ESPN Accounts For More Than $6 Of Your Cable Bill; Could Soon Top $8

[ZLoth]

From Consumerist:

ESPN Accounts For More Than $6 Of Your Cable Bill; Could Soon Top $8

In recent years, cable companies and broadcasters have squared off in nasty, public spats that sometimes result in blackouts for millions of viewers. The broadcasters say they aren't being paid properly and the cable companies claim they're on our side, trying to keep costs down (though we always end up paying more). These battles will likely only get worse, with analysts predicting that the cost of content will continue to increase.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the average amount of our cable bill that goes to pay carriage fees to broadcasters is expected to increase 36% by 2018, according to estimates by media research firm SNL Kagan.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[Pete from Boston]

What's a cable bill?

[formulanone]

Well, they have to pay a half billion dollars for NFL broadcasting rights. So they're passing the expenditure onto you. This Pass was brought to you by Budweiser.

[Pete from Boston]

I remember well a time when people didn't feel held over a barrel by ESPN prices.  TV's nice, but if it costs too much, use your time some other way.  It's not hard.  Three generations into TV and it's become a $200/month non-negotiable necessity.

[agentsteel53]

I've got Netflix ($9/mo) and Amazon Prime ($99/year).  that covers everything I'd ever want to watch.

[Thing 342]

This is why alacarte style Cable systems are needed. We rarely watch ESPN or any of its derivatives, but in order to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FXX we have to pay for them anyways.

[doorknob60]

ESPN is half of what I watch on cable anyways. If I could pay $6-8 a month (or even like $15) to get it without cable, I'd be all over it.

[Brandon]

I wish I could drop ESPN.  I don't need the Every SEC Pom-Pom Network.

ESPN used to be something when they showed every sport including show jumping, skiing, ice skating, etc, etc.  Now they're merely football, basketball, and whatever contract they have-ball and poker.  When the fuck did poker become a sport!?!  As far as I'm concerned, I could drop it and not miss it.  NBCSN is much better, as is the Big Ten Network.

[Brian556]

This is a ripoff to me, since I don't ever watch ESPN. Heck, I really don't care about sports at all. To me they are boring and not worth giving two seconds of my time to.

[Big John]

Well, they have to pay a half billion dollars for NFL broadcasting rights. So they're passing the expenditure onto you. This Pass was brought to you by Budweiser.

Inflation is high here as it is now $1.9 billion a year http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/sports/football/espn-extends-deal-with-nfl-for-15-billion.html

[formulanone]

Well, they have to pay a half billion dollars for NFL broadcasting rights. So they're passing the expenditure onto you. This Pass was brought to you by Budweiser.

Inflation is high here as it is now $1.9 billion a year http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/sports/football/espn-extends-deal-with-nfl-for-15-billion.html

Heh, I was a bit conservative on my guesstimation. That's a lot of scratch for just 34 games a year.

Haven't had cable in about a year, and I barely even have time for Netflix (I watch maybe two movies a month). Don't really miss it, I have lots of stuff to do.

ESPN used to be something when they showed every sport including show jumping, skiing, ice skating, etc, etc.  Now they're merely football, basketball, and whatever contract they have-ball and poker

I remember those days...they'd fill programming hours with just about every obscure form of motorsports imaginable. Probably because the price tag was just a few thousand a year. SportsCenter would round out an hour's programming with much more than what they were broadcasting, and didn't spend so much time prognosticating, jabbering about power rankings, what-if-deals, contracts, and fantasy sports.

They're almost unwatchable now, but I guess there's an audience who enjoys 10 hours of pre/post-game analysis for every 3 hour sporting event.

[texaskdog]

I wouldn't need cable at all if not for ESPN.  We have Roku, DVDs, etc.

[Billy F 1988]

Well, you know the kids. They want their football. They want their NBA, yada yada yada, etc., etc., etc., whatever. I don't care about ESPN anyway. Never watched it. Never became a fan of it. Never will. Kiss my ass, ESPN! You. Suck. (and FS1, jump off the cliff and never exist!)

[ZLoth]

If it weren't for a rental agreement, DirecTV would have been cancelled a long time ago. E$PN and the R$N are the most expensive channels in the basic tier which I don't watch.

[ET21]

$9 Netflix, Chromecast, and DISH Anywhere off my roommate's family. 

[The Nature Boy]

I wonder if it would be profitable to offer a $10/month ESPN subscription to people who don't have cable. It would operate like WWE Network and MLB.tv.

I imagine it would give ESPN negotiating leverage with the carriers.

[golden eagle]

I love ESPN, particularly ESPNU and ESPNews. DirecTV will carry the SEC Network.

I also think the time is now for a la carte cable. DirecTV has so many infomercial channels. Some are just simulcasts. I don't need all these infomercial channels.

[algorerhythms]

I love ESPN, particularly ESPNU and ESPNews. DirecTV will carry the SEC Network.

I also think the time is now for a la carte cable. DirecTV has so many infomercial channels. Some are just simulcasts. I don't need all these infomercial channels.

The infomercial channels generally pay the cable company to carry them, so even if cable went a la carte (it won't), they'd probably just give them to you for free as part of the basic service.

[The Nature Boy]

ESPN is managing the SEC Network, it'll be a disaster. Get ready for football, basketball and then hours of analysis of said football and basketball.

I give Big Ten Network some credit, they do show some of the more obscure sports that would otherwise go unnoticed.

[texaskdog]

$9 Netflix, Chromecast, and DISH Anywhere off my roommate's family. 

NIU should be in the Big 10, it can swap places with Minnesota

[vdeane]

I love ESPN, particularly ESPNU and ESPNews. DirecTV will carry the SEC Network.

I also think the time is now for a la carte cable. DirecTV has so many infomercial channels. Some are just simulcasts. I don't need all these infomercial channels.

The infomercial channels generally pay the cable company to carry them, so even if cable went a la carte (it won't), they'd probably just give them to you for free as part of the basic service.

Does anyone watch the infomercial channels?  I honestly don't understand how they can support themselves.  Why would anyone advertise on a channel that people just delete from their channel lists?

[algorerhythms]

You'd be surprised. It's mostly old folks who don't have much else to do, but people do watch those channels and buy stuff from them.

[freebrickproductions]

I was flipping through the channels on TV once and it got stuck at the Home Shopping Network.

[Duke87]

Meh. The networks and providers can flail about all the want, but the reality is, the writing is on the wall: cable TV is gradually going the way of the dodo. It is obsolete thanks to the ability to stream content via the internet.

Brace yourselves, though: the companies that provide us with internet are the same companies that provide us with cable TV. They really would like it if everyone continued purchasing both and absent regulation preventing it, you know they are going to do whatever they can to make it difficult for us to stream stuff online.

I have never paid a cable bill, my apartment has been "TV" free as long as I've lived on my own. I don't miss it at all and see no point in wasting money on it, I'd almost never use the service if I had it.

[jeffandnicole]

Meh. The networks and providers can flail about all the want, but the reality is, the writing is on the wall: cable TV is gradually going the way of the dodo. It is obsolete thanks to the ability to stream content via the internet.

1q14: Time Warner profit: $479 million
2q14: Comcast posted revenue of almost $2 Billion.

BTW...Comcast is set to build it's 2nd Skyscraper on Philly, which will be the tallest building between NYC & Chicago at 1,121 feet.

This Dodo bird ain't going anywhere anytime soon.