dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
5338

bohratom
My Jersey Giants finally winning again..
join:2011-07-07
Red Bank NJ

1 edit

bohratom

Member

Regional Sports Network fees coming for Midatlantic region..

Came across a document on the web that includes a new Regional Sports Network fee for subscribers in the Midatlantic region. New customers will see the fee on their bill starting Jan 19 and current customers Mar 1 (not including customers with promotional terms). The price will be $2.42/mo and this mimics what other providers such as Directv has been implementing. The entire FIOS footprint might incur this charge but thus far I only found this pdf for the PA/NJ/NY area.

»www.lowerpaxton-pa.gov/h ··· 0713.pdf
chewypgh
join:2007-12-17
Pittsburgh, PA

chewypgh

Member

Also mentioned here.
»Verizon Pulls Sports From New HD Channel Bundle [36] comments

It sounds like the new RSN fee is across the FiOS footprint and not limited to the Mid-Atlantic region.

bohratom
My Jersey Giants finally winning again..
join:2011-07-07
Red Bank NJ

bohratom

Member

said by chewypgh:

It sounds like the new RSN fee is across the FiOS footprint and not limited to the Mid-Atlantic region.

My guess is the price will vary depending on the region but I could be wrong...

Onedollar
join:2001-08-27
Pomona, CA

Onedollar to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
$2.61 in other areas, Being phased in this month and next month..
crgauth
join:2004-05-18
Glen Burnie, MD

crgauth to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
But if you are on contract, no new charges.

matcarl
Premium Member
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY

matcarl

Premium Member

said by crgauth:

But if you are on contract, no new charges.

Until the contract ends or you change the contract
zippoboy7
join:2006-06-18
USA

zippoboy7 to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
Verizon really needs to stop this nickel and dime crap, if they are going to pull this shit then they need to just put the sports in there own package and let the people who want to pay for it do so and leave those of us who never watch these channels out of it.

matcarl
Premium Member
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY

matcarl

Premium Member

I agree, it's bad enough we have to pay extra for the sports channels that we don't watch, but now tacking on this fee for everyone that has them in their package? They make it seem like they are just adding it to the people that get the channels, but that is everyone except for their new package. All the sports channels need to be separated if they are going to cause the customers and the providers this much grief. The new charge is being added to the bill anyway, so why separate it like it's an extra just for me? They might as well just up the regular fee. It makes it look like I wanted these channels. Are they going to start charging an extra fee for the broadcast channels too since that's another ongoing battle? How many separate fees are there going to be?
ansky
join:2009-05-18
West Orange, NJ

ansky to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
The problem with these sports channels is the networks themselves require the cable operators to include them on "basic" tiers. That way they get compensated for the highest number of customers. So Verizon can't just add these networks to a premium tier.
zippoboy7
join:2006-06-18
USA

zippoboy7

Member

That may be true of a channel like ESPN (I would dump all the Disney shit too just to get rid of ESPN), however this fee is for the Regional Sports Networks and most if not all of those channels are negotiated separately from other channels and could certainly be put in a separate package for those who want them.
robertf390
join:2011-04-16
Nesconset, NY

robertf390 to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
If they want to start charging for regional sports then they need to make sure they have the available sports channels carried. For example, here in VHO5, we are still waiting for MSG2+HD to be carried which was promised to us last year.

But as we all know too well, VZ is very good at finding things to charge for and with HD extremely slow to deliver. If they charge, they have an obligation now to deliver.

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave

MVM

MSG+2 isn't carried in HD yet.

matcarl
Premium Member
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY

matcarl

Premium Member

said by nycdave:

MSG+2 isn't carried in HD yet.

What do you mean? Cablevision has it and last year you told us we would get it shortly after the other three.
robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Medford, NJ

robjlevin

Member

All four MSG feeds are available to Verizon and AFAIK, all other providers. That Verizon doesn't carry all four yet is on them.

nascar
join:2000-02-28
Verona, NJ

nascar to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
Yeah something smells fishy
nfotiu
join:2009-01-25

nfotiu to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
The cable sports model is turning into a massive scam. It is only a matter of time before greed makes that house of cards collapse in on itself. I am speaking as a sports fan. It is crazy that the public is accepting of paying in the neighborhood of $300 a year for sports channels that a majority does not watch, and these fees are going up fast.

This is an interesting article that lays out some of the laws and framework that governs which tiers these channels are carried in. In some cases they are forced by law to carry them in basic tiers, whether they want to or not.

»www.law.indiana.edu/fclj ··· INAL.pdf

All in all, I like this move by Verizon. Bringing visibility to the RSN fees might be the thing that causes enough backlash to get things changed. I'd like to see them break out all the sports channels fees into the bills.

As an aside, it would be nice if the providers provided the rebate they receive from RSNs to the customers from lockouts, since we are the ones not able to see the games that were missed.
»www.sportsbusinessdaily. ··· out.aspx

matcarl
Premium Member
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY

matcarl

Premium Member

If it's a separate line item then it should be one that is removable. My wife will ask why I am paying extra for these channels like I subscribed to them.
ansky
join:2009-05-18
West Orange, NJ

ansky to zippoboy7

Member

to zippoboy7
said by zippoboy7:

however this fee is for the Regional Sports Networks and most if not all of those channels are negotiated separately from other channels and could certainly be put in a separate package for those who want them.

Not true in the NY area. I know for a fact that YES Network requires cable companies to carry them on basic cable. That's one of the reasons Cablevision refused to carry the network many years ago - they didn't feel they should have to pay a carriage fee for every subscriber. I believe MSG Network works the same way.
nfotiu
join:2009-01-25

nfotiu

Member

Yep, I believe this is pretty common. I believe they are all taking the stance of either basic package or not at all, or they withhold other channels, or they are federally mandating Verizon to carry them.

This fee is a step in the right direction though, and is fully intended to call out the RSNs for their tactics, and to call out attention to the system as a whole.

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave to matcarl

MVM

to matcarl
I meant on FiOS....

Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ

Greg2600 to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
Complain all you want. The teams are the ones reaping the money rewards, because the regional's pay them big bucks. Reason is that they get ratings! Regional sports are not available on the internet, for the most part, and people want to watch them. Every time a provider tries to play hard ball, the fans start crying. They cry to politicians, who then attack the providers. When YE$ Network was created, Cablevision refused to take them without directly charging subscribers, like the old Sports Channel. Well, Yankee fans screamed and cried like babies, and then the town officials threatened to cancel CV's franchise agreement.

russty
@nih.gov

russty

Anon

Is this something non sports fans are going to be able to opt out of? (and presumably lose the 1-2 local sports networks?
nfotiu
join:2009-01-25

nfotiu to Greg2600

Member

to Greg2600
It's not ratings. It is the fact that the people who want them, really want them, and will switch providers to get them combined with favorbably legislation that keeps this model going.

Take the LA Dodgers for example, 350 million per year!!! »espn.go.com/los-angeles/ ··· 4-report

You know how many people watch an average Dodger's game. 50,000!!

So, the 5 million households in the Dodger's market are going to be paying 70 dollars a year for 50,000 of them to watch their games.

Either the Dodger's or Time Warner would go bankrupt over night if RSNs were forced to a la carte. If they were to get that same revenue from only people watching their games (which is the way it should be), they'd have to charge $7,000 a year for their new network!

This model is a scheme that will not last much longer. And hopefully the Dodger's deal is the straw that makes it all come crumbling down.
nyrmetros
join:2008-02-01
Oakland Gardens, NY

nyrmetros to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
Here in the NYC area, we have:

MSG
MSG+
MSG2
MSG2+
YES
SNY

celticpride
@verizon.net

celticpride

Anon

Cable companies should start all over,1st add all the regional sports channels to every system no matter where you live, that way i can get comcast sports new england in california,or you can get the lakers time warner cable in new york, then you just pay1 price if yo want 1 rsn from out of state ,another price for your local rsn(if you want it) or 1 price if you want all the regional sports package like directv does. IN other words i want comacst sports new england in southern california and would gladly pay $5.00 a month for it,are you listening verizon?.
knarf829
join:2007-06-02

knarf829

Member

Around here, it's only through a quirk in the law that we were able to get Comcast Sportsnet Philly on Verizon at all.
ansky
join:2009-05-18
West Orange, NJ

ansky to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
In the NYC area, Dish does not carry YES Network or SNY because they did not want to pay the carriage fees. So, has anyone compared Dish's prices to Verizon's? My guess is Dish is not any cheaper even without carrying the RSN's. And if they actually are cheaper, by how much?
thetick
join:2009-06-22
White Plains, NY

thetick

Member

I had Dish a few years back. If one just looks at TV prices Dish is certainly cheaper. Factor in the HUGE discount on triple pay with Verizon and never losing service because of a few rain clouds/excessive foliage. For same money the Verizon services together are much better than what one can get if individuality buying TV, internet and phone.
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

kes601 to bohratom

Member

to bohratom
Saw a FiOS commercial yesterday and they've now added the + RSN Fee to the end of the Triple Play Pricing.....so I'm assuming that fee will vary by location?
crgauth
join:2004-05-18
Glen Burnie, MD

crgauth to nfotiu

Member

to nfotiu
said by nfotiu:

Take the LA Dodgers for example, 350 million per year!!! »espn.go.com/los-angeles/ ··· 4-report

You know how many people watch an average Dodger's game. 50,000!!

So, the 5 million households in the Dodger's market are going to be paying 70 dollars a year for 50,000 of them to watch their games.

Either the Dodger's or Time Warner would go bankrupt over night if RSNs were forced to a la carte. If they were to get that same revenue from only people watching their games (which is the way it should be), they'd have to charge $7,000 a year for their new network!

This model is a scheme that will not last much longer. And hopefully the Dodger's deal is the straw that makes it all come crumbling down.

Couple of comments:
I did some looking and found that the Dodgers averaged a 1.94 rating last year.
Also saw where LA market has near 13M viewers. So that means that the Dodgers averaged 252K viewers/game. That would be near $1400/viewer/year.
But when you average that out to all households, it drops dramatically. And it doesn't count the ad revenue they get as well.
Doesn't seem too hard to me to make money.
All of that being said, I see it as a never ending spiral.
Players want more money. Teams say they need more money. TV rights pay them more money. Cable fees (and ticket prices go up).
Players see the team making more money and then want more.
Repeat.