Bell Media exploring sale of TSN

[ColinM]

Cable is surviving because of old people who don't like change (same as newspapers), plus because of live programming like sports and news. As streaming starts to swallow more and more news and sports it will be the final end of cable.

I'm curious if streaming will dominate news before it dominates sports? Some news channels already stream their live content for free (Al-Jeezera) and on some days it's easier to watch the best CNN content on youtube rather than a conventional tv network.

 

[JianYang]

Ya that’s why I’m saying a couple of decades away, for solely current streaming of NHL,
Streaming still lacks the quality and reliability of cable.
NHL is not giving purely streaming exclusive rights, that would be a HUGE mistake on their part at this juncture in time.

This the same league that went with the outdoor life network coming out of a year long lockout.

 

[jetsmooseice]

I'm curious if streaming will dominate news before it dominates sports? Some news channels already stream their live content for free (Al-Jeezera) and on some days it's easier to watch the best CNN content on youtube rather than a conventional tv network.

I think we're already there.

Just off the top of my head, you can use YouTube alone for 24 hour live feeds of Al Jazeera, DW, France 24 (all of which have fairly extensive international reporting), NBC/ABC/CBS News (which are also good but kind of info-tainment heavy), as well as many other lesser news channels.

Then you have FAST platforms like Pluto, tubi, etc. that have numerous news services too. I use Global News on Pluto in the morning while I'm getting ready for work. I think they also have Euronews, Bloomberg, I think there are also some CNN and CBC variants as well.

And then of course CNN, which isn't free, does post a lot of its actual reporting on Youtube, as do most networks. We're at the point where you can probably get all the streaming news you could ever want for free online. Sports are nowhere near that point, it's mainly highlights and commentary. There isn't a ton of free live sports online, at least legitimately.

 

[varsaku]

I think we're already there.

Just off the top of my head, you can use YouTube alone for 24 hour live feeds of Al Jazeera, DW, France 24 (all of which have fairly extensive international reporting), NBC/ABC/CBS News (which are also good but kind of info-tainment heavy), as well as many other lesser news channels.

Then you have FAST platforms like Pluto, tubi, etc. that have numerous news services too. I use Global News on Pluto in the morning while I'm getting ready for work. I think they also have Euronews, Bloomberg, I think there are also some CNN and CBC variants as well.

And then of course CNN, which isn't free, does post a lot of its actual reporting on Youtube, as do most networks. We're at the point where you can probably get all the streaming news you could ever want for free online. Sports are nowhere near that point, it's mainly highlights and commentary. There isn't a ton of free live sports online, at least legitimately.

I am surprised Netflix & Amazon haven't started their own streaming news channels to draw viewers/subscribers. Seems like a clear next step to pull viewers off cable to their services.

 

[jetsmooseice]

I am surprised Netflix & Amazon haven't started their own streaming news channels to draw viewers/subscribers. Seems like a clear next step to pull viewers off cable to their services.

Maybe someday, but the cost would be quite immense and there are already a lot of potential candidates to partner with.

For instance, Amazon Prime Video does offer CityNews and Global News as live stream channels in Canada. I'm not aware that Netflix has any news, but I'd be surprised if they weren't working on something.

 

[Yukon Joe]

News is rather expensive. You have to have actual reporters all over the place, plus it expires almost immediately - nobody goes back to watch last week's news.

Netflix of course only exists to sell subscriptions. Amazon is even weirder - only existing to drive subscriptions to it's shopping service, Prime. You can sort of imagine why neither service would be interested in news.

Disney - now they do have a news division in ABC. So it's not impossible to imagine ABC News going on DIsney+. Now mind you this is a Canadian perspective - I think Hulu (owned by Disney) does have several news channels on it. But that seems to me to be more of a legacy issue, rather than the wave of the future.

 

[DuklaNation]

I'd question whether the internet backbone can support everyone switching to streaming over internet connections. Its being built up over time with better options but hard to say if all areas are viable. Where I am, there are several times during the day where connectivity tanks for few minutes at a time. I haven't switched to IPTV/streaming for that reason. I'm testing out recently implemented 5G service currently but it often has similar issues.

 

[Yukon Joe]

I'd question whether the internet backbone can support everyone switching to streaming over internet connections. Its being built up over time with better options but hard to say if all areas are viable. Where I am, there are several times during the day where connectivity tanks for few minutes at a time. I haven't switched to IPTV/streaming for that reason. I'm testing out recently implemented 5G service currently but it often has similar issues.

I feel like that was an issue 20 years ago. People knew that streaming video was "the next big thing" but there were real questions about bandwidth.

But I think for 90-95% of the population in north america that's not an issue. Cable may still be slightly more reliable than streaming - but then again most "cable" is being provided digitally anyways.

There are more isolated/rural areas where this could be a concern, but not for most people.

 

[DuklaNation]

I feel like that was an issue 20 years ago. People knew that streaming video was "the next big thing" but there were real questions about bandwidth.

But I think for 90-95% of the population in north america that's not an issue. Cable may still be slightly more reliable than streaming - but then again most "cable" is being provided digitally anyways.

There are more isolated/rural areas where this could be a concern, but not for most people.

Every person that I know has had IPTV streaming issues in watching sporting events. It's near 100% incident rate when I'm at their homes, often multiple times. It's not a surprise given the way the tech is structured. Unless you have FTH or the only home before a node, you may encounter problems. Newer builds should evade this issue.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Every person that I know has had IPTV streaming issues in watching sporting events. It's near 100% incident rate when I'm at their homes, often multiple times. It's not a surprise given the way the tech is structured. Unless you have FTH or the only home before a node, you may encounter problems. Newer builds should evade this issue.

So I do have fibre to the home so perhaps there's that - but I used to stream hockey games before I had fibre as well and hardly had any issues.

Well the one issue - there is a lag. You had to avoid using social media (or HF Boards) while watching a game on streaming because you could find out someone had scored a few seconds before it showed on your screen.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

How about this for a possibility - TSN gets purchased by... the Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadians and the Ottawa Senators (or at least some consortium of their ownership groups)?

Basically this would be following what's going down in the US with regional broadcasters. The teams want to ensure they still have a regional broadcaster, so they just go out and purchase TSN. The three ownership groups do have a few bucks to play with.

I'm sure the CFL might like to get in on this - but as a very small minority partner at best.

Obviously the TML would not be interested, but potentially Calgary / Edmonton / Vancouver as well if they're worried about their Sportsnet deals. Not predicting this, but a possibility.

It's probably the opposite. With what broadcasters pay for regional rights fees in Canada, it almost makes more sense for the broadcaster to buy the team.

The Senators deal signed in 2014 was worth 400 million. What would the price of the team have been back in 2014 if Bell Media bought it from Melnyk? The Vegas expansion fee a few years later was only 500 million. I understand this is an oversimplification.

The US is a bit of a different situation because the regional rights aren't as lucrative for most teams as they are for Canadian teams.

 

[Yukon Joe]

It's probably the opposite. With what broadcasters pay for regional rights fees in Canada, it almost makes more sense for the broadcaster to buy the team.

The Senators deal signed in 2014 was worth 400 million. What would the price of the team have been back in 2014 if Bell Media bought it from Melnyk? The Vegas expansion fee a few years later was only 500 million. I understand this is an oversimplification.

The US is a bit of a different situation because the regional rights aren't as lucrative for most teams as they are for Canadian teams.

I feel like that ignores what's been happening in cable though. Ratings are down, lots of regional broadcasters in the US are going out of business / declaring bankruptcy, and teams are taking control over their own broadcasts.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

NFL is probably the most valuable sports entity in the world, and I'd bet that margin will only increase over the next decade - and TSN/Bell owns those rights.

Would Bell keep NFL rights if they sold TSN? Would the NFL package in Canada be as valuable without TSN?

This seems like an idea somebody had at Bell, which won't happen.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Every person that I know has had IPTV streaming issues in watching sporting events. It's near 100% incident rate when I'm at their homes, often multiple times. It's not a surprise given the way the tech is structured. Unless you have FTH or the only home before a node, you may encounter problems. Newer builds should evade this issue.

I would imagine that for run of the mill sports events there is more than ample capacity. Never had an issue watching a random hockey game via online streaming, for example. But when you get into big-big events (as we saw with the Tyson/Paul fight on Netflix) that's when there is potential for problems.