All articles tagged with #pay tv
ESPN's new WWE event, Wrestlepalooza, faces distribution issues as major pay TV providers like Comcast and YouTube TV may not have access due to ongoing negotiations, risking confusion and dissatisfaction among millions of viewers who might need to pay extra to watch the event.
DirecTV has abandoned its acquisition of Dish Network's DBS unit after bondholders rejected a crucial debt-exchange proposal. The merger, which aimed to create the largest U.S. pay-TV provider, was terminated to protect DirecTV's financial stability. EchoStar's stock fell significantly following the bondholders' decision, highlighting the financial challenges faced by both companies amid the decline of traditional pay-TV services.
Pay TV distributors are concerned about the impact of a new sports joint venture announced by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox, which aims to offer live sports outside the traditional cable bundle. The key question for distributors is whether they'll be allowed to offer the same skinny bundle of linear networks, including ABC, ESPN, and others. If the joint venture restricts distributors from offering the same product, it could lead to increased cable TV cancellations and potential legal disputes. The terms of agreement and potential impact on pay-TV distributors are still being negotiated, with limited information disclosed about the joint venture's strategy.
After its stock tumbled 23%, streaming pay-TV operator Fubo criticized the new sports streaming venture involving Disney, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery, expressing concerns about fair market competition and the impact on consumers. Fubo, known for its sports-focused service, questioned the motives behind the joint venture and its potential to control a significant share of sports content. Despite the challenging economics of the pay-TV business, Fubo has managed to increase its subscriber base, while YouTube TV leads in scale among online pay-TV operators.
Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch is confident that the new sports streaming venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery will attract "tens of millions" of cord-nevers without undermining the traditional pay-TV bundle. The non-exclusive programming licenses will bring 14 linear networks into a package that can be bundled with Max, Hulu, and ESPN+. Murdoch assured analysts that the streaming service would be "unique and innovative" and emphasized that the new venture will not significantly affect pay-TV affiliate partners.
Google's YouTube TV has become the fourth-largest pay-TV service in the US with over 8 million subscribers, marking its successful entry into the TV market after years of attempts. This growth comes as traditional pay-TV providers are seeing declines, with many consumers opting for streaming services or solely paying for broadband. Despite the shifting landscape, Google's persistence in expanding its TV offerings, including a $2 billion deal to sell NFL games, indicates its commitment to capturing a share of the pay-TV market.
Dish Network Corp. experienced its largest stock decline in history after reporting disappointing third-quarter revenue and a significant drop in wireless customers. The company's efforts to build a wireless broadband business have not been successful, as it lost nearly five times as many mobile customers as analysts had predicted. Dish has been struggling to compete with heavyweights like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile in the wireless market. The company's debt exceeding $20 billion and rising borrowing costs have also hindered its ability to finance the wireless network. Dish's pay-TV business has also suffered, losing more subscribers than expected. Despite plans to merge with EchoStar Corp., the company still faces significant challenges ahead.
Dish Network lost 64,000 net pay TV subscribers in Q3, added 117,000 Sling TV subscribers, and recorded a net decline of 181,000 customers in its traditional Dish satellite TV business. The company cited increased competition from other subscription video-on-demand and live-linear OTT service providers as a reason for the decline in subscribers. Dish's total pay TV users as of September 2023 amounted to 8.84 million, and the company reported a third-quarter loss of $139 million.
Disney and Charter Communications have reached a deal to end the cable blackout, allowing millions of Charter cable customers to watch "Monday Night Football." The agreement includes the inclusion of Disney's ad-supported streaming apps, Disney+ and ESPN+, in some of Charter's Spectrum pay TV packages. Disney will receive increased subscriber fees from Charter. While not all Charter pay-TV customers will have access to all of Disney's apps, this deal marks a step in that direction as cord-cutting becomes more prevalent. The dispute between Charter and Disney began in August, leaving millions of customers without Disney TV channels. Charter saw some customers switch to internet-TV options like Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV. The blackout did not affect fans immediately, as it ended just in time for "Monday Night Football."
ESPN, once the dominant force in the cable TV business, is now facing challenges as the pay-TV industry declines and consumers shift to streaming services. The network has seen a significant decrease in subscribers and is being squeezed by rising programming costs. Disney, the parent company of ESPN, is exploring options to mitigate these challenges, including potentially partnering with tech giants like Amazon, Apple, or Google. ESPN is also considering offering its flagship channels directly to consumers through its streaming app ESPN+, but pricing and timing are still being determined. Despite the obstacles, ESPN's ratings and ad revenue have been increasing, and the network aims to retain its valuable sports programming rights, including the NBA. Additionally, ESPN is venturing into the online gambling business to diversify its revenue streams.
Charter Communications is introducing a new two-tier structure for its Spectrum pay-TV subscription offerings, aiming to address the long-standing issue of rising costs of regional sports networks (RSNs) and the decline in pay-TV subscribers. The revamped structure includes Spectrum Select Plus, which includes RSNs and other sports programming, and Spectrum Select Signature, a reduced-rate option without certain sports programming. The move comes as cord-cutting continues to rise and the traditional pay-TV model faces disruption. Charter will also offer local RSN streaming apps to Spectrum Select Plus subscribers and may market them to non-video subscribers as well.
More than 150 local TV stations owned by Nexstar Media Group have gone dark on DirecTV due to a carriage dispute, affecting approximately 10 million subscribers. The dispute arose after the companies failed to reach a new agreement, depriving viewers of popular programming on CW affiliates in major cities. Nexstar, the largest owner of local TV stations in the US, accused DirecTV of rejecting their offer to extend the current distribution agreement and claimed that they have been negotiating in good faith. DirecTV responded by accusing Nexstar of causing unnecessary programming outages to raise prices and stated their commitment to reaching an agreement while protecting customers from unwarranted price increases.
YouTube TV experienced an outage during the final minutes of an NBA playoff game, causing viewers to see a commercial for The Little Mermaid repeatedly. The company has since fixed the issue and said it is "back to normal." YouTube TV has grown to become one of the largest pay-TV providers in the US, with over 5 million subscribers. The company recently phased in a significant price hike to offset expenses for programming and new tech offerings.
Dish Network lost 552,000 net pay TV subscribers in Q1 2022, ending the quarter with 9.2 million total subscribers, including 7.09 million Dish TV customers and 2.1 million Sling TV subscribers. The company is looking to transform itself from a satellite TV provider to offering a 5G wireless network as part of a broadband wireless business. Dish has been consistently losing pay TV subscribers amid cord-cutting and a shift in consumers to streaming platforms, and more recently saw its subscriber base impacted by an internal cybersecurity attack.
DirecTV has reached a deal with Newsmax Media to carry the right-wing network in its satellite-TV and streaming packages after a long dispute. Newsmax will return to DirecTV's packages at no additional cost. The financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Pay-TV providers like DirecTV have been losing customers in recent years due to the rise of streaming services.