Versus.com no longer exists...

[IU Hawks fan]

If who were really smart? Its still owned by Comcast, for all we know comcast could be happy with having VS on a higher tier because that is more subscription money they make. They have probably found about the right price to charge for the channel to make the most money. More homes does not mean more money. Comcast has also lost a lot of power in negotiating new contracts because of the limits the government placed on them for becoming too big and having too much power.

No. It's not gonna work like that. Sure Comcast "owns" it, but it's becoming part of the NBC package (CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo, SyFy, etc.). It's going to be packaged along with it. They want to be in as many homes as they can be, because that's what's going to allow them to take a run at ESPN in the future. More homes = more ad revenue.

 

[kdb209]

If who were really smart? Its still owned by Comcast, for all we know comcast could be happy with having VS on a higher tier because that is more subscription money they make.

No. Cable channels (with the exception of premium channels like HBO) make significantly less money when they are put on higher tiers - because they net significantly fewer subscribers.

Cable channels get paid per month subscriber fees for every subscriber who can receive the channel - whether they watch it or not.

Cable channels fight to get on the broadest possible tier and cableco & sat providers fight to bump them up, so they collect more revenue from the subscribers who actually want the channels but have to pay less in subscriber fees to the channel providers.

Part of the 2009 carriage dispute between Versus & DirecTV was DirecTVs plans to move Versus up from the expanded basic (Chioce Plus) tier into a separate sports pack tier (with a SIGNIFICANTLY smaller subscription base) over the strenuous objection of Comcast/Versus.. In the end, Versus got a smaller fee increase than it was demanding, but it retained its place on its existing programming tier.

C & P from one of the other Versus/Comcast/NBC threads.

It is greatly in VS's (and Comcast/NBC's) interest to get VS on the broadest available programming tier. Cable channels get paid by subscriber fees - which are based on how many subscribers receive the channel, whether they watch it or not. Versus gets ~$0.26 per subscriber per month (avg subscriber fees per SNL Kagan 2009).

Part of the 2009 carriage dispute between Versus and DirecTV was based on DirecTV's plan to move it to a separate sports tier with a MUCH smaller subscription base. The dispute was finally settled with a smaller increase than Comcast/VS was demanding and the channel remaining on its current programming tier.

 

[kdb209]

No. It's not gonna work like that. Sure Comcast "owns" it, but it's becoming part of the NBC package (CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo, SyFy, etc.). It's going to be packaged along with it. They want to be in as many homes as they can be, because that's what's going to allow them to take a run at ESPN in the future. More homes = more ad revenue.

Yup - although it's more More homes = more subscription fees, than more ad revenues.

C&P from that other thread again:

By packaging it with the NBC name they also can package it as a part of the WHOLE NBC package to broadcasters. It's no longer Versus by itself but....

NBC
MSNBC
CNBC
What ever the hell they rename Versus
Syfy
USA
A&E
Bravo
ETC

By merging with NBC (And thus gaining the new NBC name) they are part of the package. Pure and simple, this seems to me a matter of leveraging versus into the market and more TV markets.

This is basically what Disney has done with ESPN.

If you want ESPN you also have to carry ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, The Ocho, etc (and pay subscriber fees for each) all on the basic programming tier - and they have gone as far as threatening to withhold transmission consent for ABC broadcast channels (O&O) unless the cableco agreed to their terms.

 

[MaskedSonja]

This is Versus/NBC related, but I don't know if it fits in this thread:

Versus/NBC seems to have a real issue with streaming their programming-and granted I'm using Indycar here, but I would think it applies to all the sports: According to Robin Miller who does Indycar reports, Versus/NBC doesn't want to stream because "we don't want people watching their computers" and the idea they want you to find them on the TV, NOT on the computer.

My question, as digital streaming/broadcasting becomes more prevalent in this day and age, is NBC acting "old fashioned" with this mentality? I mean, stream or TV, the more people you get catching sports like NHL, Indycar, ect, the better right? Or is this simply a matter that they haven't figured out a financial model (ie Pay for Streaming) to work with yet?

Yes I know you can go to NHL.com or whatever to see it-I'm basing this purely on VERSUS/NBC as their own entity-maybe for whatever reason I want to watch the Versus crew, why won't they give them that option?

 

[LadyStanley]

Well, the new deal gives them digital rights, so we'll have to see what happens next season WRT online streaming.

 

[Hurricane Hugo]

Glad to see them re-naming the network. Having NBC in the title and cross-promoting the channels will hopefully make people know the channel even exists.

 

[jkrdevil]

This is Versus/NBC related, but I don't know if it fits in this thread:

Versus/NBC seems to have a real issue with streaming their programming-and granted I'm using Indycar here, but I would think it applies to all the sports: According to Robin Miller who does Indycar reports, Versus/NBC doesn't want to stream because "we don't want people watching their computers" and the idea they want you to find them on the TV, NOT on the computer.

My question, as digital streaming/broadcasting becomes more prevalent in this day and age, is NBC acting "old fashioned" with this mentality? I mean, stream or TV, the more people you get catching sports like NHL, Indycar, ect, the better right? Or is this simply a matter that they haven't figured out a financial model (ie Pay for Streaming) to work with yet?

Yes I know you can go to NHL.com or whatever to see it-I'm basing this purely on VERSUS/NBC as their own entity-maybe for whatever reason I want to watch the Versus crew, why won't they give them that option?

I know NBC has streamed all their NHL games this year and I believe they do some sort of streaming for Sunday Night Football, or at least have in the past.

 

[jkrdevil]

it'll take time, but i'd expect developments on this either late summer or sometime next season. Obviously expect comcast to be first though.

It already has decent placement on Comcast. Where I live it in HD it is right in the middle of all the HD channels just past the local over the air HD channels. SD it is channel 71 next to one of the local FSNs.

 

[Hurricane Hugo]

it'll take time, but i'd expect developments on this either late summer or sometime next season. Obviously expect comcast to be first though.

I certainly hope so. Versus is channel 603 on DirecTV. That's right up there with the PPV.

 

[RTN]

Am I the only one who liked the name Vs. and thinks that the rebranding is unnecessary. Hell it might take a few months to get people to know that VS. = NBC sports but its not really going to make it any better or more respected.

I also like the Versus name (not perfect though). NBC Sports sounds dull.