Baseball on Cable

[Mike Sixel]

Not sure we want a lawyer updating us on legal stuff, you should stick to GM stuff......

[biggentleben]

I think we are going to see changes to MLB.TV and blackout restrictions as soon as next year. I've been meaning to update the article we wrote this spring about the antitrust lawsuit against MLB. Short version is that it's not going well for the MLB. MLB and the teams finally tried to have the case thrown out and the judge decided that the antitrust exemption does not apply to the broadcast rights. A week later, we started seeing rumors of MLB easing blackout restrictions.

I bet they start doing what HBO currently does. HBO allows you to stream shows if you already have HBO - you just need to create an online account. So for us, this means it solves the blackout restrictions, but you still have to buy cable. 

 

I could see that being a distinct possibility, but I know they're really trying to push MLB.tv, and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it something where it's a $110 regular, $130 premium, and $150 "super premium", which would guarantee no blackouts.

 

The NFL basically stated that they're going to keep blackouts and that it's their right, especially since all games are on "over the air television".  I guess the NFL rep who stated that might want to consult what market that ESPN is over the air, because it's not in one I've ever known.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I think we are going to see changes to MLB.TV and blackout restrictions as soon as next year. I've been meaning to update the article we wrote this spring about the antitrust lawsuit against MLB. Short version is that it's not going well for the MLB. MLB and the teams finally tried to have the case thrown out and the judge decided that the antitrust exemption does not apply to the broadcast rights. A week later, we started seeing rumors of MLB easing blackout restrictions.

I bet they start doing what HBO currently does. HBO allows you to stream shows if you already have HBO - you just need to create an online account. So for us, this means it solves the blackout restrictions, but you still have to buy cable. 

Not a perfect solution but at this point, I'll take anything. Sports need to get on board with the digital age. It might sting a little in the short-term but in the long-term, they'll reap huge benefits.

[TheLeviathan]

Fair enough but that almost never happens anymore if one has the standard cable internet package (somewhere around 20-30mb download).

 

But if you're still on an ancient DSL line in the 1.5mb range, yeah, that will be an issue (but that doesn't even qualify as "high speed internet" anymore so that's a bit like complaining that a gallon bucket won't hold five gallons of water).

 

There are many, many people that do not have access to internet of that capability.  My father lives in rural MN and wanted to ditch his dish because of how often weather screwed with it and I went out, got him a used PS3, signed up for Netflix, and the load times were so god-awful that he was barely able to use it functionally.

 

And in many other places the cost to get internet good enough to stream is roughly the same as to get a bundled package.  

[biggentleben]

There are many, many people that do not have access to internet of that capability.  My father lives in rural MN and wanted to ditch his dish because of how often weather screwed with it and I went out, got him a used PS3, signed up for Netflix, and the load times were so god-awful that he was barely able to use it functionally.

 

And in many other places the cost to get internet good enough to stream is roughly the same as to get a bundled package.  

 

From a rural experience, I found I actually had a lot better opportunity to shop around when living on the farm.  I could get the best price possible for speed guarantees due to having plenty of options and being willing to play them against one another.  My antenna internet was guaranteed certain speed, and I got entire months for free due to one day of down-time.  It's just a matter of being willing to barter like you would when purchasing a new car and being willing to follow through with it.

 

Now living in town, where I'm at in the town won't give me the access I'd need for dish services and there's only one option for cable internet in town.

[TheLeviathan]

From a rural experience, I found I actually had a lot better opportunity to shop around when living on the farm.  I could get the best price possible for speed guarantees due to having plenty of options and being willing to play them against one another.  My antenna internet was guaranteed certain speed, and I got entire months for free due to one day of down-time.  It's just a matter of being willing to barter like you would when purchasing a new car and being willing to follow through with it.

 

Now living in town, where I'm at in the town won't give me the access I'd need for dish services and there's only one option for cable internet in town.

 

It likely depends on where you are.  There is literally only one internet service available where my father lives and the rates for the crappiness of connectivity speed are outrageous.  

 

Minnesota, by the way, is one of the worst in the nation at this problem as hard as that might be for nerdy city-dwellers to understand.

[Rosterman]

First off, tighten up the in-league playoffs. You either care or don't care about the other league. They can play games at the same times. Especially if you have multiple channel programming. Tighten the series and you don't have off days. Having two days without baseball between series can kill momentum, especially in the more sudden depth rounds. And now a rain delay.

 

My wife remarked that baseball didn't want to go up against football on Sunday afternoon. Hell, this is baseball. You'll watch one or the other. 

 

And being American League fans, ain't paying a lot of attention to the NL, but if whatever else I'm watching is done and if a game is on,I'll do the switch. Via the net saw the game last night was tied. Then tried to find it on cable. Went thru 100 channels of listings, wondering what the heck Fox Sports 1 was. Finally remembered there is a grid where I can check on sports. Found it it was 270-something and we flipped it on right after the walk off. Needless to say wasn't impressed with the post-game prattle and my wife returned to her house hunters programming.

 

Baseball is killing itself. What is it. 16 days, 18 days, three weeks between the end of the season and the beginning of the World Series. This playoff games need to increase the excitement, not disappear into the nether universe and allow football and whatever to take over. Baseball should be primetime, reachable by anyone that may want to watch.

[biggentleben]

First off, tighten up the in-league playoffs. You either care or don't care about the other league. They can play games at the same times. Especially if you have multiple channel programming. Tighten the series and you don't have off days. Having two days without baseball between series can kill momentum, especially in the more sudden depth rounds. And now a rain delay.

 

My wife remarked that baseball didn't want to go up against football on Sunday afternoon. Hell, this is baseball. You'll watch one or the other. 

 

And being American League fans, ain't paying a lot of attention to the NL, but if whatever else I'm watching is done and if a game is on,I'll do the switch. Via the net saw the game last night was tied. Then tried to find it on cable. Went thru 100 channels of listings, wondering what the heck Fox Sports 1 was. Finally remembered there is a grid where I can check on sports. Found it it was 270-something and we flipped it on right after the walk off. Needless to say wasn't impressed with the post-game prattle and my wife returned to her house hunters programming.

 

Baseball is killing itself. What is it. 16 days, 18 days, three weeks between the end of the season and the beginning of the World Series. This playoff games need to increase the excitement, not disappear into the nether universe and allow football and whatever to take over. Baseball should be primetime, reachable by anyone that may want to watch.

 

While your access comments are viable, this year's playoffs have been incredibly fun to watch so far.  Baseball couldn't have predicted that the division series would go so fast, but they were still exciting to watch the underdog in the AL (and the NL as well).

[Brock Beauchamp]

There are many, many people that do not have access to internet of that capability.  My father lives in rural MN and wanted to ditch his dish because of how often weather screwed with it and I went out, got him a used PS3, signed up for Netflix, and the load times were so god-awful that he was barely able to use it functionally.

 

And in many other places the cost to get internet good enough to stream is roughly the same as to get a bundled package.  

True, but you're talking about

[TheLeviathan]

True, but you're talking about <5% of the population. Most towns of even just a few thousand people have inexpensive broadband cable infrastructure built in at this point (such as my father's house in the UP, he lives in a town of 3,000 people).

 

That's all fine, but even where there is broadband the prices are often more ridiculous than you might think which drive people to bundle to save money.  If you can get basic cable for 5-10 bucks more than your internet....why wouldn't you?  The service is more reliable than streaming in that situation.

[Brock Beauchamp]

That's all fine, but even where there is broadband the prices are often more ridiculous than you might think which drive people to bundle to save money.  If you can get basic cable for 5-10 bucks more than your internet....why wouldn't you?  The service is more reliable than streaming in that situation.

I'm not arguing whether people should buy cable television, I'm simply stating that more people are cutting the cord as streaming services mature. It has already started to happen. The ball is rolling and will only gain momentum as the younger set grow up without any kind of need to purchase cable TV.

 

Cable companies have a vested interest in locking up content providers into long-term deals... My only real point here is that it's not in content providers' long-term interests to continue accepting exclusivity deals, even if it hurts their bottom line in the short-term.

[nicksaviking]

True, but you're talking about <5% of the population. Most towns of even just a few thousand people have inexpensive broadband cable infrastructure built in at this point (such as my father's house in the UP, he lives in a town of 3,000 people).

 

Actually the small towns generally have better service than the mid-sized markets.  Damned if I can't find the article, but internet speeds were slower in Fargo, Sioux Falls, Duluth etc because those areas were too large to upgrade the infrustructute all at once and not large enough for the providers to make enough profit to compell them to do it.

[Mike Sixel]

Europe and Asia kick our butt on this kind of stuff. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Pretty much the entirety of the civilized world kicks our butt on this kind of stuff. 

FIFY.

[Monkeypaws]

Cable is an evil that needs to be gone - the internet has been chipping away to good effect, but forcing people pay for network after network of crap they don't want to watch  isn't a smart business model; people hate feeling exploited, and cable does nothing but.

 

A la carte or bust.

 

OTOH, MLB needs to get rid of that blackout nonsense. I'd buy MLB if I could watch the Twins on it. Serious disconnect there. But I suppose that's where the money comes from.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Boom. That sound you're hearing is a tiny snowball pushed off the top of the hill.

 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/hbo-to-launch-standalone-streaming-service-1413385733

 

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/a1/a11ce1439d3838e95de6ff3464ce7536f3f7d13a6fa662945f7757e43a0ac4cc.jpg

[Mike Sixel]

I figured HBO would team up with Netflix or Amazon or Google, so it wouldn't need to hire an army of accountants and IT people and collections people to manage all those accounts.....

[Brock Beauchamp]

I figured HBO would team up with Netflix or Amazon or Google, so it wouldn't need to hire an army of accountants and IT people and collections people to manage all those accounts.....

It makes sense for HBO to do it themselves. They have the bulk of the tech already in place in HBO GO. Streaming services, app developers, server bandwidth, login/authentication system, etc.

 

I bet a small team could have HBO GO converted for streaming-only use in a month. The framework is there, they just need to adapt it a bit.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Home Box Office shall become Hand Box Office.

[nicksaviking]

While there are plenty of stations nobody watches, it seems a la carte subscritptions are going to cost a ton more, particularly for people of a diverse household.  I may only watch a dozen or so different stations a year, but my wife and her reality TV watches a different dozen stations and the kids watch completely different stuff.  No way this stuff will be cheaper.

[Brock Beauchamp]

While there are plenty of stations nobody watches, it seems a la carte subscritptions are going to cost a ton more, particularly for people of a diverse household.  I may only watch a dozen or so different stations a year, but my wife and her reality TV watches a different dozen stations and the kids watch completely different stuff.  No way this stuff will be cheaper.

You're right. Per station, this will cost more... But unlike the current system, it creates legitimate competition between content providers. What has turned into the golden age of television - the early 21st century - will only turn moreso as content providers are forced to produce as much quality content as possible for the smallest amount possible. The providers that fail to adapt will die, as should be the case.

 

Plus, it opens the door to truly niche content, stuff like CrunchyRoll (an anime streaming service) to spread their wings and fill content niches that current providers won't fill.

[Mike Sixel]

It makes sense for HBO to do it themselves. They have the bulk of the tech already in place in HBO GO. Streaming services, app developers, server bandwidth, login/authentication system, etc.

 

I bet a small team could have HBO GO converted for streaming-only use in a month. The framework is there, they just need to adapt it a bit.

 

Collections and accounting system changes are a bummer* Right now, they get their money from big deals with a few providers, now, they'll need to get their money from millions of people, some 5-10% of which will pay late**

 

* I chose the nicest word I could think of.....

**ya, I made that range up completely......

[Brock Beauchamp]

Collections and accounting system changes are a bummer* Right now, they get their money from big deals with a few providers, now, they'll need to get their money from millions of people, some 5-10% of which will pay late**

 

* I chose the nicest word I could think of.....

**ya, I made that range up completely......

True, but in a streaming system, late payment = immediate cancellation of service. It's a lot easier to manage and completely automate.

[Willihammer]

I hope nobody holds shares of NFLX right now

[SweetOne69]

Collections and accounting system changes are a bummer* Right now, they get their money from big deals with a few providers, now, they'll need to get their money from millions of people, some 5-10% of which will pay late**

 

* I chose the nicest word I could think of.....

**ya, I made that range up completely......

It's going to be a la carte.  I imagine it is going to be similar to Amazon's streaming service where you pre-pay and it will cost around $1 per episode for a show and around $2.50 for a movie.

[biggentleben]

It's going to be a la carte.  I imagine it is going to be similar to Amazon's streaming service where you pre-pay and it will cost around $1 per episode for a show and around $2.50 for a movie.

 

Except that Amazon isn't the producer of much of the content that they stream, whereas the companies like CBS and ABC pay significant production costs to make the shows.  If Netflix can have nearly a dozen on going original series and charge $7 a month for streaming without commercials, I would be very surprised if cable companies couldn't put out a product for much cheaper than $1 per episode.  I'd expect something like certain channels in your a la carte would be $1 per channel, others more like $5, and others even more expensive.  Perhaps you'd have basic cable type of channels for $1-5 per channel with a minimum a la carte package of $40-50.

[Paul Pleiss]

HBO has announced they'll have a streaming-only option starting in 2015, Netflix stock was down 4% Wednesday with the news, albeit on a bad day for the market across the board.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbo-to-offer-streaming-only-online-option-in-2015-1.2799395

 

No idea what it will cost, but I'd gladly pay a netflix similiar price, especially if I can "share" it with a couple of friends or family the way I do with other streaming products.

[SweetOne69]

Except that Amazon isn't the producer of much of the content that they stream, whereas the companies like CBS and ABC pay significant production costs to make the shows.  If Netflix can have nearly a dozen on going original series and charge $7 a month for streaming without commercials, I would be very surprised if cable companies couldn't put out a product for much cheaper than $1 per episode.  I'd expect something like certain channels in your a la carte would be $1 per channel, others more like $5, and others even more expensive.  Perhaps you'd have basic cable type of channels for $1-5 per channel with a minimum a la carte package of $40-50.

 

It's not whether they could put it out cheaper (which I'm sure the could), it's what the market is willing to pay.

[Mike Sixel]

It's going to be a la carte.  I imagine it is going to be similar to Amazon's streaming service where you pre-pay and it will cost around $1 per episode for a show and around $2.50 for a movie.

 

Really? I'm not going to pay $25 per month for all HBO shows or something? It will be episode by episode? 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Really? I'm not going to pay $25 per month for all HBO shows or something? It will be episode by episode? 

I'm about 98% certain it will be a universal subscription service. HBO already offers individual episodes on iTunes, Amazon, etc. They're currently about six months behind the show premiere date but that method of offering already exists. There's no reason for HBO to announce a streaming service if that was the case, they could just start offering their shows on iTunes and Amazon earlier than normal.

 

I think it's pretty apparent that HBO is going to directly ape the Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime model, which has been extremely successful. $8/mo gets you access to all HBO shows the day after they premiere on cable, available via web browser and apps on iOS, Android, AppleTV, FireTV, Roku, Nexus Player, etc.