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Posted

http://www.forbes.com/sites/igorgreenwald/2013/01/16/tv-sports-a-spectacular-bubble/

 

Good story from Forbes about the "bubble" of sports rights fees. Basically they are subsidized by cable/satellite viewers who could care less for sports. They are fighting it but sports could become an "ala carte" item you pay for by the game or season.

 

How would that change your viewing habits, if at all?

 

PTR

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Posted

Depending on price, sure. I pay $250 for Sunday Ticket really only for the Bills games. So that's over $15 a game. I paid $175 I think for center ice, $50 this year, so that's clearly less, but yes I would. Especially if I could pay ala cart for other channels and have my cable bill be $40 a month for the 6 channels I watch vs $90 for 200 channels I don't.

Posted

If they can a la carte sports (in theory) they should a la carte ALL channels on television. I know of many channels on my DirecTv package that I don't want and would rather pay for something I do want. It may never happen because the networks make the carriers place some of these cr@p channels on air as part of a packaged deal. A lot of these channels would disappear or alter programming if it were a la carte and the consumers who chose that channel for their package controlled the market.

 

I would pay for sports, depending on price. However, I'm just as comfortable listening to a hockey game or baseball game on the radio as I am watching it on TV. Most of my favorite teams are local to me so I can hear them on radio; the Bills can be found on my smart phone through Tune In Radio (does the Bills App carry the games?).

Posted (edited)

If they can a la carte sports (in theory) they should a la carte ALL channels on television. I know of many channels on my DirecTv package that I don't want and would rather pay for something I do want. It may never happen because the networks make the carriers place some of these cr@p channels on air as part of a packaged deal. A lot of these channels would disappear or alter programming if it were a la carte and the consumers who chose that channel for their package controlled the market.

 

I would pay for sports, depending on price. However, I'm just as comfortable listening to a hockey game or baseball game on the radio as I am watching it on TV. Most of my favorite teams are local to me so I can hear them on radio; the Bills can be found on my smart phone through Tune In Radio (does the Bills App carry the games?).

 

Ah...THAT is the question that the industry teeters on. Think about it, dozens of channels would just disappear if people paid by the channel. I think cable satellite companies would fight that tooth and nail.

 

PTR

Edited by PromoTheRobot
Posted

I would pay to watch some bills games as long as they were commercial free. As of now, I haven't watched the nfl or TV for 2 years- and find both unwatchable due to commercials. And I am not missing either

Posted

I would pay to watch some bills games as long as they were commercial free. As of now, I haven't watched the nfl or TV for 2 years- and find both unwatchable due to commercials. And I am not missing either

 

Well that is NEVER going to happen. Not unless everyone can pay thousands for Sunday Ticket.

 

But your comment makes me wonder how do you know anything about the Bills if you never watch them?

 

PTR

Posted

Stojan has Sunday ticket, my habits would be mooching off of him.

 

And, to answer honestly. I would not worry about it. There is always an option not to pay to get content.

 

Well that is NEVER going to happen. Not unless everyone can pay thousands for Sunday Ticket.

 

But your comment makes me wonder how do you know anything about the Bills if you never watch them?

 

PTR

Knowing the Bills and knowing football are two separate things...anyone who has watched the Bills know there is a good argument that they do not play football... :nana:

Posted

Well that is NEVER going to happen. Not unless everyone can pay thousands for Sunday Ticket.

 

But your comment makes me wonder how do you know anything about the Bills if you never watch them?

 

PTR

I do watch the Bills online occasionally from a private feed, commercial free. And I find highlights online. But commercials were a deal breaker for me. 20 years ago commercials were barely tolerable. But now it is total overkill. Money is the ruiner of all things good. I suppose if the Bills made the playoffs I would go to a friends or a bar to watch. But now I root for them without watching them
Posted (edited)

What ever happened to C-Band and big ugly dishes (BUD's)... Is there still a market and do they work... Or has the DTV-iTunes store totally won out?

 

I am totally not up on the tech... But a guy across the street still has it... Barely notice it, worked right into his landscaping... Been there since 1995 or so... It was tied to an old huge projection TV... I remember watching the 1996 Olympics from across the street when their window was open... LoL

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
Posted

What ever happened to C-Band and big ugly dishes (BUD's)... Is there still a market and do they work... Or has the DTV-iTunes store totally won out?

 

I am totally not up on the tech... But a guy across the street still has it... Barely notice it, worked right into his landscaping... Been there since 1995 or so... It was tied to an old huge projection TV... I remember watching the 1996 Olympics from across the street when their window was open... LoL

 

The biggest reason is that networks use fiber optic hookups now most of the time rather than satellite.

 

PTR

Posted

 

 

The biggest reason is that networks use fiber optic hookups now most of the time rather than satellite.

 

PTR

 

So it doesn't work? Actually, I never asked him (neighbor) if he still gets the signal through that BUD... LoL... FWIW, you just don't notice it! Strange...

Posted (edited)

"I've got 13 700 channels of **** on the TV to choose from......"

 

 

 

In theory, I love the concept of a la carte pricing for TV but don't think it's realistic in the short term. My guess is we start to see a la carte options on the sports (particularly football) in the coming years. That is instead of buying Sunday ticket, you can just buy this Sunday's Bills game for $30; or maybe a Sunday Ticket for just one team for half price. And that I might pay for now and then (assuming they weren't heading for another 6-10 season).

Edited by KD in CT
Posted (edited)

Technically speaking, I already do. I current play $124 a month to TWC. I use my DVR for maybe a dozen series, year round (Breaking Bad, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Its Always Sunny, Workaholics, CSI, criminal Minds, and some stuff for the wife)

 

Other than that, I barely ever watch my cable channels. If the TV is on, I am watching sports or the aformentioned DVR series, which I could just subscribe to Hulu and get for $8 a month. So I am paying $124 a month for internet and sports.

Edited by JM57
Posted

That is instead of buying Sunday ticket, you can just buy this Sunday's Bills game for $30;

You can already do that with DirecTV, and that's roughly the price if I remember correctly. However at $30/game, it makes more sense to spend $200 for every game (to me, anyway).

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