TBN: Pegulas Starting a New Empire Sports Network?

[JThorne]

If it A) gets rid of Rob Ray or B) includes a major league baseball team then I'm all for it. Chances are, neither happen though.

 

[ckg927]

How awesome would it be to have Sabres post game shows on TV like they were in the 90's with Robitaille and Blessing? Bills, Sabres, Bisons, UB sports! A new regional sports network has the potential to be amazing.

Let's not forget the Bandits, either.

Here's another question: Who would this new sports network affiliate with, if it debuts? Fox Sports? ROOT Sports(which is kinda sorta affiliated with Fox Sports)? Or should it go the route that MASN and SNY have and be independent?

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

If only there were a way for this to happen without having to go through time warner or the dish services. I hate big cable and such

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Some TV-related job listings for PS&E have appeared: http://www.teamworkonline.com/sport...Category=&button.x=0&button.y=0&button=Submit

Which would indicate that the Pegulas are at least looking into a new WNY sports network.

 

[Sabre Dance]

If the Pegulas created a TV and radio network it would end WGR550.

 

[LongWayDown37]

Streaming only options please. Cable/satellite won't exist within 5 years.

 

[Sabre Dance]

Streaming only options please. Cable/satellite won't exist within 5 years.

Im willing to bet there will be both options.

 

[Deleted member 27798]

Streaming only options please. Cable/satellite won't exist within 5 years.

If I were you, I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[sabres4ever]

I hope this gives an option to watch games legally for people like me who do not have TV cable, and only subscribe for Internet connection.

Gamecenter does not work due to local TV blackouts.

Have you tried using a VPN to "appear" in another area, and bypass the blackout? I live in VA, about 60 miles from DC, but I guess I am in their "viewing area", and even when they play in Buffalo, it's blacked out for me, until I use my VPN.

If it is an 'Empire Sports' type network, I hope we can view it online somehow.

 

[Yatzhee]

It should include Rochester I would imagine. Heck yea!!!! Amerks games.

I wonder if wgr550 would be bought by PS&E.....

 

[Shmuffalo]

It would be awesome if we could get a local broadcast in Erie, PA. We're considered a black out region, so we can't even pay for Game Center to watch the games. It's ridiculous.

 

[Myllz]

Hopefully there'd be a way to watch it outside of Buffalo, otherwise I don't care.

 

[Not Sure]

I miss the old Empire Sports Network and have always resented being shoved on the NYC oriented MSG.

Bonus points if we're able to subscribe to the channel over the net, as the Sabres are the sole reason why I haven't cut the cable tv cord (yeah, I could do a VPN to get the feed from the NHL, but...)

This x1,000,000. I haven't had cable in years, and the only reason I ever think about maybe buying it is for Sabres. I can watch the Bills on my phone through Verizon, and I'd pay hundreds for an all access NHL package that allows me to watch game legally in market. It's like the NHL and MLB are holding on to a losing hand for about 5 years now and can't see the writing on the wall. I know those national deals bring in money, but half the people in the US don't have access to NBCSN even if they wanted it. Why make your product near impossible to consume, that's not how you grow a game. I'm stuck watching away broadcasts or going to the bar just to watch the game, I'd much rather watch it on my phone or tablet regardless of cost. I don't want to watch illegal streams, but the NHL makes it nearly impossible to watch games unless you buy a cable package you don't want or need, even when I had cable it seemed like every 6 months the price went up 20% and I didn't turn the damn cable box on except for game night. They have a product that pushes billions in cable TV subscriptions and only get a small piece of it. Sell the product Ala carte and watch the money coming rolling in, you already have the delivery service in place with game center, just get rid of black out restrictions.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

Sell the product Ala carte and watch the money coming rolling in, you already have the delivery service in place with game center, just get rid of black out restrictions.

It would be a disaster for teams if there weren't blackout restrictions on GCL, the local broadcast deals are big money to NHL teams. If the Pegulas do their own thing they can distribute their product via cable/satellite AND over-the-top direct to consumers. Which is where sports TV is heading now - cable/dish monopoly is over.

BUT in the end people are going to end up paying more money for 'TV' than they did when they *****ed about cable prices. $9.95/mo for this channel, $7.95 for that channel, adds up fast. The difference is people will by paying for exactly what they want.

Terry Pegula isn't that impressive when you listen to him speak but damn he cashed out from his energy companies at as close to the top as possible and what he's doing here in Buffalo is going to make him a tons of money while at the same time creating a business his whole family can partake and enjoy in leaving a legacy that will last generations beyond his days. It's an amazing story really the Pegulas and Buffalo.

 

[Beerz]

This x1,000,000. I haven't had cable in years, and the only reason I ever think about maybe buying it is for Sabres. I can watch the Bills on my phone through Verizon, and I'd pay hundreds for an all access NHL package that allows me to watch game legally in market. It's like the NHL and MLB are holding on to a losing hand for about 5 years now and can't see the writing on the wall. I know those national deals bring in money, but half the people in the US don't have access to NBCSN even if they wanted it. Why make your product near impossible to consume, that's not how you grow a game. I'm stuck watching away broadcasts or going to the bar just to watch the game, I'd much rather watch it on my phone or tablet regardless of cost. I don't want to watch illegal streams, but the NHL makes it nearly impossible to watch games unless you buy a cable package you don't want or need, even when I had cable it seemed like every 6 months the price went up 20% and I didn't turn the damn cable box on except for game night. They have a product that pushes billions in cable TV subscriptions and only get a small piece of it. Sell the product Ala carte and watch the money coming rolling in, you already have the delivery service in place with game center, just get rid of black out restrictions.

I think the ala carte model is coming... Playstation Vue has small elements of it already..hopefully they expand on it

 

[JThorne]

The issue with all of this has been Congress. Getting everything through there when so many officials are being bought off by big cable companies is difficult at best. There's very much a demand for everything being said here. But cable companies know they're dying and are fighting tooth and nail to prevent things like we're asking for because it means the end of them bilking the average consumer for things we don't want.

 

[Beerz]

The issue with all of this has been Congress. Getting everything through there when so many officials are being bought off by big cable companies is difficult at best. There's very much a demand for everything being said here. But cable companies know they're dying and are fighting tooth and nail to prevent things like we're asking for because it means the end of them bilking the average consumer for things we don't want.

FCC is in control not congress

 

[Not Sure]

The issue with all of this has been Congress. Getting everything through there when so many officials are being bought off by big cable companies is difficult at best. There's very much a demand for everything being said here. But cable companies know they're dying and are fighting tooth and nail to prevent things like we're asking for because it means the end of them bilking the average consumer for things we don't want.

The cable companies have been lobbying for preferential treatment forever. They are terrified of programs like Google fiber which would come in and absolutely obliterate the cable and satellite companies in price and quality. Instead of understanding what customers want they try and squeeze every cent they can get by raising rates and pushing more customers out, it's a never ending cycle where cable and satellite are both the winners and losers. So they raise rates to compensate for lost customers, and more customers leave. What they should be doing is laying fiber optic cable like we've been told they would do for a decade.

Fios was supposed to be "coming soon" to Buffalo years ago, they're still not here and are no longer laying new lines with the Billions the government gave them to upgrade the network, why. Because Time Warner or whatever they are calling themselves now won't let them, because they know I'm not going to pay $100 a month for 20 up 5 down Internet if I can pay $120 for 50 up 10 down. It would effectively put them out of business. So the state and federal government draw up areas like they're gerrymandering a district and allow legal monopolies.

 

[Not Sure]

I think the ala carte model is coming... Playstation Vue has small elements of it already..hopefully they expand on it

Yeah I already almost bought it when I saw they had local sports channels with the sports package. But when I looked into it they have almost all of them except guess who, MSG. They blame it on the Knicks contract, but MSG just doesn't want to be booted off more satellite providers like they were with Dish Network. They know that no one in upstate wants to watch MSG for the NYC sports report, but we get shafted because we either gotta pay for it or be stuck without. Considering how well this market does with hockey they can use it as a big club with providers if they wish.

 

[Icicle]

It'd be cool if there was a streaming option for out of staters. Immediate subscription at whatever cost here. They would own all the rights to the people who typically block these sorts of deals in the first place, no?

 

[Beerz]

I can't believe we'll ever see individual team streaming services. Gotta think the league would block as it would cut into their Gamecenter/ Center Ice subscriptions

 

[GameMisconduct]

Another factor here in preserving the traditional cable model vs streaming are the ownership ties in some teams to cable/telecom/media companies, as well as other sponsorship from them.

 

[Not Sure]

I can't believe we'll ever see individual team streaming services. Gotta think the league would block as it would cut into their Gamecenter/ Center Ice subscriptions

I dont they'd be allowed to sell team subscriptions, but if the Pegula network actually happens theoretically Pegula could charge an access fee to allow streaming of the channel and I don't think there's anything the NHL could do. You're not buying a Sabres subscription, you're buying a Pegula Sports Network subscription, they just happen to carry Sabres, Americans, Bills, and Bandits games. You'd still probably be locked out of national broadcasts, but it's better then the current options for cord cutters, in which the NHL gets zero revenue and has to spend money chasing down illegal streams.

 

[Cirris]

It would be nice to have a Network where you watch Sabres games and hear about western NY teams instead going back to the same MSG reruns about the rangers or knicks.

 

[Jim Bob]

I dont they'd be allowed to sell team subscriptions, but if the Pegula network actually happens theoretically Pegula could charge an access fee to allow streaming of the channel and I don't think there's anything the NHL could do. You're not buying a Sabres subscription, you're buying a Pegula Sports Network subscription, they just happen to carry Sabres, Americans, Bills, and Bandits games. You'd still probably be locked out of national broadcasts, but it's better then the current options for cord cutters, in which the NHL gets zero revenue and has to spend money chasing down illegal streams.

I believe the NHL's big issue with going this route is how can the Pegula Network conform to the existing out of market blackout rules that the NHL has in place?