Non-Key Tweets

[UConnJim]

That's the game. Production quality is fine if they want it to be. The issue is achieving universality of access. The network TV channels have it. ESPN has it. FSI falls just short of it. Everything else? Peacock isn't going to have it. Paramount+ isn't going to have it. Hulu isn't going to have it. Apple isn't either. Amazon is closer. The theory is: people want all of X team's games and so will sign up for 3-4 streaming services. No. They won't.

I said it before in these threads, the reason live sports is so valuable is because it's the only thing people watch live. Everything else is DVR or streamed at the time of your choosing. That makes live sports the most valuable thing for advertising supported platforms. It's much less valuable to a subscription-based platform. We've seen that people have very low tolerance for subscription + ads. MLS works better because soccer struggles with advertising compared to U.S. sports with stoppages.

TNT/TBS cover the NCAA tournament free to all of us, with heavy advertising. Let's say Amazon buys those rights. It will need to sell ad space, because that's the value of live sports. I expect Apple and Amazon to come out with a free tier access to the platform. Put the non-advertising supported content behind a pay tier, but broadcast the advertising supported content to anyone on the app. That's what they have to do. In some respects they have that with Fire TV and Apple TV, but they don't have a free "channel".

The world is changing quickly and I don't think people understand the changes. There are 200 million Amazon Prime members globally with ~150 million Prime members in the US. With Prime, you get Prime Video for free. There are approximately 124 million TV households in the US, so Prime Video already has the ability to reach at least the same number of TV households in the US.

Prime Video showed 15 NFL Thursday Night football games (with commercials) last year and the average viewership was ~10 million. And, the median age of the viewers was the lowest for the NFL since 2013. I would call Prime Video's first NFL season a success.

ESPN currently has about 74 million subscribers versus a peak of 100 million and the decline continues at ~1 million subscribers per Q. That is why ESPN has pushed ESPN+ to try to stabilize the subscriber base and it is why ESPN is trying to partner with sports leagues to stabilize their content. And, yes, all games streamed on ESPN+ and Amazon include commercials.

 

[BlueandOG]

The world is changing quickly and I don't think people understand the changes. There are 200 million Amazon Prime members globally with ~150 million Prime members in the US. With Prime, you get Prime Video for free. There are approximately 124 million TV households in the US, so Prime Video already has the ability to reach at least the same number of TV households in the US.

Prime Video showed 15 NFL Thursday Night football games (with commercials) last year and the average viewership was ~10 million. And, the median age of the viewers was the lowest for the NFL since 2013. I would call Prime Video's first NFL season a success.

ESPN currently has about 74 million subscribers versus a peak of 100 million and the decline continues at ~1 million subscribers per Q. That is why ESPN has pushed ESPN+ to try to stabilize the subscriber base and it is why ESPN is trying to partner with sports leagues to stabilize their content. And, yes, all games streamed on ESPN+ and Amazon include commercials.

Excellent description! Let’s hope someone at UConn is planning for this

 

[Forte]

 

[hoopsfan22]

Speaking of Prime... does anyone know what the speed and fees are for shipping if you don't have Prime? Thinking of dumping it, but not if it means my packages cost $15 and a week a to get to me.

 

[Revrat]

The only reason this is out there is to push the PAC 4 to the Big 12. Otherwise, just announce the deal. same as all the previous rumors. I'm not even sure how SDSU pays to get out of the setup that they just renewed.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The world is changing quickly and I don't think people understand the changes. There are 200 million Amazon Prime members globally with ~150 million Prime members in the US. With Prime, you get Prime Video for free. There are approximately 124 million TV households in the US, so Prime Video already has the ability to reach at least the same number of TV households in the US.

Prime Video showed 15 NFL Thursday Night football games (with commercials) last year and the average viewership was ~10 million. And, the median age of the viewers was the lowest for the NFL since 2013. I would call Prime Video's first NFL season a success.

ESPN currently has about 74 million subscribers versus a peak of 100 million and the decline continues at ~1 million subscribers per Q. That is why ESPN has pushed ESPN+ to try to stabilize the subscriber base and it is why ESPN is trying to partner with sports leagues to stabilize their content. And, yes, all games streamed on ESPN+ and Amazon include commercials.

Sure, and Prime got there because they offered free shipping on Amazon orders. That's how they built that subscriber base. But they also have a FireTV user base. Apple has an Apple TV user base and an Apple+ user base. What Apple and Amazon have in common is that they are platforms. You can get STARZ, BBC, AMC+, MAX, Showtime, and dozens more via Prime, plus rent movies in the rental market. Apple+ does the same thing. It's meant as a Hub for where you consume everything, not just Apple+. But Apple doesn't have the free shipping hook and other benefits (books etc.) that Prime has.

 

[upstater]

The only reason this is out there is to push the PAC 4 to the Big 12. Otherwise, just announce the deal. same as all the previous rumors. I'm not even sure how SDSU pays to get out of the setup that they just renewed.

Why would they need a push?

 

[JeepCSC]

Prime's solo Thursday Night telecast was still significantly (~30%) lower than the previous year's which was available on Fox/NFL network/Prime. It wasn't disastrous all things considered. But there are still hurdles to overcome for the foreseeable future.

 

[Revrat]

Speaking of Prime... does anyone know what the speed and fees are for shipping if you don't have Prime? Thinking of dumping it, but not if it means my packages cost $15 and a week a to get to me.

Why would they need a push?

Are they there yet? The way it looks to me is that every time we are about to get a bid it leaks and someone else jumps. Been like that since this all started. Especially with the Big 12. seems like that's their way of saying last chance to jump to anyone else that might be hoping for something bigger but maybe willing to jump if they get spooked as a last resort. It's not like anyone else from the PAC really was excited about the big 12. They went as far as saying they didn't want it then a few days later they were all over it.

 

[bendm]

this might be his best one yet.

what makes the AAC more appealing than the MW to the PAC4? once the pac4 merges with MW and renegotiates its tv deal they can just poach Rice and Tulane and/or SMU.

 

[ZooCougar]

this might be his best one yet

The epitome of non key

 

[Urcea]

this might be his best one yet.

what makes the AAC more appealing than the MW to the PAC4? once the pac4 merges with MW and renegotiates its tv deal they can just poach Rice and Tulane and/or SMU.

exit fee

 

[bendm]

exit fee

exit fees aren't an issue if there is a merger. but the exit fee for MW teams is much higher than it is for AAC teams so it only makes sense for the PAC 4 to merge with the MW and then poach 2-4 AAC teams.

 

[Urcea]

exit fees aren't an issue if there is a merger. but the exit fee for MW teams is much higher than it is for AAC teams so it only makes sense for the PAC 4 to merge with the MW and then poach 2-4 AAC teams.

Presumably they don't want Hawaii, San Jose State, etc.

 

[HuskyHawk]

this might be his best one yet.

what makes the AAC more appealing than the MW to the PAC4? once the pac4 merges with MW and renegotiates its tv deal they can just poach Rice and Tulane and/or SMU.

Some of the MWC teams aren't good adds. Some of the AAC teams are. The challenge is avoiding the exit fee without taking say, Wyoming.

 

[upstater]

Are they there yet? The way it looks to me is that every time we are about to get a bid it leaks and someone else jumps. Been like that since this all started. Especially with the Big 12. seems like that's their way of saying last chance to jump to anyone else that might be hoping for something bigger but maybe willing to jump if they get spooked as a last resort. It's not like anyone else from the PAC really was excited about the big 12. They went as far as saying they didn't want it then a few days later they were all over it.

I mean why would the Pac4 teams need a push? If they were any hope of them receiving an invite, it would have already happened.

 

[Revrat]

I mean why would the Pac4 teams need a push? If they were any hope of them receiving an invite, it would have already happened.

In my opinion, it hasn't happened because the 15th is tomorrow. Big12, and PAC rest, is waiting for what happens with the ACC. IF FSU suddenly leaves, that starts a whole boatload of dominoes falling so the Big12 is sitting pat until tomorrow. if everything stays as is we see what happens. But like the guy said there is no reason for the leak unless there's they are trying to accomplish something with it.

 

[bendm]

Presumably they don't want Hawaii, San Jose State, etc.

Some of the MWC teams aren't good adds. Some of the AAC teams are. The challenge is avoiding the exit fee without taking say, Wyoming.

and presumably the PAC4 dont want charlotte, ECSU, north texas, FAU, etc. either

no MW team is paying a $34 mill exit fee to join the PAC4, so 9 of the 12 MW teams need to vote to dissolve the conference and thereby eliminate the fees, but they probably arent going to do that without assurances that none will be left behind.

AAC schools have a 27-month notice requirement and a $10 million exit fee. While some schools might pay that to join the PAC4 they wouldnt be able to join in time for the 24-25 season without negotiating a higher fee like UConn did.

from where i'm sitting, it looks like a PAC4/MW merger, and the addition of Rice/Tulane/SMU/Memphis in 27 months is the best option.

second option is the PAC4 convincing 4 AAC schools to pay a higher exit fee now, in order to fulfill the minimum 8 team conference requirement, and then adding the best MW teams in 2 years (when they each pay a decreased exit fee of $16.5 million).

 

[Chin Diesel]

That's the game. Production quality is fine if they want it to be. The issue is achieving universality of access. The network TV channels have it. ESPN has it. FSI falls just short of it. Everything else? Peacock isn't going to have it. Paramount+ isn't going to have it. Hulu isn't going to have it.

I thought FS1 passed ESPN for number of homes it is in.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I find the spreading out of games onto exclusive services the bigger pain which is what MLB is doing this season: some games on MLB.tv, some are just blacked out so you better have cable, some on Apple TV, some on Peacock, etc. I guess MLB makes more money by selling the parts than just selling the whole package of games. Reminds me of the B1G's new TV contract in spreading out the games to every major network because they could rake in more money than just selling half the games to ESPN and the other half to Fox/BTN.

I don't enjoy bouncing around all the different apps to find games I want to watch much fun either. For games I care about like UConn athletics, I just hit the record all or display all and let the smart TV find the app the games are being broadcast on.

 

[CoastAtlantic]

 

[TheDrifter75]

That's it, Stanford and UConn to the Big XII

 

[Patman]

That's it, Stanford and UConn to the Big XII

I mean if it works I will 1) laugh, 2) take it.

 

[BlueandOG]

Stanford is flirting with the big 10, not XII. No way we get an invite to 10

 

[uconnbill]

Stanford will find a landing spot with all the money it has tied to it.