Charter Could Lose ESPN, ABC

[RiverDog]

My cable TV provider is Charter Spectrum, and I saw something flash across my screen this morning about ESPN, so I did a little research and discovered that their contract ends tonight:

Last night, Spectrum started to warn customers that they could lose Disney owned channels, including ESPN, FX, Freeform, Natgeo, Disney Channel, Baby TV, and more. Spectrum could also lose Disney owned locals, including ABC7 Chicago, ABC7 Los Angeles, ABC7 New York, ABC7 San Francisco, ABC11 Raleigh-Durham, ABC13 Houston, ABC30 Fresno.

The deadline, according to a report on Reddit, is 5 pm Eastern today, August 31st, 2023. This comes as College Football Week One gets underway tonight on ESPN.

Spectrum says: “The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.” Now the question is how hard will they fight with college football starting tonight.

Disney released their own message about the possible blackout saying “We’re working hard to make sure some of America’s most watched networks such as the ESPN networks, including the ACC Network and SEC Network, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels stay available to Spectrum TV customers. If we don’t reach a new agreement with Spectrum soon, some of your favorite shows may be gone from your lineup including SportsCenter and exclusive live sports such as Monday Night Football and college football plus Mickey Mouse Funhouse, 31 Nights of Halloween, American Horror Story, Welcome to Wrexham, Life Below Zero and much more.”

Here are all the channels that could go dark on Spectrum cable TV today:

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN News, SEC Network, ACC Network, Longhorn Network,
FX, FX Movie Channel, FXX, Freeform, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo,
Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Baby TV

https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectrum-ca ... ll-starts/

I'm currently an ESPN+ subscriber, so I should be able to access all their programming, and I get a good, clear OTA signal from our ABC affiliate, so I don't think I'll be affected. Hopefully, none of you guys are, either.

[NorthHawk]

I don't think I could live without BabyTV.

Good luck to those of you using this service. Are there other options in the Cableverse that viewers could switch to (if they don't intend to "cut the cord")?

[RiverDog]

I don't think I could live without BabyTV.

Good luck to those of you using this service. Are there other options in the Cableverse that viewers could switch to (if they don't intend to "cut the cord")?

BabyTV?

The industry is turning away from using large multimedia companies to broadcast all of their content and instead splitting it off into different entities, ie Amazon Prime for TNF and YouTubeTV for Sunday Ticket. Pretty soon, we're going to have to purchase 4 or 5 subscriptions if we want to see content that used to be had with one subscription with one of a number of providers.

[NorthHawk]

With all of the different streaming services we can subscribe to, it's going to be more expensive than Cable.
It's just going to mean prioritizing which services I want and missing out on some good programs because I don't want to subscribe to a service for only 1 series. Sports might be an exception or at least high priority.

[RiverDog]

With all of the different streaming services we can subscribe to, it's going to be more expensive than Cable.
It's just going to mean prioritizing which services I want and missing out on some good programs because I don't want to subscribe to a service for only 1 series. Sports might be an exception or at least high priority.

I agree. But they might be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. If they make it more expensive, they are going to scare away the casual fan. Surveys already show that Gen Z is a lot less sports orientated than previous generations, so if they start making it more expensive, it's going to cut into their overall fan base. This is one of the factors which CFB is not taking into account in their recent conference realignment which is driven primarily from big contracts from the networks/ESPN. Their future TV contracts won't be nearly as big as the ones they've negotiated recently.

[4XPIPS]

Wow! That is a massive blow to users, but it was only time before where cable networks fold to the "app" based streaming world. The timing of this is suspicious. You do this at time when ratings are about to go through the roof as we all know College Football and NFL draw the most ratings in any sports.

I moved to New Zealand earlier this year, and I signed up for NFL+ premium, and signed up for Fubo TV for college football. I never had Fubo Tv before, honestly thought it was a scam at first when I was referred to it from Reddit users, now I am able to catch all my college football from that and cant wait! I will have to watch the hawks on replay, on Monday local time, because I am about 18 hours ahead. But I really love how NFL + lets your toggle off the scores.

[RiverDog]

Wow! That is a massive blow to users, but it was only time before where cable networks fold to the "app" based streaming world. The timing of this is suspicious. You do this at time when ratings are about to go through the roof as we all know College Football and NFL draw the most ratings in any sports.

I moved to New Zealand earlier this year, and I signed up for NFL+ premium, and signed up for Fubo TV for college football. I never had Fubo Tv before, honestly thought it was a scam at first when I was referred to it from Reddit users, now I am able to catch all my college football from that and cant wait! I will have to watch the hawks on replay, on Monday local time, because I am about 18 hours ahead. But I really love how NFL + lets your toggle off the scores.

I think that the timing is coincidental as from my understanding, Charter's current contract expires at 5pm ET on Aug. 31st:

Spectrum’s agreement with ABC’s owned and operated stations and the ESPN networks expires tomorrow (8/31) at 5pm ET, if no agreement is signed, those stations will be taken off Spectrum, impacting college football.

That's about 10 minutes from now, so I'll soon find out.

Interesting that you mentioned Fubo TV as your streaming provider:

Fubo is the best choice, since it includes ACC Network, Big Ten Network, and SEC Network in its base channel lineup, as well as ESPN and ESPN2 and local broadcast channels in most markets. Users will need to add the Sports Plus package for an additional $8 per month to get ESPNU and Pac-12 Network, however. Fubo’s plans start at $85.98 including a regional sports network (RSN) fee.

https://thestreamable.com/news/how-to-w ... to-go-dark

The entertainment landscape is definitely changing.

[RiverDog]

Well, it's 2:10pm PT or 5:10pm ET and I'm watching the US Open live on ESPN via Charter Spectrum, so they must have come to an agreement. Either that or they've given them a grace period while negotiations continue.

[4XPIPS]

Well, it's 2:10pm PT or 5:10pm ET and I'm watching the US Open live on ESPN via Charter Spectrum, so they must have come to an agreement. Either that or they've given them a grace period while negotiations continue.

I could imagine the customer phone lines blowing up if ESPN was just instantly erased. Never heard of Charter Spectrum, wonder what region they cover. My parents live in El Paso TX they use Spectrum. I moved from Arizona earlier this year and we had Cox Communications, but I think that is owned by Comcast as well? I could be wrong though. I would presume the Spectrum my parents have is affiliated with Charter Spectrum?

[RiverDog]

Well, it's 2:10pm PT or 5:10pm ET and I'm watching the US Open live on ESPN via Charter Spectrum, so they must have come to an agreement. Either that or they've given them a grace period while negotiations continue.

I could imagine the customer phone lines blowing up if ESPN was just instantly erased. Never heard of Charter Spectrum, wonder what region they cover. My parents live in El Paso TX they use Spectrum. I moved from Arizona earlier this year and we had Cox Communications, but I think that is owned by Comcast as well? I could be wrong though. I would presume the Spectrum my parents have is affiliated with Charter Spectrum?

Yeah, it would be like the Heidi Bowl back in the 60's, if anyone else besides me is old enough to remember that one.

Charter Spectrum is the 2nd largest cable/satellite provider in the US with over 16 million subscribers. Only Comcast has more subscribers. According to the link below, Cox is not part of Comcast.

And yes, Charter and Spectrum are one and the same.

https://journeyz.co/largest-cable-compa ... %20rows%20

[RiverDog]

Well, ESPN is off the air now.

[4XPIPS]

[url][/url]

Well, ESPN is off the air now.

https://twitter.com/julietighe17/status/1697402944495169618/photo/1

Shots fired! The subscriber pays a monthly service for a package of channels they expect. Shouldn't spectrum now be cutting their subscription price now they don't offer a premium channel. What are you going to do Riverdog?

[RiverDog]

[url][/url]

Well, ESPN is off the air now.

https://twitter.com/julietighe17/status/1697402944495169618/photo/1

Shots fired! The subscriber pays a monthly service for a package of channels they expect. Shouldn't spectrum now be cutting their subscription price now they don't offer a premium channel. What are you going to do Riverdog?

At this point, nothing. I thought that my ESPN+ subscription included all ESPN content, but apparently not. Not all NFL MNF games are in their package.

So, if Spectrum and ESPN don't come to an agreement within the next week, I'll be ditching Spectrum for FuboTV, which has everything I want for less than I'm paying for Spectrum's service. The only reason why I haven't changed is because my daughter is sharing my account.

[4XPIPS]

At this point, nothing. I thought that my ESPN+ subscription included all ESPN content, but apparently not. Not all NFL MNF games are in their package.

So, if Spectrum and ESPN don't come to an agreement within the next week, I'll be ditching Spectrum for FuboTV, which has everything I want for less than I'm paying for Spectrum's service. The only reason why I haven't changed is because my daughter is sharing my account.

Well looks like Fubo TV may be the way to go for million viewers, and spectrum is partnering with Fubo TV to create a discount package. Not sure if it's advantageous at the add -on price, or better off just getting it solo as it offers so much sport content.

https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectrum-ca ... atch-espn/

Fubo shares went up 13% , and it's a cheap stock at this time trading at $2.65 per share.

[RiverDog]

At this point, nothing. I thought that my ESPN+ subscription included all ESPN content, but apparently not. Not all NFL MNF games are in their package.

So, if Spectrum and ESPN don't come to an agreement within the next week, I'll be ditching Spectrum for FuboTV, which has everything I want for less than I'm paying for Spectrum's service. The only reason why I haven't changed is because my daughter is sharing my account.

Well looks like Fubo TV may be the way to go for million viewers, and spectrum is partnering with Fubo TV to create a discount package. Not sure if it's advantageous at the add -on price, or better off just getting it solo as it offers so much sport content.

https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectrum-ca ... atch-espn/

Fubo shares went up 13% , and it's a cheap stock at this time trading at $2.65 per share.

Thanks for the heads up. It says the only way to claim that discount is via an email sent from Spectrum, something I have yet to receive.

Fubo has a free trial, but I don't know how long it lasts or which channels are included (Red Zone?). I'm leaning towards giving Spectrum the boot entirely and going with Fubo for my TV provider and Ziply for my ISP, but I'm going to give them another couple of weeks.

Edit: I chatted with a Spectrum rep about the above offer. She said that the above link wasn't real, that they do not have a relationship with Fubo TV. Also, Fubo's free trial lasts a week and does include Red Zone.

[TriCitySam]

FUBO is pretty good, I switched recently from Spectrum to FUBO....the Spectrum bundled package is a better price (save about $40 in on internet/TV), but I stream and Spectrum's streaming app is absolutely the worst, and FUBO's is very good.

PLUS: you can get in and out of your FUBO subscription really easy online. Not Spectrum, you have to call them to cancel - took me 1 hour and 39 minutes before anyone answered (you have to call a special # to cancel. Funny, they answer right away if your buying).

[RiverDog]

FUBO is pretty good, I switched recently from Spectrum to FUBO....the Spectrum bundled package is a better price (save about $40 in on internet/TV), but I stream and Spectrum's streaming app is absolutely the worst, and FUBO's is very good.

PLUS: you can get in and out of your FUBO subscription really easy online. Not Spectrum, you have to call them to cancel - took me 1 hour and 39 minutes before anyone answered (you have to call a special # to cancel. Funny, they answer right away if your buying).

th.

That's nice to know about Fubo. They are offering the first month free, so I'll wait another couple of weeks before starting it as my Spectrum billing cycle doesn't end until Oct. 6th so no sense having two providers. I'm also changing my ISP from Spectrum to Ziply at the same time. It will give my daughter some time to figure out what they're going to do for their TV provider as I've been sharing my password with them.

Interesting what you said about trying to cancel a subscription with Spectrum. I had a a similar difficulty with Dish Network.

[Aseahawkfan]

FUBO is pretty good, I switched recently from Spectrum to FUBO....the Spectrum bundled package is a better price (save about $40 in on internet/TV), but I stream and Spectrum's streaming app is absolutely the worst, and FUBO's is very good.

PLUS: you can get in and out of your FUBO subscription really easy online. Not Spectrum, you have to call them to cancel - took me 1 hour and 39 minutes before anyone answered (you have to call a special # to cancel. Funny, they answer right away if your buying).

How does FUBO license the right to stream these sporting events? I was wondering what their agreements look like.

You have them now? And they're solid eh?

[Aseahawkfan]

Well looks like Fubo TV may be the way to go for million viewers, and spectrum is partnering with Fubo TV to create a discount package. Not sure if it's advantageous at the add -on price, or better off just getting it solo as it offers so much sport content.

https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectrum-ca ... atch-espn/

Fubo shares went up 13% , and it's a cheap stock at this time trading at $2.65 per share.

FUBO is a cheap stock. That's why I wonder how they pay for the sports licensing. Immense revenues are needed to run the NFL or other sports leagues. I wonder how they spend enough on the licensing to make this an attractive option that can help the leagues sustain their revenues.

[4XPIPS]

FUBO is a cheap stock. That's why I wonder how they pay for the sports licensing. Immense revenues are needed to run the NFL or other sports leagues. I wonder how they spend enough on the licensing to make this an attractive option that can help the leagues sustain their revenues.

You know I use to always try and generalize how a company cannot survive with out profits, but I have learned over the years that tech startups are a different breed. For decades Amazon has been reporting a loss year after year and still continues to be in the red, but yet we can all see that reporting losses does not scare away share holders. Look at Uber, Turo, Pinterest, Doordash, Zillow and so on. None of those companies report profits, but still are publicly traded. Now I have not done a whole lot of company research on FUBO, but I can say just on market data alone they too are not showing a profit. I would imagine their shares are about to get a big boost considering a large market share of users will flock to use their service. How they obtain the rights and sell these sport packages at such a reduced cost is beyond me. I think their overall cost would be lower considering FUBO is app based, and that requires nothing more than a smart TV, which is whole heck less than the overhead of a dish provider or a cable network which still requires tons of labor, employee insurance, and material cost. The irony here is the FUBO could easily shake up most internet + cableTV providers to have the customer abandon the cableTV part but keep the internet so it can service a competing company via their internet they are providing.

Being that I have some experience in market trading and market trends is that FUBO was up against what most call the gold standard of service provided. Meaning that they were offering a service that already exist and is very saturated. They were not like Uber where ride share didn't already exist, and I am not saying cab ride weren't around, but the approach to ride share through a cell phone app was novel, and now they have become the gold standard on service provided in that category. Look at Doordash(or grubhub), another tech startup that approached the market as a unique setup and created and curbed the market to their standards.

The point I am making about FUBO is they couldn't approach the market the same as Uber or Turo, because most of customers already have a service in place in form of cable and satellite to obtain the networks we agreed to pay for. So why get FUBO when you already had all the channels. FUBO stock would have never grown quite quickly until now that Spectrum and Disney can't agree to make a deal which is forcing the subscriber to take action. Even if they do not show profits a lot of investors would most likely take risk when stock is priced so low. I believe a lot investors including myself are waiting to see if this deal is really going to be final, meaning no agreement can be reached between Spectrum and Disney, then I myself would take the risk and invest in FUBO.

DISCLAIMER I am not persuading anyone to invest or take risk, and would hope everyone does their due diligence before investing money. Up until about 2 months ago I thought FUBO was a scam because I am unable to get it while living in New Zealand, but thanks to Express VPN I can actually use it on my amazon fire stick here.

[RiverDog]

I received an email from Charter Spectrum yesterday evening saying that they settled their dispute with Disney/ESPN, but it's closing the corral gate after the horses got out as far as I'm concerned. I've already changed to Fubo. It's cheaper, I can share my subscription with 10 devices, and I get 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage, something I didn't have with Spectrum. I'm really liking the Fubo app, but it's taking some time to learn how to navigate as there's differences depending on the device.

I had a tech from Ziply Fiber come out to the house yesterday afternoon. A year ago last spring, they tore up a whole bunch of irrigation lines, caused a two-week outage while installing their fiber optics network but still don't have service to my cul-de-sac. I'm hoping to get service from them by the end of the month and before the end of my next billing cycle from Charter so I can take all their equipment back to them and cancel all of my servie from them on one trip.

[EmeraldBullet]

I don't think I could live without BabyTV.

Good luck to those of you using this service. Are there other options in the Cableverse that viewers could switch to (if they don't intend to "cut the cord")?

I have xfinity and the cable and internet is fine. Just dont let them trick you into using their cell phone service. Not sure if xfinity is an option where you live