FSN/Sinclair/regional sports network streaming

[owbc]

We all know that whatever Sinclair does is going to be complete garbage. I’m cheering for it to be as awful as possible so they finally give up on RSNs.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

We all know that whatever Sinclair does is going to be complete garbage. I’m cheering for it to be as awful as possible so they finally give up on RSNs.

 

That's what I'm thinking. There's no way they figure it out after completely botching it from day 1 of their ownership of these stations. I really hope the Brewers get out from under that terrible company. I would think something will be announced relatively soon.

[MrTPlush]

Hopefully we don’t lock ourselves into a 10+ year contract with them. It seems obvious to go short term with the train wreck the RSNs have been lately...but who knows what the Brewers sign.

[MrTPlush]

Hopefully we don’t lock ourselves into a 10+ year contract with them. It seems obvious to go short term with the train wreck the RSNs have been lately...but who knows what the Brewers sign.

[owbc]

Hopefully we don’t lock ourselves into a 10+ year contract with them. It seems obvious to go short term with the train wreck the RSNs have been lately...but who knows what the Brewers sign.

 

I agree. I would really love to see them do something creative even if it is just on a one-year trial. We already know that Attanasio cares about broadcasting more than most owners and isn’t afraid to venture at least a little bit outside of the box, such as his hire of BA who was inexperienced relative to other candidates. And the Brewers have such pathetically low TV revenue that they have an easier “out” of RSNs than most teams. Imagine how people would react if they signed a deal with Amazon Prime Video, even if it was worth half of what they could get with an RSN...

[RobDeer 45]

OWBC - That's exactly what I was thinking, take a risk and try to put out a streaming product for a year. Be ahead of the curve and maybe it could be a huge win. I'm not sure how many people they'd lose with streaming only. You don't want to completely alienate your older fan base that may be less likely to change to that type of format. That could be the tricky part.

[wallus]

Taking anything less than top dollar (or close) could be devastating to a small market team. They need the revenue so go where the money is.

[owbc]

Taking anything less than top dollar (or close) could be devastating to a small market team. They need the revenue so go where the money is.

 

In my view the rationale to go the streaming route is to build a bigger and younger audience which will lead to more revenue in the long run.

 

Just taking the money is pretty risky when you are dealing with a revenue-strapped company that wants to turn your broadcasts into some sort of gambling game.

[wallus]

Taking anything less than top dollar (or close) could be devastating to a small market team. They need the revenue so go where the money is.

 

In my view the rationale to go the streaming route is to build a bigger and younger audience which will lead to more revenue in the long run.

 

I've learned from many years of experience in business that chasing the "cheap" customers is almost always a failing proposition.

 

I agree that getting access to people that stream is important but doing so at a discount is foolish.

[Madhawk23]

So, now that we are officially in P's and C's reporting week here, I'm curious to know what some of you that are using one of the streaming services for your TV (that live here in WI) plan to do for Brewers game viewing this season? We can't do the MLBTV package, right? Because the games are just going to be blacked out for those of us living in the "home" viewing area. Do we know of any other options right now? I really wish that FS WI would be able to create their own streaming program. I'd gladly pay for a monthly fee for that if it allowed me to get Brewers games.

 

Just curious if anyone knows of any "work-arounds" here to keep my streaming TV service and to also get Brewers games this year? I've got ZERO interest in going back to satellite TV or to ATT.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Honestly? The radio. But I can't sit down and watch nightly baseball anyway. I just turn the kitchen radio on and hang out on the deck when I can. I go to enough games (usually) than seeing each one on TV just isn't that important.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Right now, the only real option is a VPN and a technically illegal stream (reddit stream). There are a ton of websites out there that offer streams of the games, but you need to watch out for malware. This option is obviously sketchy, but the choices are slim.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Those streams are really getting the clamps put on. They still exist, but there used to be 60 of them available in 5 seconds. Now it's like whack-a-mole with them constantly shut down and moving.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Those streams are really getting the clamps put on. They still exist, but there used to be 60 of them available in 5 seconds. Now it's like whack-a-mole with them constantly shut down and moving.

 

For sure. It constantly turns into a dive down the rabbit hole, and even when you find a streamer that is up and running, there is no assurance that the quality isn't going to be crap. But here we are. MLB has made it pretty difficult for baseball fans to watch their home team's games.

[MVP2110]

How optimistic are we that the Brewers even get a deal done with Sinclair in time to be able to watch Spring Training games and early season games? With the pandemic I now work from home on a permanent basis so looking forward to being able to watch day games

[JackNicholson1974]

I am going to stubbornly NOT watch, just like I have NOT watched the Bucks or any Badger basketball or hockey games that have not been on BTN.

 

I will never ever subscribe to Charter Spectrum again. So either Sinclair comes to an agreement with my streaming service (YTTV) or it’s the radio for me.

[Paul77]

Those streams are really getting the clamps put on. They still exist, but there used to be 60 of them available in 5 seconds. Now it's like whack-a-mole with them constantly shut down and moving.

 

For sure. It constantly turns into a dive down the rabbit hole, and even when you find a streamer that is up and running, there is no assurance that the quality isn't going to be crap. But here we are. MLB has made it pretty difficult for baseball fans to watch their home team's games.

 

A similar alternative is paying for an IPTV service that takes all of those streams and presents them in a traditional TV grid/guide interface. A quality picture on a full-sized TV, all teams, no blackouts, and no need to stream hop for a good feed. I'm not advocating for any particular service - do your homework and use a VPN if you plan on going this route.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Yup. It's going to be radio for me. I'm done-zo paying 100+ a month for cable and getting jerked around by the "customer service" from places like charter and DirecTV. I enjoy watching the Brewers, but not so much that I'll pay for a cable subscription that isn't worth near what it costs. The radio is good enough, and all the game highlights are on mlb.com or facebook minutes after they happen anyways.

[Madhawk23]

Yup. It's going to be radio for me. I'm done-zo paying 100+ a month for cable and getting jerked around by the "customer service" from places like charter and DirecTV. I enjoy watching the Brewers, but not so much that I'll pay for a cable subscription that isn't worth near what it costs. The radio is good enough, and all the game highlights are on mlb.com or facebook minutes after they happen anyways.

 

Yeah, I think that's where I'm at right now too. It sucks, because I love watching Brewers games, and it's not like there will be that many on national TV (at least the Bucks have a lot of games on TNT and ESPN). But, I'm just not going to be willing to make the switch back over to Dish Network or Spectrum.

 

I just hope that someone steps up to figure something out, to get these games accessible for the millions of people who have moved onto the streaming platforms.

[owbc]

FWIW, the Miami Marlins are in the same situation as the Brewers -- currently negotiating with Sinclair and supposedly considering other options as well.

[BallFour]

Looks like I am not alone with being a YTTV subscriber. There is no way I am going back to cable or satellite for a myriad of reasons.

 

Guess I will just have to watch whoever else is on MLB.TV when I need a baseball fix and listen to the Brewers game.

 

Good luck to MLB with the blackout rule. Would love to see the data on how it helps their business instead of hurts it.

[Madhawk23]

FWIW, the Miami Marlins are in the same situation as the Brewers -- currently negotiating with Sinclair and supposedly considering other options as well.

 

What are the other options right now - if they don't partner with Sinclair again? Could they realistically start their own network and then negotiate individually with all of the different TV or streaming services? I know the Cubs have their own network now, but isn't that network actually owned by Sinclair as well? Just curious what other options may exist? I really hope the Brewers get creative here, and realize how terrible the current situation is with Sinclair. Ratings are going to be at an all-time low if Sinclair can't work out these negotiations with the streaming services before this upcoming season starts.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Could the Brewers negotiate with NBC Sports Chicago? Is that crazy? They have two channels that come with cable plans in the Milwaukee metro and now have only the White Sox to fill those games. Obviously depends on what NBC wants to do (and Comcast isn't much better than Sinclair), but they at least seem to be really focused on the streaming platforms with Peacock and other services. That network solves the issue of making sure the traditional audience gets a cable channel and offers options for streamers, provided you can get some of the more statewide providers to carry those channels, which I'd imagine would be a fairly easy deal.

 

I'm not expecting anything other than a Sinclair contract at the end of this, but Sinclair has really been bad for the Twins and Cardinals and Royals too, I think, and Marquee has been dropped by a lot of the streamers. Definitely want to avoid anything long-term with them.

 

Long-term, I don't think this model can hold much longer...it's probably something that comes up in the CBA, right? I know the Brewers are rightfully wary about leaving out older fans, but signing with, say, Hulu, were that possible, would give you a more national audience, and there's got to be offsetting revenue opportunity there. The chance to be nationally accessible nightly, with a product on a better growth curve.

 

Side question: are the announcers and TV personalities paid by Sinclair? Curious about the externalities involved in shifting to a different network...

[bergstein24]

I'll probably be in the minority here, but I switched from ATT internet and YTTV to Charter when I moved in January and am glad I did. The cost of having internet and a YTTV subscription and ATT internet is virtually the same as it for the Charter Internet and TV package. We use Apple TV's to stream the Charter app to watch all our channels, but definitely utilize the Fox Sports app when watching Bucks or Brewers.

 

I probably gave up some flexibility with just being able to change streaming services whenever I wanted, but the pricing was very competitive. YTTV keeps going up in price while also losing channels or adding unnecessary ones. At least with Charter, I have all the channels I would want.

[SeaBass]

I'll probably be in the minority here, but I switched from ATT internet and YTTV to Charter when I moved in January and am glad I did. The cost of having internet and a YTTV subscription and ATT internet is virtually the same as it for the Charter Internet and TV package. We use Apple TV's to stream the Charter app to watch all our channels, but definitely utilize the Fox Sports app when watching Bucks or Brewers.

 

I probably gave up some flexibility with just being able to change streaming services whenever I wanted, but the pricing was very competitive. YTTV keeps going up in price while also losing channels or adding unnecessary ones. At least with Charter, I have all the channels I would want.

Being with Charter does not give you immunity to the Sinclair negotiation circus that's currently going on with streaming services. Cable was the original playground for these tactics before streaming services even existed.

 

I'd rather see Sinclair starve than play their game. If they'd like to bring it back to YTTV then I'll watch, otherwise no thank you. I'm not even sure streaming services will even want to bring them back now that they're gone, I feel like they've already endured the pain of losing them and losing customers, I frankly don't know if they'll see much benefit from starting the rollercoaster up again.