ESPN Plus costs less than adding BeIn Sports (2015’s broadcaster) to my cable package. And you want a free option, you can watch Telemundo.I'm beginning to think everything I want to watch regularly is going to be behind a paywall that I used to get for the fee I was already forking over.
Will Telemundo have all the matches? Also, are you sure about the cost comparison w/r/t BeIN? I switched to streaming last year and I have YouTubeTV and added BeIN's International Package for La Liga and Ligue 1. The Int'l package is $10/mo. and I think $2-3 for DVR. Does ESPN+ even have a time-shifting (i.e. DVR) option?ESPN Plus costs less than adding BeIn Sports (2015’s broadcaster) to my cable package. And you want a free option, you can watch Telemundo.
I only have an issue with NBC Sports Gold, which only has second tier matches, and B/R Live, which only has matches when I’m at work.
I have ESPN+, it costs like $5 a month. Not sure about DVR but all games are available on demand for no additional cost. I get all Serie A matches, which I’ve enjoyed and never really had much access to before.Will Telemundo have all the matches? Also, are you sure about the cost comparison w/r/t BeIN? I switched to streaming last year and I have YouTubeTV and added BeIN's International Package for La Liga and Ligue 1. The Int'l package is $10/mo. and I think $2-3 for DVR. Does ESPN+ even have a time-shifting (i.e. DVR) option?
It's just starting to pile up. You need to have a cable subscription and another sub to get all of a particular league's content. That doesn't even get into the entertainment side (Do you like Star Trek? Buy CBS All Access!).ESPN Plus costs less than adding BeIn Sports (2015’s broadcaster) to my cable package. And you want a free option, you can watch Telemundo.
I only have an issue with NBC Sports Gold, which only has second tier matches, and B/R Live, which only has matches when I’m at work.
Eventually someone will come out with a bundled package of streaming services and we'll have come full circle.It's just starting to pile up. You need to have a cable subscription and another sub to get all of a particular league's content. That doesn't even get into the entertainment side (Do you like Star Trek? Buy CBS All Access!).
I've always dreamed of the day when content can truly be paid for a la carte. The counterargument is that each property would then get more expensive. But, I've never subscribed to that line of thought. However, at this moment, the industry is caught between two models. Consumers are adapting more quickly to take advantage of new technologies and offerings (where the value proposition lies), but you're right that it will continue to shift and I don't think the streaming model as we know it will be here that long.Eventually someone will come out with a bundled package of streaming services and we'll have come full circle.
Do you dislike his style/affect or his commentary?Why is Taylor Twellman so bad ? He drives me crazy and ruins almost every game he announces.
The Lalas hate is real, my girlfriend is the exact same way and I don't think she specifically knows or cares what his point of view is, it's all based on vibe.Do you dislike his style/affect or his commentary?
I think his content is fine, but his endlessly energetic style/affect can annoy people, like my wife. (Like all good Americans, she hates professional troll Alexi Lalas the most.)
She views him as the platonic ideal of an overconfident, know-it-all blowhard who likes to be controversial for the attention and is definitely going to interrupt you to mansplain something at least a few times in a five minute conversation.The Lalas hate is real, my girlfriend is the exact same way and I don't think she specifically knows or cares what his point of view is, it's all based on vibe.
Which services are you using? I haven’t had an issue with using a DVR or fast forwarding on any of the services we use.So cordcutting saved a few people money for a few years and now content more expensive and worse for everyone and we can't even use the DVR to skip over commercials with streaming services? Awesome!
Yeah trying to change channels is a little clunky. I usually work all weekend and record more games on my Roku (FuboTV and ESPN+) than can be humanly watched, catching what I can during the week. Since I’m never watching anything live, flipping around doesn’t bother me but I can see how it would be problematic.YouTubeTV for a few TVs, but still have cable. At least on Roku, the experience trying to flip back and forth between games takes like 5 button clicks instead of a previous channel option. Additional FFWD is fine, but there's no way to program a 30 second skip button which is pretty much perfect for flying through commercials.
Yup, this is what those of us who work on "obsolete" linear cable channels have been warning. You hate the bundle where you have to pay 60 bucks (plus internet costs, plus pay networks) for 500 channels because you only watch 10 of them? Great. Now you can pay an average of 10 bucks each for pay services from Netflix, Disney, WarnerMedia, Comcast, Amazon, ESPN, and Hulu, still need to pay for internet costs, and have fewer viewing choices than you did before.So cordcutting saved a few people money for a few years and now content more expensive and worse for everyone and we can't even use the DVR to skip over commercials with streaming services? Awesome!
The bigger problem for me is that you can't just choose one or the other. ESPN wants me to pay my cable bill AND give them another $5 a month for their streaming service to get everything they offer.Yup, this is what those of us who work on "obsolete" linear cable channels have been warning. You hate the bundle where you have to pay 60 bucks (plus internet costs, plus pay networks) for 500 channels because you only watch 10 of them? Great. Now you can pay an average of 10 bucks each for pay services from Netflix, Disney, WarnerMedia, Comcast, Amazon, ESPN, and Hulu, still need to pay for internet costs, and have fewer viewing choices than you did before.
This is totally the key: double-dipping. You can't one-stop shop for the content you want anymore, cord-cutter or not.The bigger problem for me is that you can't just choose one or the other. ESPN wants me to pay my cable bill AND give them another $5 a month for their streaming service to get everything they offer.
If you have ESPN+, Sunday, July 7th looks like this to you:
11:00 - Women's World Cup Final (FOX)
2:00 - Atlanta United vs. New York Red Bulls (FOX)
4:00 - Copa America Final (ESPN+)
6:30 - Portland Timbers vs. New York City (FS1)
9:00 - Gold Cup Final
Even as someone who was first weaned on the international game during WC '94 and follows Argentina maniacally, I won't pay extra for these matches. I didn't pay extra to see the Barca-Valenica Copa final. These clowns need to realize they need eyeballs.Extortion, plain and simple.
This brings back a vivid memory of my U-12 coach. We played next to an elementary school, and before practices he would run an extension chord from an external outlet on the building to his car trunk. He had rigged up a plywood platform with a small TV and VCR on it along with a milk crate holding dozens of self-made instructional tapes comprised of English and Italian highlights. This being '89-90, we saw a lot of Milan and Liverpool clips with those VCR tracking lines obscuring a good look at what was actually happening.Growing up, we had VHS tapes and very sporadic matches. We had an embarrassment of riches over the past few years, but hiding content behind additional paywalls is getting out of hand.
I think the clowns in question at CONMEBOL will survive without too many American eyeballs - the Copa America is a nice tournament, but if the USA itself is not involved, exactly how big is the English-speaking market in America to watch it? (The same is true for ESPN, actually...I assume the sound business decision is to try and get more people to pony up for ESPN+ than show loss-leading programming on one of its main channels.)These clowns need to realize they need eyeballs.
I have always liked CBS production. Bleacher Report/Turner left a lot to be desired.CBS and Univision have won the rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League for three seasons starting in the summer of 2021. CBS will show matches on its broadcast network, CBSSN, and CBS All-Access.
https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Breaking-News/2019/11/CBS.aspx
I don't see any way this can't be much better than Bleacher Report/TNT.Hopefully they have been paying attention to NBC Sports more than TNT. If they do this right this could work out well for all of us
That’s disappointing as I’ll probably now have to buy another subscription.CBS and Univision have won the rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League for three seasons starting in the summer of 2021. CBS will show matches on its broadcast network, CBSSN, and CBS All-Access.
https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Breaking-News/2019/11/CBS.aspx
“G’Day Chaps”Oh great, now I have to look forward to Jim Nantz calling the Champions League Final.
https://worldsoccertalk.com/2020/01/08/sling-removes-bein-sports-from-best-of-spanish-tv-leaving-laliga-fans-in-a-lurch/Sling TV has removed beIN SPORTS from its Best of Spanish TV package, thereby making the channel and coverage of LaLiga even more difficult to access than previously.
While the change may not seem significant to some, the Best of Spanish TV package has been one of the most popular Sling TV add-ons that soccer fans have chosen over the years when wanting to access LaLiga via beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español.
The Spanish-language network beIN SPORTS en Español will continue to be available via Best of Spanish TV, but it leaves English-language viewers in the lurch who want to enjoy the top-flight Spanish league with English-language commentary and analysis from beIN SPORTS talent such as Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson.
Other options do exist (more on that later), but removing beIN SPORTS from Best of Spanish TV isn’t the only change that Sling TV has made.
Recently, the streaming service increased the monthly subscription costs of Sling Blue and Sling Orange by five dollars per month to $30/month for Sling Blue and $30/month for Sling Orange, or $45/month for Sling Blue + Orange combined.
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By Sling TV removing beIN SPORTS from the Best of Spanish TV package, it forces long-standing Sling customers to make a decision whether to switch or stay. Other options include Fanatiz for $7.99/month, fubo Latino and Sling Latino for $10/month.
In response to our concerns about Sling TV subscribers no longer being able to watch LaLiga in English-language via Best of Spanish TV, a Sling TV spokeswoman responded, “All of the major soccer games broadcasted on beIN SPORTS (English) are still available in Spanish to Best of Spanish TV customers on beIN SPORTS en Espanol and/or beIN SPORTS Connect channels. Customers interested in watching LaLiga games in English can still watch on beIN SPORTS with Sports Extra (Blue and/or Orange base services required), World Sports or Deportes Extra.”
We reached out to beIN SPORTS for comment regarding the removal of the channel from Best of Spanish TV, but they didn’t respond before press time. According to a source, LaLiga believes the partnership with Sling TV is as strong as ever, and LaLiga continues to leverage Sling’s platform and collaborate with their team on new ways to create exposure of LaLiga for Sling consumers in the new year.
Sling TV removing beIN SPORTS from the Best of Spanish TV package is ironic considering that LaLiga North America and Sling TV announced a partnership in September 2019 that described Sling TV as “the official sponsor of La Liga in North America.” In that same announcement, it mentioned Sling TV would expand and promote Spain’s top league in North America.
Sling TV is currently running an advertising campaign that’s promoting its coverage of LaLiga with the slogan “Ready as ever.” Given recent developments, they may want to reconsider the wording.