So when is Dish dropping ESPN?
Let's also not forget the networks just paid billions for the NFL. So will Dish not pay CBS or Fox?
They probably won't as Ergen has stated MANY, MANY times that ESPN has a larger audience and has produces MANY live events all year 'round. While he has stated the ESPN is expensive, he sees some value in a channel like that that has broad appeal with all sorts of different sports featured, even stuff like XGames, etc, it is a variety of sports channel with sufficient highly rated sports events to make some economic sense.
Ergen's complaint for at least over a decade now has been with RSN's and those exclusive boutique sports channels that feature only ONE or TWO local teams that are also very expensive and produce programming outside the live games that appeal to virtually no one. The RSN's have far fewer viewership and LIMITED appeal for the high rates they can demand--and virtually ALL subscribers pay for that channels even if they don't watch them. Rupert Murdoch
SOLD those RSN's because he saw the writing on the wall, while still keeping the FS1 and FS2 channels attempt the ESPN model.
The reason RSN's--and even ESPN--will never go A la carte is because they could NEVER get the funds necessary to pay for all the costs that go into the big and smaller sports rights and production. The ONLY way TV MVPD sports services can afford to buy and produce/televise, and make some money is to charge virtually every single subscriber on any MVPD service, and that means the (vast) majority of MVPD subscribers who NEVER watch any of the sports channels. And it is not jsut the additional FEES chareged to all MVPD's subscribers,
but it also gurantees tha largest potential audience (touting access/availability to a larger number of viewers/eyballs) when counting all the subscribers who NEVER watch the channels. So, the loss of Ad revenue has to be calcuated along with loss of per subscriber fees to those who never watch the RSN to begin with.
I say GREAT! As I had stated in another thread, my sports overload brother no longer depends upon RSN's as part of his Dish services because he has moved on to League Apps and other on-line methods to get his local and national sports fix.
And this brings to the final point: Dish and other MVPD's are being asked to pay some of the most expensive programming fees like those charged by RSN's of all channels for content that is NO LONGER EXCLUSIVE Live broadcasts. Now, the value to an MVPD like Dish for such RSN's has been greatly eroded because the very same content (games and events) being available on other platforms, especially on-line--LIVE. This is a trend for all TV content, but ESPECIALLY troublesome for sports LIVE content that only has great value while it is LIVE (remember ESPN Classic? What a rousing success that channel was). People may be willing to wait some weeks, months or longer for the Discover+ content to appear on their MVPD as NEW programming, but that model aint gonna cut if for SPORTS.
