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NESN Comcast/Xfinity raising $ for NESN & NBC Sports Boston

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www.boston.com

More green for the games: Xfinity bumping NESN, NBC Sports Boston to pricier cable tier starting next week

Xfinity reached agreements with NESN, NBC Sports Boston to move the channels from its Popular TV package to its Ultimate TV level of service.
www.boston.com

Subscribers to Xfinity’s basic cable television package in New England are going to need to change their game plan if they want to keep watching the Celtics and Bruins.

Comcast — Xfinity’s parent company — has reached agreements with NESN and NBC Sports Boston to move the channels from its Popular TV (or basic) package to its Ultimate TV (or premium) level of service beginning Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The shift means a $20 price bump per month in order to watch Celtics games on NBC Sports Boston, plus Bruins, Fleet, and (come spring) Red Sox games on NESN. Xfinity lists the Popular and Ultimate TV tiers at $60 and $80, respectively, but that excludes fees, including a $15 regional sports network fee.
In a communication to affected Popular TV subscribers, Xfinity noted their RSN fee will be reduced. In Massachusetts, the drop will be by $12.85.

“We’re pleased to have reached agreements with NBC Sports Boston and NESN and appreciate them working with us to continue offering their networks in a way that reflects the changing video marketplace for local sports and provides our customers with a choice,” said an Xfinity spokesperson in a statement.

The spokesperson said most of Xfinity’s customers already have the Ultimate TV package. As of the end of 2023, Comcast/Xfinity had approximately 920,000 cable subscribers in Massachusetts, down from 1.05 million in 2022, per Mass.gov.

The Bruins play the Lightning on Tuesday, the day the new arrangement goes into effect. When Xfinity Popular TV subscribers turn on NESN that night, there will be a message on the screen saying that a subscription to the Ultimate TV package is required. That also will be the case for the following night’s Celtics game against the Raptors on NBC Sports Boston.

Xfinity says it will offer a promotional package to those switching to the Ultimate TV level, the details of which will be available at Xfinity.com/upgradeTV.

Comcast/Xfinity has moved regional sports networks to its more expensive tier in approximately 30 other markets.

The deals with NESN and NBC Sports Boston are for multiple years, which offers some stability in a regional sports network landscape that has been shaken by the decrease in revenue because of cord-cutters who have switched from cable television to streaming in recent years.

But most RSNs and their respective teams typically prefer to remain on the basic, lower-cost tier of cable, fearing that moving to a more exclusive and costlier level will affect viewership.
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Just went through the prompts on the app. To add NESN it jacks my bill from 160 to 215…and cuts my internet speed by 33 percent

lol to watch this team?
 
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My January bill jumped from $265 to $280 and looks like NESN & MSNBC where I watch Bruins, Red Sox, and Celtics going up another $20?

Yah I woke up around 3 and been reading up on cutting cable & different avenues that cover what I watch

$300 is ridiculous
 
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Dirty stinking rotten crooks. They're doing this at a ridiculous time because the Broons are in disarray and I couldn't care less if I miss games.
Furthermore, I don't watch the Celtics and Red Hosieries so ba-bye.
I will consider other alternatives but honestly I enjoy reading and watching
a lot of various stuff on YouTube so NESN can take a flying leap.
Nothing lost!
 
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I'm very happy with my DirecTV stream. The package I am on that is monthly with no commitment has no extra rsn fees. $115 is steep but I can watch sports no matter where I go if I'm with my phone.
 
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Yup, just got an email now that NESN and Boston SportsNet are done for as of tomorrow. Fun email, spun like it's a good thing lol. My bill will be reduced by $12 to account for the RSN fees that no longer apply. I am curious to see if they offer anything to get me to keep my existing package, but I doubt it.

Ideally, since I've only had this account 3 months or so, I'd like to just be put into a new contract for internet only, which puts me at about $55 after taxes and fees. If I had to guess, they will instead just remove the cable cost and all of the discounts and treat me like an existing customer, which still puts me around $100.

Gloves are off. Tomorrow should be a hell of a day.
 
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FWIW, I used to work for Comcast... first in their Retention Department, and then in Marketing.

I can tell you that Sports Networks, and specifically Regional Sports Networks are -- by far -- their #1 driver of price increases. I'm sure they're not happy about this, but I guarantee you that they've done studies that say this is the least painful of a number of bad options.
 
BMC said:
So what will NESN do with the extra cash? God knows they won't spend it on upgrading equipment...or talent....
Click to expand...
More Charlie Moore repeats

GatorMike said:
FWIW, I used to work for Comcast... first in their Retention Department, and then in Marketing.

I can tell you that Sports Networks, and specifically Regional Sports Networks are -- by far -- their #1 driver of price increases. I'm sure they're not happy about this, but I guarantee you that they've done studies that say this is the least painful of a number of bad options.
Click to expand...
i remember you mentioning that actually. What feels like A long ass time ago

Soooo how are they going to sell me on this when I step into the ring?
 
My bill for cable/internet has been $180 a month for the last year or so. I went to xfinity today to see what it would cost to retain NESN and NBCSports (literally the only two channels I watch), and they said by changing my grandfathered in package to the new higher level (Ultimate +) my new bill would be $270 a month.

When I stopped laughing, I canceled my cable. Now I just have the internet ($85) and I am trying out Fubo for the game tonight, (looks nice so far!).

Cable companies are very stupid.
 
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I
lextune said:
My bill for cable/internet has been $180 a month for the last year or so. I went to xfinity today to see what it would cost to retain NESN and NBCSports (literally the only two channels I watch), and they said by changing my grandfathered in package to the new higher level (Ultimate +) my new bill would be $270 a month.

When I stopped laughing, I canceled my cable. Now I just have the internet ($85) and I am trying out Fubo for the game tonight, (looks nice so far!).

Cable companies are very stupid.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I'm doing for now. Internet only with Fubo. Picture way better than the over compressed NESN garbage
 
Couldnt get through over the phone so i made an appointment. The store was PACKED with Bruins and Red Sox hats. A few Boston car decals outside too. I waited maybe five minutes since i had the appointment. Slapped the box on the desk and told the guy I was looking to cancel my cable package.

“Let me guess, sports fan?”

I said “and let me guess, this is all you’ve talked about this week?”

“Yup. Two weeks of this. Ok so your new bill is gonna be $45.94.”

And i left. It was seamless. As for tonight’s game…Smooth sailing!
 
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