FSN/Sinclair/regional sports network streaming

[brewerfan82]

If the pandemic has showed me anything, it’s that a life without watching live sports is quite fine with me. I switched to YTTV from Charter and I will never go back. I frankly do not want YTTV to cave to Sinclair. I’m dug in.

Not watching sports wasn't too bad when sports wasn't happening, but I'd have a harder time not watching sports if I knew it was going on.

[TURBO]

If the pandemic has showed me anything, it’s that a life without watching live sports is quite fine with me. I switched to YTTV from Charter and I will never go back. I frankly do not want YTTV to cave to Sinclair. I’m dug in.

Not watching sports wasn't too bad when sports wasn't happening, but I'd have a harder time not watching sports if I knew it was going on.

 

Absolutely this^

 

I missed watching sports, but knowing there was nothing to watch made it easier...

[BrewCrewForever]

When we moved into our new house in 2015 we had DirecTV, then in 2018 we decided enough was enough with cable and we cut the cord and went to Sling and an antenna. Then in 2019 when Sling was dropping FSWI we switched to YouTube TV (even though quite a bit more than Sling I was find with it since they had FSWI). Then wen YouTube TV announced after the 2020 season they were dropping FSWI we were about to switch to Hulu Live until they dropped FSWI as well. So we decided to go back to Sling since they are the cheapest and we still get all the other channels we like (I refuse to go back to cable Spectrum or DirecTV). At this point hoping some day Sling brings back FSWI, and if not I guess I will only see Brewers games broadcast on Fox, FS1 and TBS. I will be a radio listener for all other games. And as a season seat holder hopefully get to see some home games in person at some point in 2021. I will have MLB.TV as well for other games. Just all around disappointing that Sinclair and these providers can't come to terms. I would be willing to pay that extra $5-$10 per month just to have FSWI.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Agree with all the other posters who would pay 5-10 extra for just FSWI. Inthink there are plenty of people like that out there.

 

Shows a big problem with the business model when when your audience wants the product, but you can't sell it to them because you want to leverage other content onto them.

[patrickgpe]

we have no idea how much Sinclair gets per subscriber. If there isn't that much demand as has been said by other members, then I do not think it would make sense for Sinclair to have a streaming service. If they get 2 dollars per subscriber, you would need 40% of current cable and streaming users to signs up for 5 dollars and 20% for 10. Also as a streaming service you could cancel after baseball season, so the user would pay only half the time.

 

Its still confusing for me, why both parties can't come up on a reasonable deal. The benefit for Sinclair is that they would be guaranteed a monthly payment for every user no matter if they watch their channel or not. If ESPN / FS1 can reach deals, I don't think the issue is hulu / google.

[JackNicholson1974]

Before streaming services were a thing, presumably a company like Sinclair could sell their package to the local cable company, collect one fee, and that’s it. Now they could sell to charter, direct tv, DISH, YTTV, Hulu, sling, FUBO, Prime, etc etc.

 

You might think with all of those contracts they could sell it cheaper to each company and still make more than they did 20 years ago

[MrTPlush]

Before streaming services were a thing, presumably a company like Sinclair could sell their package to the local cable company, collect one fee, and that’s it. Now they could sell to charter, direct tv, DISH, YTTV, Hulu, sling, FUBO, Prime, etc etc.

 

You might think with all of those contracts they could sell it cheaper to each company and still make more than they did 20 years ago

 

Funny how that works. I’d think a garbage deal with every streaming service would be better than one solo subscription service they do themselves.

[SomewhereInTime]

I mean on the bright side, maybe missing most of the Bucks season will be a good thing.

[wallus]

I'm a big sports fan so I will make sure I get to watch the Brewers this season.

[Outlander]

I mean on the bright side, maybe missing most of the Bucks season will be a good thing.

I guess if you don't like championship level teams then sure. We follow the Brewers though so maybe there is some truth in that.

[SomewhereInTime]

I mean on the bright side, maybe missing most of the Bucks season will be a good thing.

I guess if you don't like championship level teams then sure. We follow the Brewers though so maybe there is some truth in that.

 

Championship regular season, yes. Unfortunately in the NBA the regular season is the equivalent of spring training in baseball or pre-season in football. Counsell's Brewers will win a World Series before the Bucks ever win an NBA title again.

[Axman59]

I mean on the bright side, maybe missing most of the Bucks season will be a good thing.

I guess if you don't like championship level teams then sure. We follow the Brewers though so maybe there is some truth in that.

 

Championship regular season, yes. Unfortunately in the NBA the regular season is the equivalent of spring training in baseball or pre-season in football. Counsell's Brewers will win a World Series before the Bucks ever win an NBA title again.

 

Which is the same thing people said about the Dodgers.

[rickh150]

I have Spectrum after dropping Dish mid contract. Spectrum covered my contracted expenses ( 6 months worth was left). I have a first year bargain, but cost goes up a lot in year two.

Yeah, the Brewers and MLB are losing fans for a variety of reasons, no question. This TV thing is one of them.

[mtrebs]

MLB could just get rid of the blackout rules and allow Brewers game to be broadcasted to Wisconsinites via the MLB app. I never understood those blackout rules, at least outside of the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee.

[MrTPlush]

MLB could just get rid of the blackout rules and allow Brewers game to be broadcasted to Wisconsinites via the MLB app. I never understood those blackout rules, at least outside of the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee.

 

Protect local broadcasting rights. FS Wisconsin would be worthless without blackout rules. This is a huge deal with MLB as every team is through some sort of regional sports network.

[umphrey]

I priced out Spectrum just for fun and it was $70/month on their website. That's a ridiculous price for Brewers games, no way I would pay that.

[markedman5]

I priced out Spectrum just for fun and it was $70/month on their website. That's a ridiculous price for Brewers games, no way I would pay that.

 

I just looked up YouTube tv......64.99 per month...’.Sling costs between $30-45.

 

So assuming you were going to pay 30-65 to not have the Brewers.......$70 a month to get the Brewers seems pretty reasonable to me.

[MrTPlush]

$70 sounds reasonable...if that price lasted longer than 12 months.

[pacopete4]

Spectrum has a 12 month contract option. That’s what I’m going to do. Tired of the 2-year with directv and jacking up my price.

[Axman59]

I pay $68 per month for YTTV for the package that includes the 5 channels I have to have. That price includes all taxes and fees and it allows me unlimited recording for 9 months and I can cancel at any time with no penalty. I watch nearly all of my TV on my laptop or my phone so streaming is essential. Rarely, I will stream my YTTV through my regular TV.

 

Doing a check of Spectrum I will have to choose the Silver package to get the channels I need. That will cost $75 per month, which does not include taxes, cable box fees, DVR fees, set-up fees, and whatever other fees they throw in (and they always do). I don't know if that was $75 per month for one year or two, but I really don't care because their website was a nightmare to navigate so I'm not wasting my time searching for their fine print terms and conditions. I won't bother because their rock bottom price is already $7 more expensive than YTTV and I'm certain it would end being way more than YTTV once you add in all the extra fees.

 

Spectrum is a no go. If YTTV doesn't offer FSN I won't be watching Brewers games on TV this year.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Axman59

[rickh150]

Spectrum TV compared to Dish is no comparison.... Dish is way better in almost every facet. However, I'm not going to get caught in a 2 year contract again, especially when so many channels have left or could be left out of a package midstream, ala FSN. I'll pay the extra fee month to month now, knowing that I could change at any point without the added hassle of what I went through with DIsh.

[stoutdude04]

For anyone wondering. I just looked at my bill. Spectrum is 73.99 a month for all the 'normal channels' 3 to 93. Then they charge 7.99 for the box. Sports pack is an extra 5$ and that includes NFL network, nhl network, and 11 other sports stations. New members can get cable and internet for less than 100$ a month for 12 months. I usually call every other year and get this cheaper price.

 

Charter sucks, but compared to the prices of streaming services I'm okay paying the extra 10ish bucks a month.

[Axman59]

For anyone wondering. I just looked at my bill. Spectrum is 73.99 a month for all the 'normal channels' 3 to 93. Then they charge 7.99 for the box. Sports pack is an extra 5$ and that includes NFL network, nhl network, and 11 other sports stations. New members can get cable and internet for less than 100$ a month for 12 months. I usually call every other year and get this cheaper price.

 

Charter sucks, but compared to the prices of streaming services I'm okay paying the extra 10ish bucks a month.

 

 

But for me it's not an extra 10ish bucks because the basic tier for Spectrum doesn't give me the channels I need and get from YTTV (for $68). I'd probably end up paying an extra $25 or more per month.

 

How many hours of recording do you get with the $7.99 box? With YTTV it is unlimited, with the caveat that recordings disappear after 9 months. Which is fine because if I haven't watched something in 9 months I'm not going to watch it.

[MrTPlush]

That $7.99 is just for the cable box, DVR is $5 more.

[CheezWizHed]

You know, if one of you paid for cable and then shared your login for a nominal fee to the others...that'd be terribly illegal and certainly something you shouldn't do!