The NFL games will feature an array of new enhancements for viewers — some powered by artificial intelligence — that represent merely the latest move in the company’s fast-growing sports streaming ambitions.
Just in the last four months, the company has entered discussions about a potential ESPN equity partnership, signaled an intention to compete for NASCAR rights, acquired a set of pickleball rights, still shows the Premier League domestically, and could even be a significant player in the next round of NBA rights.
Folks, streaming or not is irrelevant in this regard of production quality.
Last night’s production quality for the game via Amazon Prime via Pirate Sports Network was THE BEST I have seen. You can bet the others are going to have meetings on the matter come Monday or Tuesday.
CBS is a close second and might step it up now. Fox is a close third.
Then there is NBC, which manages to have the #1 show in all of US television yet in my view is now #4 on their production and not close to the top three. NBC’s production quality is much closer in image here in 2023 to the launch of their Sunday night production in 2006 with still their “overloaded set” approach.
To NBC’s credit, they did finally add that big screen for the studio discussion set as they did for other sports coverage, but they are years beyond the global media industry coverage of live sports in such regards. How long ago was the “studio sports desk” or “studio library” image outdated now?
Dead last, having to rely on the Manningcast to help out again, is of course rotten and awful ESPN that the NFL should just do away with for good.
ESPN has only been in the mix after paying a multiple to have the rights to one game per week as compared to the over-the-air networks. Let’s remember that had a crappy Sunday Night Football production through 2005, which in turn they managed to transfer to making Monday Night Football a steadily crappier production with every year. But hey they are all about sports TALK aren’t they!? And it’s LOUD too!
Live Surveillance Captured At A Cable Channel or YouTube Channel or Podcast With Current or Former Cable Channel Employees
I posted this elsewhere in jest, but I think it turned out alright for sake of reality.
Now I would hope more sports fans save themselves the trouble than already those cutting the cord.
Rejoice and be glad though, for Peak Bojack, a time of year with insanely hot takes about sports including plenty from testosterone-fueled brotastic dudes who have not yet lost enough on betting both college and pro football, ends in a few days.
We go live now to our hidden surveillance in the break room at a sports cable channel, or off-air on a podcast, by a current or former cable TV employee:
“Look, I know I’m sitting here in this seat at my job less relevant by the week on cable. And my podcast is well, not quite cutting it yet. But I gotta do my job! And say something loud! NFL! Aaron Rodgers! Lebron James! Coach Prime! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I’m relevant now too! Watch me ride the wave, bro!”
I get it I get it, it’s a living for now like any job, but it’s clear as the volume is going up, the level of desperation is showing.
One week later, based on the egregious amount of advertising during NFL games of the NFL Sunday Ticket even amongst all the other usual ads during games, I’ll be curious in hearing the numbers once September is over. YouTube TV is running a promotion through Tuesday apparently.
Beyond the regular price, the competition from NFL streaming products like RedZone via NFL+ and given the buried reality of the heavy lag, or high latency, of the service of 30 to 50 seconds from the field of play, I’m thinking that indeed that YouTube is having issues with subscriber growth in line with its lofty expectations.
Right on track here with predictions we made here two weeks ago - the vast majority of games will now be simulcast on ABC. Screw you ESPN once again. That’s what the NFL essentially said though nobody wants to report it.
@Paolo_X - “In business, nothing happens on accident; every move is a piece of the puzzle waiting to be revealed.”
I agree with you on the NFL thing with ESPN/ABC, but I am wondering if there is something else there that has to do with ABC getting spun off into its own company or something like that. I don’t know what the play is but I am with you that there is something more to this than just ABC getting some MNF due to the writers strike. That seems awfully convenient.
Something is going to happen shortly with either ESPN ABC or both of them. We have the NFL strong arming ABC to carry more NFL games. And now we have something happening on the edges of the NFL Fox USFL XFL universe with possible merger talks. Something big is going down - don’t know what but by Halloween my bet is something big happens.
Right on. I worked for IBM in the late 1990s years after their first major wave of layoffs in the early 1990s during that recession.
No doubt they have more than come around.
Otherwise as you probably know, the historical reference was for when IBM had squandered their virtual monopoly to lose the upcoming battle at the desktop with several mistakes in the '70s and '80s, which included not taking Bill Gates and Microsoft seriously.
You know, I’d sort of forgotten about it, but I am old enough to remember the term “IBM-compatible PC” which indicates their dominance. I believe IBM is currently at the cutting-edge of quantum computing research.
This update from early August describes an interesting strategy for WBD for their new streaming service on Max.
For almost 5 months, they will offer the sports package for free.
They are betting that subscribers will stay on for also the end of the NBA and the NHL seasons.
At least the baseball post-season will be free.
I will take the under on their subscriber numbers for 2Q2024, but we won’t know those figures until perhaps August 2024.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s new push to house its entire live sports portfolio on Max is designed to provide simplicity for consumers and linear distributors amid a period of increasing media complexity.
The Turner Sports parent has finalized its heavily anticipated plans to create a sports tier on its general-interest, direct-to-consumer streaming service, introducing the newly named Bleacher Report Sports Add-On tier beginning Oct. 5.
Timed to begin with MLB playoffs, it will offer WBD’s full slate of live sports programming, also including NHL, NBA, college basketball, and U.S. Soccer, along with popular studio programs such as “Inside The NBA.” The service will be offered as an extended free preview for Max subscribers in the U.S. from its initial debut until Feb. 29, 2024, followed by a $9.99-per-month fee.
More Streaming Price Wars And What To Do With Live Sports Without The Especially Rotten Ripoff ESPN+?
There is a bigger picture here as noted as in the above post as one example, with Disney paradoxically having to lower streaming prices only a month later along with Paramount+ running a big promotion as well.
The push is on now for the sale prices by all the firms losing billions on streaming but for Amazon (not a standalone business for them) and Netflix.
Basically I see this clearance sale now as the push by all the media firms to shore up numbers of subscribers for the holiday season and their books for 2023 and all the associated performance bonuses paid in some part based on those results.
With more numbers, they will figure out what they have or don’t have and what especially to cut deeply in early 2024. Prepare for serious carnage. Most won’t care, for they will dump streaming after the NFL season and the depth of winter anyway except for Netflix or Amazon Prime.
Now as one example of a league that could benefit greatly from streaming access due to skewing to a younger demographic, well there is a great mystery at hand.
Fox won’t stream games to Tubi. Disney has to decide if ESPN+ will be its engine for all sports on ABC or not. It has NOT gone well, and I do not see people excited about subscribing to any relaunch of ESPN+ unless free. Of course when they know they will be charged after any associated games are over, the losing money cycle would just repeat itself. Disney has to come up with something NEW for sports, and perhaps the solution is not ESPN but simply, wait for it, ABC Sports on streaming.
Wow, how profound and innovative eh? But it would work via simulcast of games especially for the younger audiences who dumped ESPN a very long time ago! That’s something that it seems the dominant media executives have not accepted a decade after the decline of that “bundle.” Hey, just hang it up and retire already.
NBC Charts New Course With WWE Smackdown Starting In October 2024
This news via a major investment may or may not be a tell with regards to NBC’s other sports rights beyond the NFL, Premier League, the Olympics, and a whole lot of golf Golf on NBC - Wikipedia .
I make that statement because I am not so sure Comcast has terribly much more money, time, and resources to go around in the current declining media climate than say if we were still in the year 2018.
I am going to take the under, which won’t have a high payoff now, on any remnant interest in any merged XFL-USFL.
In contrast to in 2020, in 2023 there is no longer any significant interest in payment for rights to stream such live sports on the likes of Peacock in lieu of traditional TV rights. Peacock sucks anyway, as some of you know.
Just saw this news as well. Makes sense they NBC may be less than interested in spring football now when they’re shelling out big bucks for a more established product. NBC seems to be gunshy when it comes to Alt football. During the 82 NFL strike they aired 1-2 weeks of CFL games in its place before quickly dropping it. Gave up on XFL 1.0 after one season,but had even threatened to pull the plug before the championship game. More than likely running away from the USFL/XFL now as well. The only league they sort of gave a chance to, the AFL circa 2003-2006. Even then, the last year was basically lame duck with most games banished to the Versus network and the elimination of regional coverage.
Right on - I also forgot to mention NBC’s huge investment also in Big Ten Football, Notre Dame Football, various motorsport, and the Kentucky Derby (these rights run out in 2025).
I think NBC is spread rather thin now, for they have already been going big for the Olympics they have in Paris 2024.
Going forward, I would be surprised now if NBC made any major new investments in live sports rights until autumn 2024 at the earliest.
Survey says 35% of NFL have used “illegal” streaming sites. At 52%, Bengals fans have done it most.
As usual, more interesting is looking at the comment section of 400 entries mostly justifying piracy because they believe access to the NFL has gotten way too expensive.
Sunday Ticket will cost you around $400 this season while NFL Plus, the league’s own mobile streaming service, is another $8 a month. Also, you have to pay for ESPN, Amazon Prime and 1 game on Peacock. Actually attending a game is, of course, increasingly what you do using your corporate expense account, not your own checkbook, given the cost.
Most simply not only agree that there has to be a simpler and better way, and most quite simply would pay for it.
This point goes for all video that otherwise is not free over-the-air.
The running losses of streaming apps are most indicative in this light beyond the cord cutting of the antiquated cable bundle model.
I think the NFL will be getting there for simplification, not necessarily ultimately for a lower total price, as they go more down the road of NFL+.
The NFL Sunday Ticket, as I have discussed above, is having a hard time for reasons cited.
The NFL Sunday Ticket on streaming is now an inferior product being sold, with heavy promotions and tie-ins with other services, at otherwise a higher price.
This is an interesting move by the NFL also to test the streaming waters more, but the future is likely not on ESPN+ but on NFL+ or perhaps Amazon Prime if they want to cover more games.
The major US networks perhaps don’t like to dedicate over-the-air channels on Sunday morning to the NFL as opposed to their regular fare that appeals more to retirees like those Sunday morning discussion shows they crave sort of like “60 Minutes” on Sunday nights right after the NFL game, except on the West Coast. They probably also don’t mind not having to send an entire broadcasting crew to Europe right now.
I figure that the advertisers also pay well to target that demographic still watching the same channels as at least 40 years ago and with the impression that they have to watch the shows live too.
