NBC Sports (aka the Old Versus)

The Big Lead noted that NBCS (NBC Sports Channel - the old Versus) is not doing so well in the ratings. Channels like Biography, OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) and the Travel Channel are beating it in ratings. I can understand losing to the Travel Channel (they have Anthony Bourdain) but losing to OWN?

This got me wondering about the contract NBC Sports has with the NHL. The 10-year contract was signed last April and was reportedly worth $2 billion. Can a broadcaster losing to OWN in the ratings really afford such a deal? Could the NHL owners lockout give NBC a way out of the deal? Wouldn't that be an interesting turn of events?

The First Crack in the Content Dam?

Two things happened over at Time Warner cable last week. One got a lot of attention but the second went pretty much under the radar.

The first thing to mention is Time Warner Cable finally signing to carry the NFL Network. TWC was the last holdout among the major cable companies in the US. Why did they hold out so long? Because the NFL Network is pretty damn expensive. We are talking about adding over a dollar in rights costs. Is TWC going to raise their prices? Probably not because they are already changing a premium to their digital tier customers. So the costs for the NFL Network will be coming right off the bottom line for TWC.

That's a situation that won't last.

Which gets me to the second thing I wanted to mention. Last week Jeff Bewkes, the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner made the following comment (which could easily be properly called a complaint), "About 17% of TV viewing occurs outside these [top] 40 channels, and $7 billion [in rights fees] goes to those channels." The comment was made at a Goldman Sachs investment conference and the inference was clear - companies like TWC are paying way too much for channels nobody is watching!

My guess is that to cover that dollar plus for the NFL Network - TWC will start shedding smaller niche channels. It will probably take five or six channels to make up for the costs added by the NFL Networks. I'd hate to be the sales rep for a smaller channel whose contract is coming up with TWC any time soon. Those will be the first to go.

The cable landscape has been a non-stop history of adding channel after channel for larger and larger line-ups. I think the wave has crested and that we are about to enter a period that for every channel added a couple will be dropped. Last week may be remembered as the week TWC added the NFL Network but long term it may be remembered as the point in time that the channel line-up started to shrink.

Mobile DVT

BroadcastEngineering had a nice update on the status of mobile DTV. I'm sorry but it is still hard for me to think of mobile DTV as anything but a science experiment. I guess I'd think that about any new technology that requires a dongle. Once the smartphones and tablets come mobile DTV enabled - then that's when you know the service has traction.

The big question is whether it is better to pick up live wireless signals like mobile DTV or streamed signals via a company like Aereo. In a perfect world both would be available. You could pick up the mobile DTV signal when in range and then switch over to the streamed version when you are out of range but still with Internet access. Let's hope common sense prevails - and it does so without having to use a dongle.

Redbox-Verizon Streaming By End of Year?

Interesting article updating the Verizon-Redbox co-owned Redbox Instant product.

One flaw that I would say exists about the article is that it never even mentions the Dish Network owned Blockbuster  at Home product. With over 14 million subscribers to Dish Network and with over 25,000 titles in their Blockbuster at Home library (of which over 10,000 are available for streaming) - it seems silly to overlook this potential rival to Netflix, Amazon and Redbox Instant. In fact - if Redbox Instant grew to just the current size of Blockbuster at Home it would be viewed as a wild success.

Edit: Please note that Blogspot does not allow the "at" symbol. That's why Blockbuster at Home is spelled the way it is.

Aereo Adding Content?

Semi-cryptic announcement from Aereo saying they are close to adding new content deals.

Seeing how Aereo is being launched in New York City and seeing how they are saying it is content that doesn't come from local TV stations and which will be sold at an additional fee - my guess is that Aereo could be trying to work out a deal with either YES or MSG or both.

Think of it. If I'm a guy in NYC - I would be perfectly happy getting just the local channels plus the two big regional sports channels. That combination would make a killer product. Aereo could charge an additional $20 per month for this sports tier and everyone would be happy. YES and MSG really have nothing to fear from the networks suing Aereo since local service providers have to carry their channels anyway. Try being a cable company in NYC without carrying Yankees games. Aereo represents another revenue stream to these RSN's - why wouldn't they strike a deal?

This could get very interesting.

Google and Motorola STB's

There are lots of rumors floating around about Google wanting to sell the Motorola Mobility Set Top Box business. Meanwhile Motorola is releasing new STB's geared for Microsoft MediaRoom.

That's all well and good but the real story I want to see explained is why Google Fiber did not choose to use Motorola STB's in its Kansas City deployment. All three stories are connected.

NFL Sunday Ticket without DirecTV?

Peter Kafka has an interesting post about DirecTV's relationship with Sony's PlayStation Network and how the PS3 can be used to watch the NFL Sunday Ticket (whether you get DirecTV or not).

While that is interesting in and of itself. The article got me wondering - what is the future for the NFL Sunday Ticket?

RNC Viewership Down vs. 2008?

It is interesting to note two conflicting reports - Mitt Romney's acceptance speech according to some reports was down by 8.6 million viewers in comparison to the acceptance speech by John McCain four years earlier. Yet there are many reports that enthusiasm among Republicans is much higher than 4-years ago. What gives?

I think the drop in viewership can be explained by 3 simple reasons:

Un-Cutting the Cord

Interesting article by Jeff Bercovici of Forbes on how he's been without cable for 13 years but is about to un-cut the cord. I've been wondering if I could cut the cord but I think watching sports would kill me. The money I'd save on cable - I'd spend at a bar watching the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins.