Some insight on why NBC walked away from the NHL

Big Z Man 1990

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Jun 4, 2011
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Don't say anything at all
Michigan vs Ohio State gets 10+ million viewers every year despite the noon kickoff. The game being at noon does not hurt the ratings for the game one bit; it's not getting moved to primetime. I also seriously doubt that the Big 10 walks away from FOX either.

Except more people watch TV in primetime usually, than in any other day part. By your logic, you would want networks to try airing new episodes of their most popular programming in the afternoon. For instance, if Fox tried premiering new episodes of The Simpsons at 2 PM, rather than 8 PM, on Sundays, it would kill the show's ratings.
 

46zone

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Except more people watch TV in primetime usually, than in any other day part. By your logic, you would want networks to try airing new episodes of their most popular programming in the afternoon. For instance, if Fox tried premiering new episodes of The Simpsons at 2 PM, rather than 8 PM, on Sundays, it would kill the show's ratings.

The Simpsons get a fraction of the viewers "The Game" does despite their primetime slot. Hardcore and casual college football fans know that Ohio State vs Michigan is a noon kickoff; it is hyped up well in advance on ESPN and Fox Sports, particularly when both Ohio State and Michigan are good. I seriously doubt there would be a significant jump in viewership if it was an 8 pm kickoff; likely marginal at best, and not good enough for either university to consider abandoning their tradition.
 
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46zone

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So, if UM-OSU were at night, it could get 20 million viewers at the very least.

Ohio State vs Michigan aired in primetime in 2006, with both teams undefeated and billed as "the game of the century", and the game drew a little under 22 million viewers. In 2016, the only time since that the game has had BCS/Playoff implications, the game drew over 18 million viewers in the noon time slot.
 
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Big Z Man 1990

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Don't say anything at all
The Simpsons get a fraction of the viewers "The Game" does despite their primetime slot. Hardcore and casual college football fans know that Ohio State vs Michigan is a noon kickoff; it is hyped up well in advance on ESPN and Fox Sports, particularly when both Ohio State and Michigan are good. I seriously doubt there would be a significant jump in viewership if it was an 8 pm kickoff; likely marginal at best, and not good enough for either university to consider abandoning their tradition.

Still I feel night games are more magical than day games.

The NFL plays far more day games than it does night games, and the fact that night games are so magical make them very popular in the NFL despite the lower amount compared to CFB.

All three 7OT SEC games were played at night and ended well after midnight.

The night has such a special aura to it that daytime pales in comparison.
 
Jan 21, 2011
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When do you think that will happen? As it stands live sports are the one thing keeping cable alive and somewhat well

Not to sound immature, but do you not see the writing on the wall already? It’s lucky if it lasts 10 years.

I’m 29, many of my friends and cousins who are around my age don’t have cable. Once this ‘boomer’ generation goes, honestly that’s it. Many people are opting for the streaming packages just to watch their favorite programs.
 

eddygee

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Mar 12, 2018
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Not to sound immature, but do you not see the writing on the wall already? It’s lucky if it lasts 10 years.

I’m 29, many of my friends and cousins who are around my age don’t have cable. Once this ‘boomer’ generation goes, honestly that’s it. Many people are opting for the streaming packages just to watch their favorite programs.
Honestly it's going to be a lot more grayer and complicated than that. The fact is alot of people are switching to streaming BUT majority of the US homes still have cable. There's a leak that's leaking heavily but the ship is still trudging along. The hard thing for media is adapting because in a sense it'd be easier if everyone just switched en masse instead of this steady drip drip bleeding death of a thousand cuts.

It makes the business outlook tentative because while there are streaming transitioning the numbers alone are relatively miniscule and not enough to sustain the current market. The old legacy cable system sustains and will continue until the current 70-30% set up flips around. This is why a lot of the streaming OTTs coming to market are essentially the cable companies reinventing themselves to meet the growing streaming movement while also having a hand in guiding their legacy cable empires as they face new realities. The final outcome into the bold new world you speak of is still a ways off because the old rulers are the new rulers if you get me guiding the listing ship into port.

The original thinking was it would be the new wild west and cable would meet it's demise in a sudden swift shoot out. That will not happen, I'm 36 a elder millennial, still have cable on top of streaming packages. There was a period of time where streaming was cheaper the way to go, however the market has conspired to make it so you need a handful of streaming OTTs to get by, the cost benefit and practicality of use is making cord cutting negligible in savings. You just have a $80-85 cable package vs 5-6 streaming apps to watch all you want while also paying for getting DVR services as add-ons and such. We missed the boat on what could have been, I think I'll be in my mid 40s pushing 50 before streaming has the same market reach as cable TV. Check the number of Nielsen TV households, surprisingly the number rebounded last year after years of most markets stagnating/decreasing.
 
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StreetHawk

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Sep 30, 2017
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Lots more people at home during the pandemic, so I can understand the bump. See what the numbers are like for the second half of 2021 and into 2022 to get a better sense whether this rebound is a blip or a trend. I think it's a blip.
 

46zone

Pass me the soft pretzels
Feb 5, 2007
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The original thinking was it would be the new wild west and cable would meet it's demise in a sudden swift shoot out. That will not happen, I'm 36 a elder millennial, still have cable on top of streaming packages. There was a period of time where streaming was cheaper the way to go, however the market has conspired to make it so you need a handful of streaming OTTs to get by, the cost benefit and practicality of use is making cord cutting negligible in savings. You just have a $80-85 cable package vs 5-6 streaming apps to watch all you want while also paying for getting DVR services as add-ons and such. We missed the boat on what could have been, I think I'll be in my mid 40s pushing 50 before streaming has the same market reach as cable TV. Check the number of Nielsen TV households, surprisingly the number rebounded last year after years of most markets stagnating/decreasing.

I originally cut the cord back in 2015 and signed up for Playstation Vue, which at the time was a bargain for what you got for $30/month. By the time Vue went under the cost had doubled. I went with Youtube TV after Vue, but it was also north of $60 per month, which is the same the basic Verizon cable package when bundled with internet...so I ended up back with cable this year. I know it's anecdotal, but I'm around your age ( a few years younger) and all my friends and family around my age have cable. I don't see it dying off anytime soon personally, even if it continues to slowly wither.
 

eddygee

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Mar 12, 2018
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I originally cut the cord back in 2015 and signed up for Playstation Vue, which at the time was a bargain for what you got for $30/month. By the time Vue went under the cost had doubled. I went with Youtube TV after Vue, but it was also north of $60 per month, which is the same the basic Verizon cable package when bundled with internet...so I ended up back with cable this year. I know it's anecdotal, but I'm around your age ( a few years younger) and all my friends and family around my age have cable. I don't see it dying off anytime soon personally, even if it continues to slowly wither.
Yup that's the thing its a very sloooww death a death of a thousand cuts. So it's basically meet the new boss the old boss. The way cable proliferated the streaming space by essentially overnight spinning rebrands of Broadcast cable networks into streaming empires speaks to this. It's like that movie when the damsel in distress thinks shes getting away from the bad guy and hops into the car only for the bad guy to be the driver. Cable network/Empires are guiding the streaming landscape we'll get to streaming fully only when they are ready to get there. Never underestimate the ease of use with cable. I have Comcast and now can just access all my streaming apps by speaking into the remote. I don't even need my roku remote any more. So I can hop in and out of streaming back to cable. vice versa with TV remote. For folks our age and younger that's sort of a no biggy, but older folks like my mom stuff like that matters ALOT.
 
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patnyrnyg

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Sep 16, 2004
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And AAK, you have it wrong. No real OSU fan wants to keep the game at noon. As I said before, a nighttime UM-OSU game going into multiple OTs well past midnight would be a real treat.
You can say that about any rivalry game. What happens if the game is 49-0 early in the 3rd quarter? How many people are staying up to watch until the end?
 
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patnyrnyg

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
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I originally cut the cord back in 2015 and signed up for Playstation Vue, which at the time was a bargain for what you got for $30/month. By the time Vue went under the cost had doubled. I went with Youtube TV after Vue, but it was also north of $60 per month, which is the same the basic Verizon cable package when bundled with internet...so I ended up back with cable this year. I know it's anecdotal, but I'm around your age ( a few years younger) and all my friends and family around my age have cable. I don't see it dying off anytime soon personally, even if it continues to slowly wither.
So they sucked you in by allowing you to save money. Then, slowly raised the price?

I am likely older than you (45). My wife and I did the cord-cutting thing for a few years. At first it was good, but as a certain hockey service that gets *'d out on here went away and my daughter got older to the point where she would ask for certain shows (Mickey Mouse, Paw Patrol, etc) and all the different services we would need to get everything we want, cable is still the cheaper option. We do pay for Disney+ right now and will upgrade to the disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle when the season starts.
 

Spydey629

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Jan 28, 2005
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Carlisle, PA
Yup that's the thing its a very sloooww death a death of a thousand cuts. So it's basically meet the new boss the old boss. The way cable proliferated the streaming space by essentially overnight spinning rebrands of Broadcast cable networks into streaming empires speaks to this. It's like that movie when the damsel in distress thinks shes getting away from the bad guy and hops into the car only for the bad guy to be the driver. Cable network/Empires are guiding the streaming landscape we'll get to streaming fully only when they are ready to get there. Never underestimate the ease of use with cable. I have Comcast and now can just access all my streaming apps by speaking into the remote. I don't even need my roku remote any more. So I can hop in and out of streaming back to cable. vice versa with TV remote. For folks our age and younger that's sort of a no biggy, but older folks like my mom stuff like that matters ALOT.

Right there with you. I cut the cord in the fall of 2019, only to go back pre-pandemic because Comcast offered a package cheaper than what I was paying to piece everything together.

My parents are in their late 70s. Trying to get my ESPN+ account on their TV so my dad can watch hockey was one thing, explaining how to get to it gave me a migraine.
 

patnyrnyg

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Sep 16, 2004
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891
Right there with you. I cut the cord in the fall of 2019, only to go back pre-pandemic because Comcast offered a package cheaper than what I was paying to piece everything together.

My parents are in their late 70s. Trying to get my ESPN+ account on their TV so my dad can watch hockey was one thing, explaining how to get to it gave me a migraine.
My sister lives about a mile from my parents. On more than one occasion she just went over there to do something for them tv related as that is easier than trying to talk them through what to do over the phone.
 

oknazevad

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Dec 12, 2018
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331
I do the same thing for my dad all the time. Fortunately their new TV in the den is a smart TV, so getting it set up for Thursday night football games won't be too bad, but then I have to show my dad how to bring it up. Considering how hopeless he is when it comes to tech (he still gets confused with things on Windows he's been doing for a decade), I don't look forward to it.
 
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oknazevad

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Dec 12, 2018
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Same with my dad. I don't look forward to showing him how to get Thursday night football on his smart TV. He's kinda hopeless when it comes to tech. Always has been.
 

dortt

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Sep 21, 2018
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NBC may not be out after all

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/20/com...ider-partnership-to-bolster-streaming-tv.html

While there may be no rush to merge, both companies will ultimately need more scale to compete against larger players. They could partner or merge, or they could attempt to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery when/if that deal closes in the middle of 2022. A merger with Warner Bros. Discovery may be a cleaner fit for both ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal.

Comcast was trying to acquire Warner media before they merged in the spinoff with Discovery. May be a chance for them to obtain that new merged company, which could allow NBC back in the mix as they'd own the rights via the possible merger
 

Big Z Man 1990

Registered User
Jun 4, 2011
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370
Don't say anything at all
I don't think the Warner-Universal merger will be allowed in the end. Disney got lucky in acquiring 21st Century Fox. No way another merger like that gets approved, at least not in the foreseeable future.
 

jkrdevil

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Apr 24, 2006
42,832
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Miami
NBC may not be out after all

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/20/com...ider-partnership-to-bolster-streaming-tv.html

While there may be no rush to merge, both companies will ultimately need more scale to compete against larger players. They could partner or merge, or they could attempt to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery when/if that deal closes in the middle of 2022. A merger with Warner Bros. Discovery may be a cleaner fit for both ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal.

Comcast was trying to acquire Warner media before they merged in the spinoff with Discovery. May be a chance for them to obtain that new merged company, which could allow NBC back in the mix as they'd own the rights via the possible merger

Not a chance something like this would be approved. Cable is still a big business and NBCU, Warner Bros. Discovery merger would put the largest cable distributor in the country in control of most of the cable content (basically everything that isn’t Disney’s channels + Fox News and Fox Sports, And Viacom). A lot of thing would have to be sold off.
 
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