Category: Cable

SEC Network to Devote 72 Hours of Coverage Towards Championship Game

On By johnwilson21In Cable, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment
Dale Zanine/CBS Sports

College Football is a huge deal in the Southeastern region of the United States. The SEC conference, arguably the best conference in college football, has its championship game coming up on Saturday, December 4th. In preparation for this big matchup between Alabama and Georgia, the SEC Network is devoting 72 hours of coverage for the big game. This is a bold move by the network, as obviously it is a big matchup in the conference, but that is a great deal of coverage. Game coverage begins on the network on Thursday, December 2nd, at 1:30 P.M, which will include press conferences, interviews.

            This is a bold move by the network, but I believe it will pay off. This is their biggest game to this point in the season, with the two best teams matching up, with the winner being crowned the SEC Champion, and likely the #1 seed heading into the college football playoff. The article interested me because I will likely be tuning in to watch some of the pre and post-game coverage, and it let me know when each program will be aired and where I can watch it. This game is a huge deal in the southern part of the United States, and will interests people outside of that region, and the pregame content will likely receive tons of viewers.

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ESPN Losing Cable Viewers

On By johnwilson21In Cable, Sports, Streaming, TelevisionLeave a comment
Mike Windle/Getty Images

ESPN is known as “the worldwide leader in sports.” Some bad news for them is that they were in 8 million fewer homes in 2020, although there is some context to it that explains this statistic and lessens the blow. ESPN’s cable subscriptions dropped a substantial amount in 2020, but subscriptions to their exclusive access program, ESPN+, increased by almost 7 million subscribers. The ESPN+ subscription increase likely alludes to people getting rid of their cable packages and heading towards strictly streaming services. While ESPN is maintaining much of its audience, Disney, who owns ESPN, is not satisfied with the drop in cable subscribers, as there have been rumors that they may try and divert from ESPN.            

This interests me because I am a huge sports fan, but over the last few years, I have favored other sports networks, such as Fox Sports or NBC Sports, rather than ESPN. ESPN’s quality of content and authenticity seems to be getting worse and many of the channel’s shows have become less entertaining than they used to be. The drop in cable subscriptions makes sense to me, as people are moving towards streaming services, or they are also observing the same things as I have. I will continue to watch ESPN when they show a product that interests me, but at this time, I do not envision myself purchasing a cable package with the network being part of it.

Hollywood’s Behind-The-Scenes Staff reach Tentative Deal with Studios, adverting strike scheduled for Monday

On By alanapotIn Cable, Media Covergence, Movie, Netflix, Regulation, TelevisionLeave a comment
IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb, Image via AdWeek/IASTE

IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, recently came to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), adverting a scheduled strike for this upcoming October 18th. IATSE is a union representing about 60,000 crew members including hairstylists, costumers, gaffers, propmakers, cameraworkers and other behind-the-scenes jobs on set. The union had been negotiating pay, work schedules and more with AMPTP, an organization that represents companies such as Netflix, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures, since May.

Prior to the tentative agreement, IATSE President Matthew Loeb said in a statement posted on Twitter: “We will continue bargaining with the producers this week in the hopes of reaching an agreement that addresses core issues, such as reasonable rest periods, meal breaks and a living wage for those on the bottom of the wage scale” 

If the strike had occurred it would’ve been the first time Hollywood’s Behind-The-Scenes workers had held a strike since World War II and would represent the largest cease Hollywood’s workforce since a 14-week writers’ strike in 2007.

According to IATSE, the 3-Year contractual agreement with AMPTP includes living wages for the lowest paid workers, higher wages, daily 10 hour rest periods and weekend 54 hour long rest periods along with other basic benefits. Prior to this, streaming TV and film productions featured lower pay scales for workers which reflected budgets at the beginning of the medium and platforms. However, streaming is now a very large chunk of the market and worker’s felt their wages should reflect that. The increased production and volume of streaming entertainment had also made for grueling, “around-the-clock” and “around-the-calendar” (Sutton, 2021) working conditions.

Overall, this situation between IATSE and AMPTP reflect the truth behind what is going on behind the scenes of the public’s favorite shows and streaming platforms. It also reflects streaming as medium that is here to stay and in need of regulation for it’s workers.

Del Barco, Mandalit. “Hollywood crew members reach a tentative deal with major studios, averting a strike” NPR, 16, October, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/10/16/1045711954/hollywood-crew-members-iatse-reach-deal-no-strike

Sutton, Kelsey. “TV, Film Workers Set Oct. 18 Strike Date as Negotiations With Studios Stall” AdWeek, 14, October, 2021. https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/tv-film-workers-set-oct-18-strike-date-as-negotiations-with-studios-stall/

Food Network Picks Up ‘No Recipe Road Trip With the Try Guys’ as a Series

On By alanapotIn Cable, Media Covergence, YouTubeLeave a comment
(Image from The Try Guys / https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/try-guys-no-recipe-road-trip-series-pickup-food-network-1235059984/)

Last week, Variety announced in an exclusive article that Discovery’s Food Network had picked up “No Recipe Road Trip With the Try Guys” for an additional five-episode order. An initial one-episode special was agreed upon back in February but has been expanded upon in this new agreement. The initial special and these five additional episodes will air as Season 1 with no official release date yet, but will most likely air on both the Food Network channel and the Discovery+ streaming service.

The show will follow The Try Guys, Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, Eugene Lee Yang, and Ned Fulmer, as these best friends and content creators travel across the U.S., taste new foods, and try to recreate them, modeling their popular youtube series, “Without a Recipe”. 

The Try Guys are a Youtube group that gained popularity at Buzzfeed in the mid-2010s, when the group of four co-workers began to create videos together, trying new things, for the internet media outlet. With a social media following of more than 13 million followers across social media platforms and racking up over 3 billion video views, the quartet decided to leave the company in June 2018 to start their own production company, 2nd Try. 

This deal between the traditional medium of television to feature an idea from a group that’s fame originally came from the Internet is a great example of media convergence. Fans of The Try Guys, who normally watch the creators on Youtube, now have the chance to watch the group on cable television. While this deal is exciting for the smaller production company, it also shows that larger, more established, traditional companies need help appealing to a younger audience and are partnering with several influencers who have come to fame through the Internet.

Spangler, Todd. “The Try Guys ‘NO Recipe Road Trip’ Picked up to Series at Food NETWORK (EXCLUSIVE).” Variety, Variety, 9 Sept. 2021, variety.com/2021/digital/news/try-guys-no-recipe-road-trip-series-pickup-food-network-1235059984/.

Late Night Shows Impacted by the Pandemic

On By David SonIn Cable, coronavirus, coverage, Media Covergence, National coverage, News Media, Social Issue(s), TelevisionLeave a comment

As late night shows are directly impacted, hosts and broadcasting stations have found ways to keep viewers entertained. The biggest late night television stars are keeping the show going by filming from inside their homes. With this in home production comes many pros and cons.

Aside from all the production, the hosts have seemed to lack the energy driven by a live audience. With late night show hosts missing that energy, comes a lot of authenticity as well. Show host’s like Stephen Colbert adds that his dog has created a more intimate and relaxed environment to his job. In the privacy of their own homes, hosts have been able to feel less tense also in part of the less promotional stunts they would usually have to perform.

Jimmy Fallon adds that you can’t really fake anything. It is really you on National T.V. and that is all. Other late night show hosts have changed their normal ways. John Oliver has embraced the minimalist approach to Late Night shows while Bill Maher has added audience laughter to his monologue to add a more familiar setting.

Music has become a big source of entertainment during these shows as well. “One World: Together at Home” concert was on April 18, which played on multiple networks to fund raise for those fighting Covid-19

Other broadcasting stations are practicing alternatives towards their content. Saturday Night Live added the “at home” experiment which began a solo act for comedians to perform. Another innovative idea came from ESPN, while they created a “HORSE” competition in which known sports figures can compete in a game of “HORSE” for entertainment.

Although these companies are trying new ways to entertain the public, it has not come with the most exciting response. This sort of content can bore a viewer very quickly. Needless to say, their efforts are appreciated during these times of uncertainty. Any sort of entertainment to keep our minds off the pandemic is appreciated.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/entertainment/social-distancing-tv/index.html

The Department of Defense is Warning People Not To Use Tiktok And Here’s Why:

On By Kirsten BeachIn Cable, China, Consumer behavior, Content Restriction, Distribution, Gaming, Marketing, Online Safety, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The App Tiktok has taken over social media it seems, with tens of millions of Americans downloading the app just this year, but with these increased downloads came a great deal of controversy surrounding the app.

For those who are unfamiliar with the app, TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to express themselves by uploading and share short-form videos. However, because the app is developed by a Chinese company, there has been a lingering concern that information of U.S. citizens could be compromised or revealed. For this reason, the Defense Department is particularly worried–especially as it relates to military personnel.

Specifically, The Department of Defense created an advisory memo in regards to the app which stated that:

TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) application 12.2.0 for Android and iOS performs unencrypted transmission of images, videos, and likes. This allows an attacker to extract private sensitive information by sniffing network traffic.

Now, although changes have been made to the app since then that claim that user information is safe, there have still been national concerns surrounding the app and security.

If you are an avid Tiktok user, how does this make you feel?

What is going to happen to Olympic Sports and other Sports Broadcasters?

On By David SonIn Cable, Comcast, Consumer behavior, coverage, Distribution, Media Covergence, National coverage, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment

The Tokyo Summer Olympics will not be happening this year.  For obvious reasons, athletes and sporting federations have chosen to push back the Olympics to hopefully next year.  The Olympics have been postponed three times in history.  Once because of World War I and another because of World War II.  The Prime Minister of Japan has insisted the Olympics to not be cancelled but postponed to next year.  Although Japan has made great progress in dealing with this crisis, the rest of the World has not.  Not until 2 weeks ago, people were insisting that the Olympics go on, but it is becoming seen as impossible and seriously ill-advised to do so.

NBCUniversal has already signed contracts with local stations and distributors for them to use their production.  Now that the Olympics are pushed to next year and their contract extended, NBCUniversal could make them end up paying double. 

But given the long-term relationships with these companies, NBCUniversal will most likely come up with accommodations in order to not decimate these local stations.  On the other hand, NBCUniversal would probably end up facing serious lawsuits if they chose to make their partners pay double.  No decision has been made yet.

Media executives worry politicians may carry-out a plan to have all TV bills be paid back to their consumers.  A large domino effect that comes from no sports being paid.

There are campaigns for sports networks to refund some of the paid subscription back to the consumer for no sports.  This would result in hundreds of millions of dollars, but sports broadcasters are trying to come up with accommodations in order to not lose out on so much money.  Many broadcasting stations are figuring out ways to keep the consumer’s happy by rearranging release dates and payment plans.  The Michael Jordan documentary was supposed to be released in July but has been pushed up to keep consumers happy.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-sports-cancellations-set-up-media-fights-over-refunds.html

Sports Broadcasting Services and their Providers; What happens?

On By David SonIn Brand, Cable, Comcast, Consumer behavior, coronavirus, coverage, Distribution, Media Covergence, Partnerships & Copyright, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment

One would think because of the Coronavirus pandemic, people would more likely be inside spending time watching T.V.  Although this seems logical, because many of these people are becoming unemployed, they are more likely to cut cable to save extra money.  The FCC has already issued warnings to distributors and local T.V. stations about renewed contracts. 

As this crisis ensues, cable operators and programmers have called a temporary truce to set aside questions regarding refunds on undelivered programming, such as the NBA, NHL, Olympics, and many other big television marketing programs.

Distributors agreed to pay programmers a certain amount of money based on the shows the are supposed to deliver.  Many sports media channels are the reason consumers pay big bucks too, so a resolution must be brought up.

“CBS is not going to pay for this season and have no financial recourse at all,” Pilson said. “The networks are not paying for games that aren’t delivered. They may have a formula where certain monies change hands and eventually they’ll get credit for that.”

AS the NCAA basketball tournament has been cancelled, the effect chain goes further than professional sports.  The colleges that had a contract with programmers that are now diminished as well with the fees. 

Professional sports on the other hand, may have a more difficult time with the contracts they had with distributors.  Professional sports like, NBA and MLB don’t have clear provisions on how to demand refunds in case of a unavoidable cause.  While there are mentions of natural causes such as tornados, hurricanes, or what have you, there is no specifications for pandemics. 

NFL is working on renewing TV rights with their partnerships, like ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox.  While they are most likely to stick with these distributors until 2022, there are programmers who are on the fringe of stealing a partnership.  Companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon are likely competitors.    

These distributors payed a lot of money for these games to be broadcasted.  NFL and MLB hold a lot of weight, in being able to not refund the broadcasters fully for what they have paid.  Streaming service DAZN has informed leagues that it will not pay rights fees for any games that have been suspended.  CBS, ESPN, and NBC all have not demanded refunds or threatened to withhold payment for games yet. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-sports-cancellations-set-up-media-fights-over-refunds.html

NFL Ratings Surge Blessing for TV Networks

On By Jared RohlfingIn Cable, Nielsen, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment

CNBC’s recent article covering the NFL ratings surge experienced by the league this past year is an insightful look at the important role sports broadcasting plays in the world of television.  According to the news site, the NFL’s ratings grew by five percent this past season after years of decline. This will be monumental for the league as renegotiations with television networks are set to begin in 2021.  Not only is this good news for the NFL, but also for TV networks in general who rely heavily on strong sports ratings for advertising revenue. CNBC’s report stated that sixty-three percent of the Fox networks gross ratings last year came from the NFL alone.  In recent years, TV networks have seen their NFL ratings take a sharp decline as consumers continue to transition away from cable TV in favor of cheaper streaming services. Interestingly, this past year overall the league saw their ratings among the eighteen to twenty-four demographic shrink by slightly less than five percent while ratings among older viewers grew.   

I found this article to be of particular interest to me because it perfectly encapsulated the pivotal role sports broadcasting, particularly the NFL, plays in the overall success of traditional TV networks.  The statistic that more than half of the Fox networks gross ratings come from football alone completely took me by surprise by how critically important the NFL is to cable television. This news of a ratings leap will definitely give the league a significant amount of leverage in the coming months when negotiations resume between the NFL and television networks.  It remains to be seen however, how long this surge in ratings will last; as streaming continues its inevitable growth.   

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/tv-networks-need-nfl-ratings-rebound-to-continue.html

Google Fiber Kills Traditional TV In Favor of Streaming

On By kashifwIn Cable, Google, UncategorizedLeave a comment

As of today traditional television is on its last leg. Most of the best content to watch is already online. Websites such as Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, now Disney plus, with Peacock on standby, streaming will dominate the decade. Google Fiber sees the trend and is opting to change it’s perspective as a company. After the change to drop traditional television methods comes with partnerships of Youtube TV and FuboTv. FuboTV distributes lives sports, offers over 35,000 live sports events yearly. Now new Fiber customers have two options on how they want to receive live and on demand programming.

Google Fiber no longer offering traditional TV plan for new customers