Hulu drops Regional Sports channels

[Svechhammer]

This comes on the heels of YouTube TV being forced to do the same just a couple weeks ago.

Make no mistake, this is not a problem with the providers. The Sinclair Broadcasting Group, who owns these channels, is trying to strong arm everyone into paying absolutely ridiculous fees for the rights to broadcast their channels. Even last year, I believe I lost Charter/Spectrum's coverage of FoxSports Carolinas because of these same tactics, and now they're doing the same for streaming.

Anyway, if your team is broadcast on any of the below channels, I hope you haven't already cut the cord:

Click to read more...

 

[Filthy Dangles]

And of course if you try to do the right thing and purchase NHL's Game package, NHL.TV, you're just gonna be blacked out of your local team's broadcast. Total garbage.

 

[GoJetsGo55]

And of course if you try to do the right thing and purchase NHL's Game package, NHL.TV, you're just gonna be blacked out of your local team's broadcast. Total garbage.

Don't you love it when a company tries their hardest to not take your money.

 

[Svechhammer]

At a certain point, you have to wonder if this approaches breach of contract with Sinclair almost going out of their way to prevent their channels from being in their local markets. I wonder if the professional leagues who use these channels would consider taking action to get on other networks?

 

[Paperbagofglory]

They underestimate the value of sports. They drive away options for casual fans and once my generation starts dying off, sports leagues die too since we are the last generation that watches traditional cable TV.

Taking away options for growth of a new generation of fans is a bold strategy cotton, lets see if it works.

 

[CaptBrannigan]

It’s so strange that I can watch every single game in the NHL* for a price that’s roughly equivalent to what I would need to spend on just a single month’s service to watch the home market team.

*that doesn’t include the Lightning.

 

[StevenF1919]

Basically encouraging piracy at this point. When it's more convenient for viewers to stream games illegally, there's a problem...

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Good. Seriously, f*** Sinclair Broadcast Group.

One silver lining of the pandemic is if it bankrupts Sinclair and the stranglehold they've got on local sports stations. Painful in the short term but hopefully will ultimately be better for those who stream television.

 

[Viqsi]

To the best of my knowledge, that's now every single streaming service that is no longer carrying the Fox RSNs, thus making it literally impossible to Do The Right Thing if you do cordcutting.


EDIT: On further review, AT&T TV Now still has them in their "MAX" package.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

They underestimate the value of sports. They drive away options for casual fans and once my generation starts dying off, sports leagues die too since we are the last generation that watches traditional cable TV.

Taking away options for growth of a new generation of fans is a bold strategy cotton, lets see if it works.

The NHL is already a cult sport in most of America, this is just going to compound it. Basically in 20 years hockey will be like boxing today in America: culturally irrelevant, but with a devoted fanbase that pays through the nose to watch games.

 

[Viqsi]

The NHL is already a cult sport in most of America, this is just going to compound it. Basically in 20 years hockey will be like boxing today in America: culturally irrelevant, but with a devoted fanbase that pays through the nose to watch games.

It's not just the NHL that's affected. Here in Ohio, those networks carry NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS games, and a handful of college football games as well.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

The timing of this isn’t helping Sinclair. No Lightning or Rays games to watch so I’m saving some money each month.

Also screw YouTube TV, they raised the price, added some channels I’ve never heard of or care about, then dropped the regional fox sports in this dispute with Sinclair but of course that didn’t drop the price down. The streaming services are getting as bad as the cable company.

The only real solution is a la carte. If Sinclair is too expensive for the product, let me decide that. The TV industry will soon find out like the music industry did, give the consumer the options they want or piracy will break you.

 

[Dr Pepper]

TIL Hulu even offered sports channels to begin with.

I thought it was just a vault of US cable videos and SNL clips that Canadians still couldn't watch without a proxy - because reasons.

 

[Teemu]

The NHL is already a cult sport in most of America, this is just going to compound it. Basically in 20 years hockey will be like boxing today in America: culturally irrelevant, but with a devoted fanbase that pays through the nose to watch games.

Everyone's gonna learn what it was like to grow up a Hawks fan, listening to games at home on the radio

 

[CaptBrannigan]

TIL Hulu even offered sports channels to begin with.

I thought it was just a vault of US cable videos and SNL clips that Canadians still couldn't watch without a proxy - because reasons.

Me too. I just got rid of cable this past month and was actually quite surprised at what Hulu offered when I was reviewing my options.
Ultimately, I didn’t get a replacement right away because by the time anything I wanted to watch came back, the offerings could be different. Exactly what happened here.

 

[Lt Dan]

By my count this is now Sling, YTTV, and Hulu

Sinclair is either spinning off it's own network or is emulating Eugene Melnyk

 

[Filthy Dangles]

A workaround for cordcutters would be to subscribe to a VPN service on top of NHL.TV which will change your location when connecting to NHL's servers and bypassing local blackouts. It would be easy if you just watched games on your PC but you'll run into problems with most Smart TV's and devices like Apple TV, Roku and Playstation/Xbox not natively supporting VPN connections.

It's not even so much the extra expense as much of the hassel and prohibitive that it's really not feasible for most people.

 

[DaveG]

It's not just the NHL that's affected. Here in Ohio, those networks carry NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS games, and a handful of college football games as well.

Yep, this is the case with most markets these RSNs are in IIRC.

At this point it's looking like VPN with a subscription to the NHL streaming service is basically the only legal solution as long as Sinclair and other RSNs are pulling this shit.

 

[SomeDude]

How far off are we from a streaming network like Netflix from signing a deal with a pro sports league? Are they still unable to compete with the cash of the major broadcasters? The platform could work advertising into games as well as charging a premium for a sports package.

 

[DaveG]

By my count this is now Sling, YTTV, and Hulu

Sinclair is either spinning off it's own network or is emulating Eugene Melnyk

If Sinclair is doing that they've been going the entire wrong way about it. You kinda need to run advertisements that you're launching a streaming platform on your own networks since your competitors aren't going to be in a hurry to help you get the word out.

How far off are we from a streaming network like Netflix from signing a deal with a pro sports league? Are they still unable to compete with the cash of the major broadcasters? The platform could work advertising into games as well as charging a premium for a sports package.

I think the NFL already streams some games on Prime video

 

[Lt Dan]

How far off are we from a streaming network like Netflix from signing a deal with a pro sports league? Are they still unable to compete with the cash of the major broadcasters? The platform could work advertising into games as well as charging a premium for a sports package.

Amazon carries some NFL games
2020 NFL Thursday Night Football schedule on Prime Video

 

[Viqsi]

A workaround for cordcutters would be to subscribe to a VPN service on top of NHL.TV which will change your location when connecting to NHL's servers and bypassing local blackouts. It would be easy if you just watched games on your PC but you'll run into problems with most Smart TV's and devices like Apple TV, Roku and Playstation/Xbox not natively supporting VPN connections.

It's not even so much the extra expense as much of the hassel and prohibitive that it's really not feasible for most people.

The easy solution is to not bother with a TV and just have a nice large display. Like the 30" Apple Cinema Display I got secondhand from my employer.

* * *​

How far off are we from a streaming network like Netflix from signing a deal with a pro sports league? Are they still unable to compete with the cash of the major broadcasters? The platform could work advertising into games as well as charging a premium for a sports package.

Exclusive rights deals get in the way of some stuff like that. See also: why blackouts continue to be a thing.

 

[Swervin81]

How far off are we from a streaming network like Netflix from signing a deal with a pro sports league? Are they still unable to compete with the cash of the major broadcasters? The platform could work advertising into games as well as charging a premium for a sports package.

The NHL does have a TV deal due in a couple seasons. They really need to make sure to do two things:

1. STAY. AWAY. FROM. EXCLUSIVITY. This current NBC deal has been a disaster for them. They need the product to be on as many networks and platforms as possible.
2. As you said - streaming services. More and more people are cutting the cord, especially us youngsters and they need to make the product more accessible. Luckily for the NHL, no major sport has taken a huge leap into that market. If the NHL beats them to the punch, it could be a huge boon in terms of growing the sport.

Basically encouraging piracy at this point. When it's more convenient for viewers to stream games illegally, there's a problem...

That's honestly always been the biggest motivation for piracy. Sure, there are still people who pirate just because they want free shit, but look at other industries. PC gaming had huge piracy problems, so did the music industry. But it's no longer a problem. Steam and Spotify eliminated the lack of convenience.

 

[Viqsi]

The NHL does have a TV deal due in a couple seasons. They really need to make sure to do two things:

1. STAY. AWAY. FROM. EXCLUSIVITY. This current NBC deal has been a disaster for them. They need the product to be on as many networks and platforms as possible.
2. As you said - streaming services. More and more people are cutting the cord, especially us youngsters and they need to make the product more accessible. Luckily for the NHL, no major sport has taken a huge leap into that market. If the NHL beats them to the punch, it could be a huge boon in terms of growing the sport.

I understand MLB took a shot at it but fell a bit short. I'm not sure myself, as I don't watch baseball.

MLS did a fantastic job at one point for all of one season and then f***ed it all up the very next year.

 

[StevenF1919]

That's honestly always been the biggest motivation for piracy. Sure, there are still people who pirate just because they want free shit, but look at other industries. PC gaming had huge piracy problems, so did the music industry. But it's no longer a problem. Steam and Spotify eliminated the lack of convenience.

Absolutely. Piracy isn't a pricing problem, it's a service problem. Movie piracy plummeted with the rise of Netflix and is now resurging due to the hundreds of different subscriptions required to watch content. If I need 8 different services to watch hockey I'll just consume it for free elsewhere.