Yes, it's entirely dependent on the area's topography and the transmitter's location.
This is a good resource to determine what is possible at a specific address:
https://www.antennaweb.org/Address
BTN Warning for Comcast Customers in State College
- Thread starter ThePennsyOracle
- Start date
Yes, it's entirely dependent on the area's topography and the transmitter's location.
This is a good resource to determine what is possible at a specific address:
https://www.antennaweb.org/Address
Delany has nothing to do with the negotiations (other than sitting on the sideline and shitting in his pants because his eague's games won't be seen by a lot of people), but you can blame him anyway because he's a flaming asshole.
You should call Mark Silverman and advise him of your negotiating strategy. I'm sure it will yield immediate results.
We should have never gone to the big ten to begin with, nothing but assholes from day one. Now we have to put up with Comcast more assholes. We belong in the Acc should have been there 20 years ago
No and yes. First, whatever monies are paid by the BTN are to the conference, not directly to the schools themselves.
Those monies have two components. The larger part comes from the contract for media rights. That contract is for a stipulated amount and not contingent on the BTN attaining a certain level of revenue or profit. If it doesn't have the money to pay that's something that would have to be worked out. I can't imagine Delany putting a gun to Mark Silverman's head (maybe his dick in Silverman's ear....), but it does get interesting. The BTN can pay the rights fee from cash on hand, it borrows money (not the best thing to be do), or they go into arrears (i.e. they become an accounts payable to the Big Ten), with or without interest.
There is also a smaller profit sharing component (similar to a dividend). If there are no profits, there is nothing to be paid, now or in the future. Of course the BTN could return to rip roaring profitability and raise it's dividend in the future.
Bottom line is this ain't good for the Big Ten. How bad is anyone's guess. Both components total about $10mm p.a. per school ($8mm of which are media rights fees), or about 20% of projected conference revenue distributions.
Thanks a lot Art. Good explanation.
I doubt BTN has approx $140MM just laying around in a shoebox. And an IOU from an operation that just lost its biggest distribution channel isn't the best quality asset to have.
It seems to me that Comcast is in the driver seat. I hate the Roberts' but they are no dummies. They pull the plug on BTN and FS1, they save a ton - a TON - of money. Now they pizz off a lot of customers, but they figure the leakage won't be so bad as to hurt them.
The alternative of course is renegotiate the carriage fees, which will not a positive thing for the BTN.
You're welcome. If they want to limit the damage, the Murdochs better call in reinforcements (preferably carrying peace offerings) because Silverman and Shanks are outgunned......bigly.
Or, if you have the right exposure, just make it simple. Dump Comcast, and go with regular DTV or Dish. Both will give you your local ABC and FOX Network affiliates at home (yes, even in State College). And both will allow you to stream BTN on the road for free.
Yes and you will also be in a 2 year contract that will cost far more. That’s not a good value for me and the increasing number of people who are leaving those services.
I think the poster is saying you can watch the BTN on Directv Now and get your local channels via cable, satellite or antenna.
Comcast loses roughly $1,152 dollars of revenue per year per subscriber based on an average cable bill of $96 per month when a BTN fan leaves Comcast. From this, Comcast would save $12 dollars per year in market by not paying the $1.00 per month BTN fee, for a net loss of $1,140 dollars per lost BTN subscriber per year.
BTN loses $12 dollars per year per subscriber in-Network when they leave Comcast. But, unlike Comcast, BTN regains most or all of that revenue back when the subscriber jumps to a different platform (DTV, DISH, etc.).
What this means is, In-Network, Comcast can't lose any more than 4% of its subscribers to stay even. Out of Network, with a .10 cent per month carriage fee, Comcast can't afford to lose any more than four out of every 1,000 subscribers to stay even.
I travel around the country a good bit. I can guarantee you that if Comcast gets rid of BTN in a place like Texas or Florida, they will lose a LOT more than 4 out of every 1,000 subscribers. Remember. We aren't just talking Penn State fans.
If I'm Silverman or Delany, I play hardball. Comcast will lose out a lot more than BTN will. And to be honest with you, as much as Comcast rips off the public with their bad service and high fees, I would love to see them do what Skipper did at ESPN, and come begging us for forgiveness.
Local channels are a breeze. Simply dump cable for everything but WIFI....select a streaming service that includes the BTN. For local stations....there are numerous ( cost effective) antennas that you can purchase that will pull in lots of local programming. Although.....My main home is in Texas.... but I own a mountain home in rural PA. I kicked Comcast to the curb except for Wifi....chose DTV Now.....ordered an outside ( small) antenna. on the internet.....installed a 6 ft pole in the ground....attached the antenna....and I get clear reception of all of the local Harrisburg area stations. It was easy....and very cost effective. The rural home is remote with lots of trees.....no issue at all with the antenna .
Far more than Comcast? No. Far more than Hulu Live TV? Sure. But with less hassle, less streaming issues, and far more channels.
As long as you are getting your BTN and enjoying it, who cares? All is good!
Far more than Comcast? No. Far more than Hulu Live TV? Sure. But with less hassle, less streaming issues, and far more channels.
As long as you are getting your BTN and enjoying it, who cares? All is good!
Any of the traditional TV services will end up costing more in many situations simply because of the contract.
It’s not just the location of trees. It’s the location of the transmitter. In State College the ABC/Fox transmitters are in a terrible location to get reception in many areas of town.
The antenna that I purchased was via Amazon. The brand is Marathon and cost was $ 169.00. It may be worth your time to look into this. Perhaps....give it a go....return it if it does not work. When I say my place is remote....iam not kidding and yes I was pleasantly surprised with how well it is working. I would suggest that interested parties contact the customer engineers at Marathon give them the location and get an opinion. Good luck to everyone !
I appreciate the advice, but it simply won’t work in this area. It’s s literally not possible due to the location of the transmitters.
Comcast loses roughly $1,152 dollars of revenue per year per subscriber based on an average cable bill of $96 per month when a BTN fan leaves Comcast. From this, Comcast would save $12 dollars per year in market by not paying the $1.00 per month BTN fee, for a net loss of $1,140 dollars per lost BTN subscriber per year.
BTN loses $12 dollars per year per subscriber in-Network when they leave Comcast. But, unlike Comcast, BTN regains most or all of that revenue back when the subscriber jumps to a different platform (DTV, DISH, etc.).
What this means is, In-Network, Comcast can't lose any more than 4% of its subscribers to stay even. Out of Network, with a .10 cent per month carriage fee, Comcast can't afford to lose any more than four out of every 1,000 subscribers to stay even.
I travel around the country a good bit. I can guarantee you that if Comcast gets rid of BTN in a place like Texas or Florida, they will lose a LOT more than 4 out of every 1,000 subscribers. Remember. We aren't just talking Penn State fans.
If I'm Silverman or Delany, I play hardball. Comcast will lose out a lot more than BTN will. And to be honest with you, as much as Comcast rips off the public with their bad service and high fees, I would love to see them do what Skipper did at ESPN, and come begging us for forgiveness.
Nice try. In your computation of loss you neglected to include the savings of carriage fees charged for all other channels of defecting subscribers. So when someone leaves, not only does Comcast save the carriage fee for BTN, but also FS1 and FS2 (which Silverman sells as a bundle), ESPN, A & E, TCM, AHC, ad nauseum. Add all of those up and the loss per subscriber is considerably less than your calculation. And when you recompute that, you'll find that the breakeven defection percentage is considerably higher than 4%.
Silverman and Delany need your financial advice like they need more holes in their asses.
PS- The sticking point isn't the carriage fee for the BTN, for which Comcast pays considerably less than $1/subscriber. It's the FS1/FS2/BTN bundle. Shanks overpaid for media rights and the Murdochs aren't in business to lose money.
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HAAA!!! If Comcast was getting rid of all the channels you just put up there, they would lose a lot more than 4%. Where did you read Comcast is getting rid of ESPN, A&E, TCM, and AHC?
We are talking about BTN which does in fact include the FOX bundle. But that's roughly one fifth of the cost of the ESPN bundle. The loss of FOX Sports 1 and 2 just makes it that much more likely, that over 4% in-market will leave, and over 4 in 1,000 out of market will leave. If Comcast is paying UNDER 1.00 in-market, that is a steal and a half for Comcast.
You can't be serious. Comcast needs us at the rates we are charging more than we need them. So if they want to play chicken, game on.
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You're a financial genius. Stick to selling insurance.
Hmmm. Sounds like you want to take your ball and go home.
Be happy! Comcast will be hurt a lot more than we will. As this thread proves, they have already forced their higher end subscribers to think outside the box, and find alternatives that most would have never bothered with this time last year. Comcast is throwing away an average $96 dollar per month income to save a buck (or 10 cents out of network).
If no deal between Comcast and BTN, then we need to all cut the cord and Penn State should leave the big ten. They both are responsible for making a deal happen.
