Fox Sports and BTN dropped from DISH and SLING

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Sorry - and thanks for answering Gophers7. DBS (direct broadcast satellite) is DIRECTV and DISH. OTT (over-the-top) is YouTube, Hulu, DIRECTV Now...distributors that aren't cable or satellite - internet or app based.
 

MirandaB said:
You're right. The battle for money between networks and distributors is getting more and more contentious. Networks make these deals to pay huge dollars to NFL, B1G, Big Bang Theory, etc, and then demand $$$ from the distributors, who are starting to balk and not pay. Networks threaten to withhold their big sporting events as leverage (try to black out NBC during the Olympics, or ABC on New Years Day for example). Carriage agreements come up for renewal about every 3-5 years and the negotiations are getting worse, leading to more black outs. DBS is going to be gone in the not too distant future and programming is going to be via OTT. We switched to Hulu a year or so ago and have been happy with it.
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Panthadad2 said:
What's DBS and OTT?
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Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
https://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/direct-broadcast-satellite

http://blog.pixalate.com/what-is-ott-connected-tv-video
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Got it.

I'm a heavy user as I rely on TV for home, work and RV. Right now, the huge limitation for internet streaming is data limits (a huge deal) and data quality (an issue in rural areas and wireless weak spots in the city...like my house). The data limits for wire-delivered internet is pretty good...usually 1TB per month, - but multiple TVs streaming HD content will eclipse that easily in a month. We reduce the resolution below 720p in our house on YouTube TV and Netflix except for one-off events. Mobile data limits are terrible/tiny, especially for hot-spotting and can make it unusable except for temporary use.

Until the data limit issue is hammered out, TV will be ultimately controlled by the wired internet providers (e.g. Comcast, CenturyLink) and satellite providers which allow ultra HD streaming all day any day.
 



Panthadad2 said:
Got it.

I'm a heavy user as I rely on TV for home, work and RV. Right now, the huge limitation for internet streaming is data limits (a huge deal) and data quality (an issue in rural areas and wireless weak spots in the city...like my house). The data limits for wire-delivered internet is pretty good...usually 1TB per month, - but multiple TVs streaming HD content will eclipse that easily in a month. We reduce the resolution below 720p in our house on YouTube TV and Netflix except for one-off events. Mobile data limits are terrible/tiny, especially for hot-spotting and can make it unusable except for temporary use.

Until the data limit issue is hammered out, TV will be ultimately controlled by the wired internet providers (e.g. Comcast, CenturyLink) and satellite providers which allow ultra HD streaming all day any day.
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Several companies including SpaceX/Starlink, Amazon, Samsung, and others have plans for or are already in process of launching thousands of satellites to provide high speed internet networks. Competition is good. SpaceX recently put the first 60 satellites up but will require almost a decade to complete.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_(satellite_constellation)
 


I wonder how many people will just drop Dish/Sling and find streams online. I'm sure Fox hopes people switch to a different provider but I'm not sure how many people are going to do that. The other TV providers have these sorts of issues too. It's not Dish being the bad guys and cutting the feed, it's Fox and other sports broadcasters asking for more and more money every time.

Cable prices have grown faster than inflation. TV revenue of sports teams has grown way faster than inflation. The quality of broadcasts isn't getting all that much better and the quality of the game is arguably getting worse. There's no reason for the channels to keep getting more money and the providers need to stand up to them to keep prices down. It's even worse with BTN because 13 of the 14 schools they cover are funded by the taxpayers. They shouldn't be pushing for more money.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I wonder how many people will just drop Dish/Sling and find streams online. I'm sure Fox hopes people switch to a different provider but I'm not sure how many people are going to do that. The other TV providers have these sorts of issues too. It's not Dish being the bad guys and cutting the feed, it's Fox and other sports broadcasters asking for more and more money every time.

Cable prices have grown faster than inflation. TV revenue of sports teams has grown way faster than inflation. The quality of broadcasts isn't getting all that much better and the quality of the game is arguably getting worse. There's no reason for the channels to keep getting more money and the providers need to stand up to them to keep prices down. It's even worse with BTN because 13 of the 14 schools they cover are funded by the taxpayers. They shouldn't be pushing for more money.
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If one is just a Sling subscriber than it's extremely easy to switch - a big advantage to being a streaming subscriber. My experiences with Sling haven't been good anyhow compared to other streaming providers (slow - glitchy). Dish customers, however, are probably on a contract which makes it a harder decision. If it was me on a Dish contract, I would just find the cheapest way to add BTN etc. streaming until the season was done.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
It couldn't be possible for someone to ride harder for cord cutting (YouTubeTV in particular) than me. It's just such a better option in 2019.
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I had everything I could ever want and more with Charter....but to get the various sports channels that I wanted....you basically need most of the packages except the highest tier. I was still paying about $200 for cable and internet every month. Canceled the cable and the bill dropped nearly $140. Ridiculous. The fact is that most of the channels I was paying for....I would never watch.

Youtube TV....based upon what I have heard....would cover what I need.
 

stocker08 said:
I had everything I could ever want and more with Charter....but to get the various sports channels that I wanted....you basically need most of the packages except the highest tier. I was still paying about $200 for cable and internet every month. Canceled the cable and the bill dropped nearly $140. Ridiculous. The fact is that most of the channels I was paying for....I would never watch.

Youtube TV....based upon what I have heard....would cover what I need.
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Youtube TV and Play Station Vue are pretty comparable. I've tried both and they both had the channels I needed and worked well.

In the end, I stayed with Comcast but I need only 1 box now and the rest of the TVs are able to stream the Comcast content.
 




Livingat45north said:
Chromecast versus Roku -- have you used both of them or just Chromecast?
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I have had both for about two years but I typically only use the Roku unless its Netflix or another very popular program. The reason for that is that the Chromecast (which is built into the TV) doesn't have as many ready made channel "apps." Beyond the ones that are built into the program, you have to "cast" programs to your TV screen with your phone or computer. Roku has a very extensive list of channels that you can select for your regular menu; then, you can just select them from that menu as desired. If you have a streaming provider (PlayStation Vue, Youtube TV, Sling, or your cable company), that app is selected from your menu. When you go into the streaming app, you're then dealing with that program's channel menu - just like a TV.
 
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cjbfbp said:
Youtube TV and Play Station Vue are pretty comparable. I've tried both and they both had the channels I needed and worked well.

In the end, I stayed with Comcast but I need only 1 box now and the rest of the TVs are able to stream the Comcast content.
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I switched at the end of August due to PSVue becoming very glitchy after a software update. Constant error messages despite modem and router resets, Roku restarts. They broke the cardinal rule of making their user interface worse as well (on Roku Ultra). Directv was also guilty of this a year ago. It’s a mystery why the companies feel the need to mess around with UI changes. Speed and functionality - yes.

It was a fortuitous change as the the video quality (for us) was better - no 10 second wait to upconvert local channels to HD despite extremely fast internet speed. I don’t understand the technology but I suspect that may be a symptom of either too many users in this area or insufficient hardware to service the ones they do have or a software issue linking the local channel feeds to their service. With the tech still in its infancy YMMV.

That said YouTube TV has been a great satellite replacement for us and zero glitches after a month. PSVue needs help on their IT team...

We need a combo of YTTV and Philo to get all the channels we want.


.
 
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Pompous Elitist said:
I switched at the end of August due to PSVue becoming very glitchy after a software update. Constant error messages despite modem and router resets, Roku restarts. They broke the cardinal rule of making their user interface worse as well (on Roku Ultra). Directv was also guilty of this a year ago. It’s a mystery why the companies feel the need to mess around with UI changes. Speed and functionality - yes.

It was a fortuitous change as the the video quality (for us) was better - no 10 second wait to upconvert to HD despite extremely fast internet speed. I don’t understand the technology but I suspect that may be a symptom of either too many users in this area or insufficient hardware to service the ones they do have. With the tech still in its infancy YMMV.

That said YouTube TV has been a great satellite replacement for us and zero glitches after a month. PSVue needs help on their IT team...

We need a combo of YTTV and Philo to get all the channels we want.


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I still wonder if streaming prices will eventually catch up to (or get close to) the Comcasts of the world. I know Netflix and Hulu are running on massive debt right now and they can't keep that up forever. Not sure about PS Vue's situation. Google is unbelievably wealthy so they could probably run Youtube TV at a loss forever and not care. I'm sure they would find a way to profit off of it anyway.

Isn't the dream scenario for all of us the day when we can choose our channels a la carte, whether it's through the internet or Comcast or whoever?
 



Word said:
I still wonder if streaming prices will eventually catch up to (or get close to) the Comcasts of the world. I know Netflix and Hulu are running on massive debt right now and they can't keep that up forever. Not sure about PS Vue's situation. Google is unbelievably wealthy so they could probably run Youtube TV at a loss forever and not care. I'm sure they would find a way to profit off of it anyway.

Isn't the dream scenario for all of us the day when we can choose our channels a la carte, whether it's through the internet or Comcast or whoever?
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I believe you’re right and prices will continue to climb - live tv streaming services have already risen by 10-20 dollars over the last couple years. Netflix is rising and will be losing their Disney content soon...so many watchers will “need” or want to subscribe to all these different conglomerates further increasing cost. Ultimately there is less end-user hardware required which may supply a small discount over cable/sat but that may be offset by cost of more source hardware - I don’t know enough about it to comment. Get em in the door prices are pretty common and they will turn up the gas soon enough - already started as noted.

I don’t think we’ll ever see an ala carte menu simply because the companies that own the content have no incentive to do so right now.
 

If you are in a pinch and just want to tune in on your phone or laptop.... and possibly stream from there to your TV:

https://sportsurge.net/#/groups/0

You'll find links to any BCS, FBS or NFL game you desire. When available, Grandma Stream has worked well for me.

Mods, if you do not like the posting of links like this, my apologies and feel free to delete.
 

bonin21 said:
YouTube TV is a winner
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Yes. We just shifted from DISH, pay half the price and get almost everything we want, maybe a channel or two short. Youtube clearly went after the sports market. I have a relatively old TV and the Roku stick makes it work perfectly. Channel changing is a challenge, though. Goes a lot slower than cable or satellite.
 

Holy Man said:
Yes. We just shifted from DISH, pay half the price and get almost everything we want, maybe a channel or two short. Youtube clearly went after the sports market. I have a relatively old TV and the Roku stick makes it work perfectly. Channel changing is a challenge, though. Goes a lot slower than cable or satellite.
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The channel changing on my one tv that I run with a Roku is awful compared to xfinity. If they can fix that I may actually switch over.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk
 



Hulu Live still has them (for now).
 


Vandy said:
If you are in a pinch and just want to tune in on your phone or laptop.... and possibly stream from there to your TV:

https://sportsurge.net/#/groups/0

You'll find links to any BCS, FBS or NFL game you desire. When available, Grandma Stream has worked well for me.

Mods, if you do not like the posting of links like this, my apologies and feel free to delete.
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Can confirm.

Saturday night (particularly with Pac after dark) I like to fire up some good college football on my second monitor while I do some work.
 

no contracts with internet "cable" so I would assume this will have a lot of people voting with their feet very soon if they don't get it back quickly. Timely, because I was just flirting with YouTube TV and posted a thread about it a couple weeks ago.
 


I'm on dish so have been w/o FSN for a long time now. I have been planning on moving to YouTubeTV for the Twins season this year and now this? WTF!
 

Those of us that are still cable subscribers, we get live streaming as part of our subscription. It is pretty cool when I can watch a game from my cell phone. Mrs. H in her infinite domain does not want to drop cable. So that is the law. I am happy as long as I can get my sports channels. :)
 

Could be a great year for the Twins and I won't be watching them now that YoutubeTV has dropped FSN. Couldn't care less about the Wolves and Wild, but the Twins were enjoyable.

With T-Mobile I get free MLB, but the Twins are blacked out here in Minnesota...so...go other team!
 

When DISH dropped FSN, I called to complain. After a good hour being on hold, being transferred, being on hold, etc. I got someone who agreed to give me a pro-rated credit. 1 of like 200 channels. At about $100/month that came out to around $0.50/month. Straight cash Homie. Thanks DISH!
 

Spoofin said:
When DISH dropped FSN, I called to complain. After a good hour being on hold, being transferred, being on hold, etc. I got someone who agreed to give me a pro-rated credit. 1 of like 200 channels. At about $100/month that came out to around $0.50/month. Straight cash Homie. Thanks DISH!
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What are you doing with all that spare cash?
Attending Twins games in person?
 

Still a naively happy Comcast customer...

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I'm sure it won't last forever.
 
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