If you’re an Optimum TV customer, you may have noticed a new warning crawling across the bottom of your screen in the last few days: They may lose access to several big-name channels, including ESPN and ABC, because of an ongoing contract dispute between Optimum parent company and Disney. [More]
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Disney Confirms ESPN Streaming Service Without ESPN
By 8.10.16
A month ago, we told you about rumors that ESPN would be offering a new, standalone streaming service but that it wouldn’t include access to the flagship ESPN pay-TV channel. Now ESPN’s parent company Disney has confirmed that such a project is in the works, and that it may use the ESPN name but won’t look like the ESPN you know. [More]
ESPN Reportedly Working On Streaming Service Without Sports You Actually Want To Watch
By 7.12.16
Last year, Disney CEO Bob Iger suggested that one day ESPN could go the way of HBO Now and other premium cable channels by offering a streaming option available outside current cable packages. That day is reportedly coming sooner rather than later, but it might not include anything you actually want to watch. [More]
UFC Sells Itself For Record-Breaking $4 Billion
By 7.11.16
You frequently hear about manufacturers involved in multibillion-dollar mergers, and you occasionally hear about an individual sports team being sold for big bucks, but it’s pretty rare these days to see an entire sports organization being sold for ten figures. [More]
Verizon & ESPN Settle Lawsuit Over FiOS “Skinny Bundles”
By 5.10.16
More than a year after Disney-owned ESPN sued Verizon FiOS for not including the expensive sports network in the core channels of its so-called “skinny bundles” — and three months after Verizon brought ESPN back into the fold (while also reducing the number of skinny bundle options available to FiOS subscribers), the two companies have made nice and settled their lawsuit. [More]
Sling TV Finally Adding Live Network TV, Multi-Stream Support. Is It Worth It?
By 4.13.16
Since Dish’s Sling TV streaming service launched in 2015, there were two regularly repeated gripes from cord-cutters: That Sling didn’t provide online access to any of the major broadcast networks and that you were forced to only using Sling on a single device at any given time. Sling is now taking steps to address both of these issues, but will they be enough to offer a true cable replacement? [More]
In Midst Of Disney Lawsuit, Verizon Creates FiOS “Custom TV” Package That Includes ESPN
By 2.19.16
ESPN is easily the most expensive single channel in any basic cable lineup, accounting for around $5 of the average cable bill just on its own. Cable companies are also contractually barred from putting the all-sports network on any sort of premium tier, which is why it was big news last year when Verizon FiOS announced a new “Custom TV” pricing model that made ESPN completely optional for everyone. That’s also why ESPN’s parent company Disney sued Verizon, alleging breach of contract. Now, Verizon has revised Custom TV to include ESPN and other sports channels for customers who want them. [More]
Verizon FiOS May Be Shoving ESPN Back Into Its “Skinny” Bundles
By 1.22.16
Not even a year after Verizon FiOS began offering so-called “skinny” pay-TV bundles that don’t include the pricey ESPN in the required core package — and in the midst of a lawsuit filed by ESPN’s parent company Disney, alleging that Verizon is violating its contract by doing so — the telecom titan is now hinting that it’s the end times for this dream world where consumers weren’t forced to pay so much for a channel they care so little about. [More]
Would You Ditch ESPN To Shave $8/Month Off Your Cable Bill?
By 1.14.16
ESPN is, by far, the most expensive single channel on most cable customers’ basic cable bill, responsible for more than $5/month, with some industry analysts putting an approximately $8/month price tag on ESPN and ESPN 2 together. While it’s long been considered a basic cable must-have, millions of Americans have been dropping their pay-TV packages altogether, and recent surveys show that ESPN wouldn’t be a part of many folks’ ideal a la carte cable menu, meaning not everyone has a desperate need for ESPN. So, could cable companies hold on to their customers by lowering rates in exchange for saying goodbye to the 24-hour sports channel? [More]
ESPN Admits: Tweets By Adam Schefter & Chris Mortensen Were Unmarked Ads For Domino’s
By 1.6.16
Plenty of famous people post Tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram photos where they mention a product or company name that they truly enjoy. But if those celebs are getting paid to slap their name on these messages, they need to be transparent about it. A pair of sportscasters at ESPN apparently missed that memo when they recently name-dropped Domino’s Pizza on Twitter. [More]
Want To Watch ESPN Without Cable? Buy A PlayStation
By 11.5.15
Live sports — the supposed killer app that keeps people subscribing to cable when otherwise they might cut the cord — is, well, going cordless. Disney today announced a deal with Sony that will bring all of their programming, including ESPN, to a streaming service near you. At least, if you live in the right area. [More]
YouTube Hides Most ESPN Content After Network Failed To Negotiate Paid Subscription Service Deal
By 10.23.15
If you’ve decided to pony up the $9.99 monthly fee for YouTube’s new paid subscription service, your money won’t be buying you access to basically any ESPN videos. The sports network — owned by Walt Disney Co. (80%) and Hearst (20%) — failed to negotiate a deal to have its videos available through YouTube Red. As a result, most of ESPN’s featured YouTube channels have gone dark. [More]
Investors Decide Cord-Cutting Is Real And Worrisome, Cable Network Stocks Drop All Around
By 8.6.15
Cord-cutting, in which (usually younger) pay-TV subscribers walk away from cable and embrace new ways of accessing media, has been a known phenomenon since at least 2011. But it’s been a slow-rolling snowball, even as services like Netflix soar into the stratosphere. This year, however, it seems that Wall Street traditionalists have finally caught on to the change, and they’re not happy. [More]
Want ESPN Without Having To Buy Other Channels? Maybe In A Few Years
By 7.27.15
As some cable and live-streaming services take a step back from offering costly sports-filled channels in their bundles, the parent company of the biggest sports network on cable is looking at other ways to continue its dominance, namely by selling direct to consumers. [More]
TV Viewers Want A La Carte Options; Don’t Really Care Very Much About ESPN
By 6.17.15
ESPN is by far the most expensive channel on any American’s basic cable lineup and its position as the sole place to watch certain high-profile content like Monday Night Football has given it a reputation as being essential. But a new report claims that if people had to pick and choose the stations they would want on a customized slate of cable channels, ESPN comes in far from the top. [More]
Why Cord-Cutters Aren’t Getting The Holy Grail TV Of Streaming Services Just Yet
By 5.14.15
As a growing number of consumers drop — or never sign up for — traditional pay-TV services, it’s easy to point to Netflix as a big reason. And yet, Netflix and similar services don’t actually replace the TV experience, especially when it comes to sports. Newer offerings, like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, replicate the live TV watching experience, but falter compared to traditional pay-TV when it comes to things like DVR functionality. What’s stopping the big players from offering an all-in-one online service now? [More]
Want To Break Up Your Cable Bundle But Keep Your Favorite Channels? That Could Be About $250
By 5.7.15
A certain segment of consumers have been clamoring for years for cable distributors to break up the monolithic, 300-channel bundle into a la carte offerings. For those who don’t watch sports, the logic goes, why pay for ESPN? Why pay for TLC if you don’t watch reality TV, or CNN if you don’t give a damn about news? [More]
Verizon FiOS Sued Over No-ESPN-Included “Custom TV” Cable Packages
By 4.27.15
Just about every basic cable package in the U.S. includes ESPN whether you want it or not. This is because the popular sports network’s contract generally forbids pay-TV providers from putting ESPN on a separate sports tier. But Verizon FiOS recently introduced “Custom TV,” a programming package that doesn’t necessarily include ESPN, and now the telecom giant is being sued by the sports network for breach of contract. [More]
