The Paley Center for Media’s Post

Exciting times ahead

Fox News Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN join forces to launch a groundbreaking sports-streaming platform. Dive deep into the intricacies of this new alliance in The Wall Street Journal article by Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti, as they unpack the implications for the ever-evolving sports #streaming landscape. Could this joint #StreamingPlatform reshape the future of sports broadcasting, setting new standards for bundling and media collaborations? Read now:  https://lnkd.in/gx3zFDnj 

I never took the plunge to cut the cord. Those bulky cable boxes still occupy precious shelf and mantel space. Last fall, temptation struck when my cable provider engaged in a dispute with Disney over ESPN fees, resulting in the loss of U.S. Tennis Open telecasts for the early part of the tournament. Despite this, I hesitated, reflecting on the costs of the various services I use (Netflix, ESPN, Hulu, Prime, etc.) and the convenience of accessing the full suite of local channels exclusive to cable. Living in the quintessential mountainous region where cable TV originated to serve, the decision seemed complex. My procrastination might have paid off with the recent announcement of a new streaming service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner. Essentially, it appears to be a rebundling of the bundle. For each of these independent content providers forming partnerships, the key question mirrors that of any new product: What are your customers willing to pay? Are there more cost-effective alternatives available? Above all, have they considered the potential customer fatigue resulting from a multitude of choices and price plans, making the decision-making process overwhelming for many customers? #streaming #bundling #rebundling #cabletv #branding #marketing

Monday Madness: This weekend of NCAA basketball had the highest viewership EVER. An average of 9 million viewers tuned in across the weekend and Saturday had the highest first round tune in volume ever with 10.8 million people watching across the broadcast stations. This shows that live content is still very much alive and well, and consumers are craving content that doesn't force them to scroll through a long list of shows and movies to pick what to watch. The beauty of live TV and especially sports is that it takes the choice out of TV. You turn it on, you watch, you enjoy. We expect the trend to continue beyond sports with a shift more towards FAST streamers who provide more of a sit down and tune in solution than the premium streaming platforms that require curation and drive choice paralysis. We'll be watching to see if the trend continues and next weekend's games drive the needle up even higher!

The new spectator sport is finding the game you want when you want it and at the lowest price possible...bonus points if free. Our sports-viewing TV experience is broken. Before cable and streaming services, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC were sports central. No fuss, no muss. Today, it's a mess of subscriptions that creates a fragmented fan experience. Subscribe to this to watch one team. Subscribe to that to watch that sport. It's added complexity and most importantly, a growing bill many are frustrated with. Recently, a new alliance involving Fox, Warner Bros. and ESPN promised to bring the entire channels such as ESPN, Fox and ABC under one online roof. On paper, the alliance sounds like a sports fan's chili dog dream, that is, until you get into the numbers, which start at $50 and won't include regional sports networks. Compare that to a fuller online cable bundle such as YouTube TV for $73 a month, which includes the 14 channels plus dozens of others such as CNN, CBS, NBC and Bravo. Between these services and cable, that monthly subscription bill is heading north of $160. How did we get here? Blame it on the multi-billion dollar licensing deals, which are as complicated and bloated due to athlete revenue sharing and broadcast rights. Companies such as Apple, Amazon, Peacock have fueled escalating prices by paying and overpaying to secure exclusive rights to some games. For fans, that's where the problem begins. In 2023, Yankees fans needed three additional streaming subscriptions (Amazon’s Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Peacock) to be able to watch every game because each service had exclusive rights to some of them. So, nothing, not the new sports power alliance, not ditching cable, and certainly, not new math clears up the watching sports mess. If anything, you may want to fine-tune your spreadsheet skills https://lnkd.in/emCUSfHx #sports #television #streaming #cabletv #espn #foxsports #warnerbrosdiscovery #media

In the dynamic struggle for MLB streaming rights, Diamond Sports faces tough competition against giants like Amazon and ESPN. As a professional interested in the intersection of sports and digital media, the evolving battle for control and revenue share is fascinating. Diamond Sports' narrowed focus to five teams and Amazon's $150M investment bid signal a pivotal shift in the sports streaming landscape. The outcome of these negotiations will not only affect fan access but also set industry-wide precedents. What are your thoughts on this power play in sports streaming? #MLB #StreamingRights #SportsBusiness #DigitalMedia Original article: https://lnkd.in/enVQrfxb

Consolidations in streaming is now picking up steam! The streaming game is about to get a whole lot more interesting! Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are shaking things up by teaming up to launch a new sports streaming platform this fall. Yep, you read that right. We’re talking about a mega collaboration that's set to change how we watch sports forever. So, what’s the deal? This new service is pulling together channels like ESPN, FS1, ABC, Fox, TNT, and TBS, plus a ton of games and sports rights from all three giants. And the best part? It’s all going direct-to-consumer, which means we can also expect some cool bundles with Max, ESPN+, and Hulu. Why’s this a big deal? Well, for starters, this means we’re getting closer to having one go-to spot for all our sports cravings. NFL, NBA, MLB, college football, NCAA March Madness, the list goes on – it’s like the ultimate sports package is finally becoming a reality. And for folks who’ve been juggling multiple subs or sticking to cable, this could be a game-changer. Bob Iger from Disney is calling it “an important step forward for the media business,” and honestly, I can’t help but agree. This move isn’t just about giving us more sports content (which is awesome, by the way); it’s about making that content way more accessible and convenient for fans everywhere. Plus, for the first time, Fox’s live sports are jumping into the streaming scene. That’s huge! It means no more needing cable TV or a virtual MVPD like YouTube TV to catch Fox’s NFL, MLB, or college sports rights. This whole thing is shaping up to be the sports streaming service we didn’t know we needed, focusing solely on channels with live sports, minus the other entertainment fluff. And with the launch timing right before the NFL season, I’m all in for some football! To sum it up, the big guns are coming together, and it looks like the streaming world, especially for sports, is about to get a lot more consolidated and a heck of a lot more exciting. Finally something good for consumers! Can’t wait to see how this all plays out! #SportsStreaming #NextLevelStreaming #GameOn https://lnkd.in/gSvcFbrQ

📱 It’s a #vertical world. Don’t just live in it, join it. "80% of the consumption of our content is consumed vertical.” - Michael Bucklin, SVP FOX Sports Digital FOX Sports Digital is building the blueprint to success in vertical production. If you want to lean in on vertical like them, we have a resource to get you started. The Tagboard Production Playbook: Live Streaming in a Vertical World https://lnkd.in/gN5t9pRd

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the launch of Fox Sports 1 (remember Regis Philbin had a show). The channel was Murdoch's effort to take on ESPN, and while FS1 is in more homes now than ESPN, the Disney unit is far more profitable and culturally omnipresent. Big issues remain, the most important of which is will FS1 enter the streaming wars, or continue to rely on the declining--but still profitable--linear pay-TV ecosystem? I wrote about what the next decade holds for FS1 for Awful Announcing. https://lnkd.in/ec2w78Zm

You can't make this sh*t up. If you follow my posts you see a trend here with sports and streaming, similar to the political race. Losing billions, no public confidence overall, and absolute unwillingness to fix the core problem. When a simple single solution exists to fix it all, bring profits back, and makes happy consumers/fans. #nextgenstreaming #freecast #streamingwars #nomoreappdiving #sports #streaming https://lnkd.in/dXtncA_7