Comcast Moving NESN/NBCSB to Higher Tier

[the1andonly3003]

Think this deserves a thread of it own

https://x.com/GlobeChadFinn/status/1877726141802291641

I'll have to head out to more sports bars or attend more games in person I guess

 

[ColdSoxPack]

Pay more to watch the Bruins and Red Sox circle the drain. Why not!

 

[Rusty13]

Will this have any spillover effect with live tv streaming services like YouTube TV and FUBO??

 

[Andy Merchant]

People like my mother will be thrilled by this. She still speaks of my late father watching games on TV like he was watching something revolting like a snuff video.

And I'm sure Comcast will cut prices on the current tiers since they're no longer subsidizing sports fans, right?

 

[GreyisGone]

And I'm sure Comcast will cut prices on the current tiers since they're no longer subsidizing sports fans, right?

Per their email they actually are.

“The Regional Sports Network (RSN) fee for your current TV package will be reduced by $13.40. “

 

[jezza1918]

Per their email they actually are.

“The Regional Sports Network (RSN) fee for your current TV package will be reduced by $13.40. “

I may be splitting hairs but that's just the fee for covering local sports right? Which is different than lowering the price because of fewer channels.

 

[Andy Merchant]

Per their email they actually are.

“The Regional Sports Network (RSN) fee for your current TV package will be reduced by $13.40. “

Careful, I have a heart condition.

 

[8slim]

Regional sports networks are a dying business and Comcast, in particular, has been playing extreme hard ball with them in negotiations. Most cable/satellite companies want to offer smaller, cheaper channel bundles without sports. This is all part of that process.

 

[the1andonly3003]

Looks like Sunday is going to be the last time I will be watching the Celtics on TV until their next TNT, ESPN, ABC game.

 

[Humphrey]

One of the few times they're not robbing me any more than I'm already being robbed. I guess some would call that progress.

 

[the1andonly3003]

Anyone expect the Celtics to look for a new local home?

 

[Curt S Loew]

Anyone expect the Celtics to look for a new local home?

Hadn't even thought of that. Where would they go? Certainly not NESN.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Have they said how much it will cost to add them back in? My mom is PISSED

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

According to the Globe article below, $20 a month.

https://mobileapp.bostonglobe.com/01112025_a5d603b4-cfa1-11ef-9642-e6dcee24fb77/content.html

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Thanks, Rip. So a net increase of about $6-7/ month. Mom is less pissed. But not NOT pissed.

edit: and when she realized she could wait until April to re-up (she’s not a Bruins fan), and end up saving money, she is now NOT pissed.

Of course she won’t remember any of this in an hour, but small wins!

 

[the1andonly3003]

Hadn't even thought of that. Where would they go? Certainly not NESN.

Is The CW what WSBK has become in 2024? Channel 7 needs content right? Let's go back to the good ol' days!

 

[Curt S Loew]

Is The CW what WSBK has become in 2024? Channel 7 needs content right? Let's go back to the good ol' days!

Whatever it is, it will still be premium content, not basic. Those days are long gone.

 

[sezwho]

Thanks, Rip. So a net increase of about $6-7/ month. Mom is less pissed. But not NOT pissed.

edit: and when she realized she could wait until April to re-up (she’s not a Bruins fan), and end up saving money, she is now NOT pissed.

Of course she won’t remember any of this in an hour, but small wins!

Neither will I.

Whatever it is, it will still be premium content, not basic. Those days are long gone.

Yep, but to @the1andonly3003 point, there is more consolidation appearing in the subscriptions I already paid for HBO, etc. catch odd Cs there and hope trend continues.

 

[Curt S Loew]

Neither will I.



Yep, but to @the1andonly3003 point, there is more consolidation appearing in the subscriptions I already paid for HBO, etc. catch odd Cs there and hope trend continues.

Yeah. For now you get TNT/TBS sports included with MAX for national games. It will be an extra 10 bucks once it's out of BETA. ABC/ESPN also covers some national games.

@the1andonly3003 was speaking to a local home. That's gonna be a premium service no matter what. I'd actually settle for watching TV38 on my old black and white. Those were the days.

 

[the1andonly3003]

I think I've posted in a couple of threads about sports streaming.

I wonder if Comcast will go through with putting their RSN content on Peacock still. I would think these RSN will lose even more viewers. Is Comcast expecting a lot of their customers to pay up? Wonder if the Celtics will try to get a handful of games onto NBC Boston when NBC has reruns in prime time or afternoon games.

 

[sibpin]

Thanks, Rip. So a net increase of about $6-7/ month. Mom is less pissed. But not NOT pissed.

I think it's a net increase of $20/month. The channels are moving from Basic to Premium, which is $20 more, and Basic's regional sports fee is being dropped by $13. But they didn't say anything about dropping the Premium regional sports fee.

 

[Chad Finn]

I think it's a net increase of $20/month. The channels are moving from Basic to Premium, which is $20 more, and Basic's regional sports fee is being dropped by $13. But they didn't say anything about dropping the Premium regional sports fee.

This is correct.

 

[dlauderdale]

has anyone cut the cord and found something that works for them? I still want 125 channels or whatever but the cost is absurd. I was looking into Hulu. They stream live sports after all...

 

[Salem's Lot]

has anyone cut the cord and found something that works for them? I still want 125 channels or whatever but the cost is absurd. I was looking into Hulu. They stream live sports after all...

I switched from Comcast cable & internet to T-Mobile with You Tube TV, ESPN+, and NESN 360 for Bruins & Red Sox and I went from paying $300 a month to around $150. If you don’t live in the Boston area, ESPN+ would cover the Bruins for you (if you watch them) but you would need to buy the MLB package for the Red Sox (but you do get all off the other games which is pretty sweet too).

 

[8slim]

Anyone expect the Celtics to look for a new local home?

Almost every NBA franchise is trying to figure this out to some degree. A lot will depend on how the NBA wants to proceed with local rights. MLB has been talking about consolidating as many local rights as possible into a national, in-market, streaming subscription product. The NBA could go down that road if enough teams find their local situation untennable.

Several franchises have gone the route of local broadcast TV + direct-to-consumer streaming for their non-national games. The Jazz, as one example, have ten or so games for free on a local broadcast station and the rest available for subscription to their Jazz+ streaming service.

I suspect the Cs get a fairly healthy rights fee from NBC Sports Boston, so the calculus for them exiting the cable space is a lot different than what it was for Utah.

There's going to be a ton of upheaval in this area over the next few years.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

If they received a large enough offer, they would move off NBCSN; but the team is a minority owner in the station. I would not expect them to move somewhere else.

 

[nayrbrey]

I can’t remember where I saw it, but there was a rumor the NBC regional sports networks were going to be available via Peacock Premium in the near future.

Edit- found it from this past fall:
https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/peacock-stream-sports-rsn.html

 

[InsideTheParker]

I switched from Comcast cable & internet to T-Mobile with You Tube TV, ESPN+, and NESN 360 for Bruins & Red Sox and I went from paying $300 a month to around $150. If you don’t live in the Boston area, ESPN+ would cover the Bruins for you (if you watch them) but you would need to buy the MLB package for the Red Sox (but you do get all off the other games which is pretty sweet too).

I thought I read somewhere that MLB was considering dropping the black-out for games for folks in the NESN area. Is that happening?

 

[Salem's Lot]

I thought I read somewhere that MLB was considering dropping the black-out for games for folks in the NESN area. Is that happening?

I haven’t heard anything on that.

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

It could relate to this article from back in September.

As Major League Baseball continues to deal with issues related to regional sports networks, commissioner Rob Manfred is looking at an opportunity to make the sport more readily available nationally.

Appearing at the CNBC x Boardroom's Game Plan Summit, Manfred addressed the possibility of making MLB "more national" in the future:
"You know, we made a set of changes in our rules last year that I think dramatically improved the product on the field. Pitch clock, moved the game along, took out a lot of our dead time, put an emphasis on athleticism that was really important…I think as we move forward and as the landscape continues to change, we have an opportunity to make our sport more national, increase our reach, deal with the blackout issue that has plagued us for years and I think as with every crisis, there's an opportunity to make your business better."

Drellich wrote in May that some team owners and executives of smaller-market clubs were pushing to end local television deals altogether and sell the broadcast rights to all 30 teams as one giant streaming package.

The pushback, according to Drellich, comes from teams in bigger markets who make the most money don't want to give up that financial advantage by putting everyone into a single umbrella.

 

[Jungleland]

At some point in the last two NFL seasons my Comcast feed has become unbelievably delayed. I have always found the streaming sports options to be relatively untenable - between game threads here, twitter, the fantasy app, and texting my friends and dad, not being behind is incredibly important to how I like to watch games. I don’t know what happened, but my cable box, not streaming I’m running something like a minute and a half behind. It’s fucking killing watching the nfl for me. It was 1201 on my phone before the Times Square ball dropped.

I’d consider a $7 bump a month to watch the bruins and the Sox, but absolutely won’t be with Comcast. I’m going to deal with it until I move over the summer, but very much considering going w a competitor for the first time ever.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

At some point in the last two NFL seasons my Comcast feed has become unbelievably delayed. I have always found the streaming sports options to be relatively untenable - between game threads here, twitter, the fantasy app, and texting my friends and dad, not being behind is incredibly important to how I like to watch games. I don’t know what happened, but my cable box, not streaming I’m running something like a minute and a half behind. It’s fucking killing watching the nfl for me. It was 1201 on my phone before the Times Square ball dropped.

I’d consider a $7 bump a month to watch the bruins and the Sox, but absolutely won’t be with Comcast. I’m going to deal with it until I move over the summer, but very much considering going w a competitor for the first time ever.

The delay also seems to vary by channel. There’s times when I see a play on Redzone, which should usually be more delayed, flip to Fox and they’re just showing the play I saw on redzone “live”

The issue isn’t old either. It’s really only in the last year or so. I used to be a minute ahead of my brothers YouTube TV and now it’s about the same.

The Xfinity Stream app is often way ahead of the cable box as well.

 

[Max Power]

The delay also seems to vary by channel. There’s times when I see a play on Redzone, which should usually be more delayed, flip to Fox and they’re just showing the play I saw on redzone “live”

The issue isn’t old either. It’s really only in the last year or so. I used to be a minute ahead of my brothers YouTube TV and now it’s about the same.

The Xfinity Stream app is often way ahead of the cable box as well.

I've noticed the same thing with the X1 box. NBC is like 10 seconds behind the antenna, but NESN is delayed over a minute from the MLB Gameday. I contacted management about it with my findings (there's a contact email for some VP on the website and their office gets back to you), but they didn't have an answer. They just kept asking for more information and I eventually gave up. If the streaming app actually worked with channel numbers on the remote, I'd use that all the time. As is, I'll use it for playoff games to keep relatively on time.

 

[the1andonly3003]

Did they actually flip the switch? I still have access to NBCSB and can watch the Cs tonight....

 

[kenneycb]

Switched off for me last night.

 

[Humphrey]

The delay also seems to vary by channel. There’s times when I see a play on Redzone, which should usually be more delayed, flip to Fox and they’re just showing the play I saw on redzone “live”

The issue isn’t old either. It’s really only in the last year or so. I used to be a minute ahead of my brothers YouTube TV and now it’s about the same.

The Xfinity Stream app is often way ahead of the cable box as well.

If you drop the box and keep the app, are there any limitations (in particular, with what you can record)?