidance in this environment. Going to be interesting for sure.

With CBS going dark on Uverse there is going to be a major war in the Southeast in about a 45 days.

Yeah, that dog won't hunt...

(07-17-2019 05:55 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 01:47 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not sure the past provides us any guidance in this environment. Going to be interesting for sure.

With CBS going dark on Uverse there is going to be a major war in the Southeast in about a 45 days.

Yeah, that dog won't hunt...

The ACC will get enough carriage. Really, IMO the only debatable news pertaining the ACCN will be the carriage rate. Georgia Tech's initial budget of between 3-4 million is precisely where I felt you would be in your first year. If Tech is preparing for less it is because they are tight monetarily and can't afford an overestimate. I see it more as sandbagging. Still, you should hunt down the clown at FSU that was talking 15 million dollar payouts and bash him around the head and shoulders with wet towels because that kind of speculation can do nothing but hurt morale and lead to needless arguments. I still believe that 7-8 million is possible within 3-5 years.

As far as CBS goes it's a smart move to hold out. They know the kind of pressure ATT will receive if it pushes the deadline for SEC kickoff. Of course CBS could be risking a bit too. The SEC hasn't renewed with them yet. So we'll see where the chips fall on this.

(07-17-2019 06:11 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 05:55 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 01:47 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-17-2019 10:54 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  With the Nexstar vs. Uverse/Directv blackout now heading into a third week and CBS likely going dark on Uverse and Direct on Friday, this is a tough environment for bringing in a new channel.

Not sure the past provides us any guidance in this environment. Going to be interesting for sure.

With CBS going dark on Uverse there is going to be a major war in the Southeast in about a 45 days.

Yeah, that dog won't hunt...

The ACC will get enough carriage. Really, IMO the only debatable news pertaining the ACCN will be the carriage rate. Georgia Tech's initial budget of between 3-4 million is precisely where I felt you would be in your first year. If Tech is preparing for less it is because they are tight monetarily and can't afford an overestimate. I see it more as sandbagging. Still, you should hunt down the clown at FSU that was talking 15 million dollar payouts and bash him around the head and shoulders with wet towels because that kind of speculation can do nothing but hurt morale and lead to needless arguments. I still believe that 7-8 million is possible within 3-5 years.

As far as CBS goes it's a smart move to hold out. They know the kind of pressure ATT will receive if it pushes the deadline for SEC kickoff. Of course CBS could be risking a bit too. The SEC hasn't renewed with them yet. So we'll see where the chips fall on this.

Well, if CBS is going to make a bid to keep the SEC, they WILL need some money to pay for it...