I think it's absolutely asinine that I have to maintain an upper-tier subscription with three different sports networks to watch more than 50% of a season of UC basketball (upper-tier because none of them are included with a basic streaming or cable package, ESPN included since they bury a lot of the games on ESPN U or ESPN 3).

(01-15-2017 03:26 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I am surprised it is not available more around Cincinnati. My Ohio house has it on the New Knoxville Television Company cable system, and my Michigan place has it on DirecTV.

We have it in NE Ohio on U-Verse.

(01-15-2017 09:02 PM)crex043 Wrote:  I think it's absolutely asinine that I have to maintain an upper-tier subscription with three different sports networks to watch more than 50% of a season of UC basketball (upper-tier because none of them are included with a basic streaming or cable package, ESPN included since they bury a lot of the games on ESPN U or ESPN 3).

Most providers package ESPNU, ESPNNews, and CBS Sports Network in the same tier... $5-$10 extra per month. If your provider doesn't, then I would switch. I've had the sports package with those channels + NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Golf Channel, etc. for years with both Time Warner and DirecTV and I don't think I've ever paid more than $10/mo extra for those channels in total.

(01-15-2017 08:59 PM)BigDawg Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 03:45 PM)BeerCat Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 03:39 PM)cpawfan Wrote:  A cable network doesn't want to support cable cutters. Shocked, shocked I say.

On the plus side, I'm sure the OP would greatly appreciate some Big Lebowski quotes and references that relate to his sadness.

No doubt they don't want to do that. They will lose that battle though. I'm directing my disgust more At UC. They should not be ok with the product CBSN provides. Meanwhile ABC and NBC are airing infomercials which I'm sure are ratings monsters. How is CBSN actually the best option?

UC doesn't get a vote. ESPN farms out games like this to other stations for money. So not UC's call.

Sorry I know that rant went off the rails. The infomercial stuff I know is not uc's fault. I was just pointing out that it amazes me that those networks make more money showing infomercials during weekend daylight hours instead of showing sporting events even if they aren't marquee games.

(01-15-2017 04:17 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I don't mind CBS Sports... I have it in Cincinnati without paying for the sports package. Announcers are no worse than the ESPNU games.

Mark, how do you have it without paying for it? It is part of my Time Warner sports package and it costs me.

I do the same thing. I buy the sports package until basketball season is over. The announcers suck so I listen to wlw on iHeart radio and pause the tv until it's in sync. Takes a little time to get it right but it's well worth it. Love the team of Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson.

(01-16-2017 01:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 04:17 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I don't mind CBS Sports... I have it in Cincinnati without paying for the sports package. Announcers are no worse than the ESPNU games.

Mark, how do you have it without paying for it? It is part of my Time Warner sports package and it costs me.

I have no idea. It's been in my package forever. I don't order the sports package so I don't get things like FS2, Yes, NFL Redzone, but NBCSports, CBSsports, ESPN U are all included.

(01-16-2017 01:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 04:17 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I don't mind CBS Sports... I have it in Cincinnati without paying for the sports package. Announcers are no worse than the ESPNU games.

Mark, how do you have it without paying for it? It is part of my Time Warner sports package and it costs me.

I have Fioptics and I don't believe I'm paying a premium for CBSSN or NBCSN. I pretty much assumed they were in the bundle for other providers too.

(01-15-2017 09:26 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 09:02 PM)crex043 Wrote:  I think it's absolutely asinine that I have to maintain an upper-tier subscription with three different sports networks to watch more than 50% of a season of UC basketball (upper-tier because none of them are included with a basic streaming or cable package, ESPN included since they bury a lot of the games on ESPN U or ESPN 3).

Most providers package ESPNU, ESPNNews, and CBS Sports Network in the same tier... $5-$10 extra per month. If your provider doesn't, then I would switch. I've had the sports package with those channels + NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Golf Channel, etc. for years with both Time Warner and DirecTV and I don't think I've ever paid more than $10/mo extra for those channels in total.

I don't think Crex is asking how you go about getting all of those stations. The point he is making is it is not right that extra steps,$$$ and or switching providers in order to watch over half of UC basketball games (and fwiw, I think about half of our football content was on CBS Sports, ESPNU, etc.).

This is just another example of the uphill climb programs like UC face. It is just so much easier to say "F-it" and watch other regional programs whose games are broadcast on a basic cable tier. Xavier, for example, has nearly every game on CBS (the real CBS), Fox, Fox Sports Ohio, FS1, ESPN or ESPN 2, with the exception of one game on the PAC 12 Network, 2 on ESPN U and 2 on CBS Sports. Think about that--- that's every ******* game, including November when they are playing the likes of Ferris State, North Dakota State and Lehigh.

(01-15-2017 10:12 PM)BeerCat Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 08:59 PM)BigDawg Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 03:45 PM)BeerCat Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 03:39 PM)cpawfan Wrote:  A cable network doesn't want to support cable cutters. Shocked, shocked I say.

On the plus side, I'm sure the OP would greatly appreciate some Big Lebowski quotes and references that relate to his sadness.

No doubt they don't want to do that. They will lose that battle though. I'm directing my disgust more At UC. They should not be ok with the product CBSN provides. Meanwhile ABC and NBC are airing infomercials which I'm sure are ratings monsters. How is CBSN actually the best option?

UC doesn't get a vote. ESPN farms out games like this to other stations for money. So not UC's call.

Sorry I know that rant went off the rails. The infomercial stuff I know is not uc's fault. I was just pointing out that it amazes me that those networks make more money showing infomercials during weekend daylight hours instead of showing sporting events even if they aren't marquee games.

It is not so much that networks make more money on infomercials than they don't want to pay for programing against the NFL playoff games. Might as well make some money than pay for something that no one is watching anyway.

Great TV partner ESPN ? Where is the great exposure? They sell our games to CBS SN to get back some of the money they paid the AAC for the rights. Wonder how much they get from CBS. So they make money selling air time to businesses and from CBS.
Like to know what percent of our BB games are on ESPN, percent on ESPN2, percent on ESPNU, percent on ESPNNEWS. It seems we are getting pushed to CBS more and more since the creation of the AAC network.

Wait! There is an AAC network?

(01-16-2017 08:48 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 09:26 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(01-15-2017 09:02 PM)crex043 Wrote:  I think it's absolutely asinine that I have to maintain an upper-tier subscription with three different sports networks to watch more than 50% of a season of UC basketball (upper-tier because none of them are included with a basic streaming or cable package, ESPN included since they bury a lot of the games on ESPN U or ESPN 3).

Most providers package ESPNU, ESPNNews, and CBS Sports Network in the same tier... $5-$10 extra per month. If your provider doesn't, then I would switch. I've had the sports package with those channels + NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Golf Channel, etc. for years with both Time Warner and DirecTV and I don't think I've ever paid more than $10/mo extra for those channels in total.

I don't think Crex is asking how you go about getting all of those stations. The point he is making is it is not right that extra steps,$$$ and or switching providers in order to watch over half of UC basketball games (and fwiw, I think about half of our football content was on CBS Sports, ESPNU, etc.).

This is just another example of the uphill climb programs like UC face. It is just so much easier to say "F-it" and watch other regional programs whose games are broadcast on a basic cable tier. Xavier, for example, has nearly every game on CBS (the real CBS), Fox, Fox Sports Ohio, FS1, ESPN or ESPN 2, with the exception of one game on the PAC 12 Network, 2 on ESPN U and 2 on CBS Sports. Think about that--- that's every ******* game, including November when they are playing the likes of Ferris State, North Dakota State and Lehigh.

A little bit of both, here. I actually have Sling TV. ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3 are included in the basic Sling TV package, but you have to pay +$5 for the "Orange" package to get ESPN U and ESPNews which covers some of the Bearcat games. In addition, I have to get Sling Blue for +$5 to get FS Network. CBS Sports is not available on Sling TV. Also, if I want the other ESPN channels and FS at the same time, I can't buy the two $5 packages for that price. I have to pay an additional $15 to get the motherlode package (which still doesn't include CBSSN).

So, in order to be able to see every UC basketball game in a given year, I have to subscribe to cable and I have to have a higher-tier package to do this. It's complicated, it's ridiculous, and counter-intuitively, it costs me more to subscribe to watch G5 sports than it does to watch P5 sports and yet P5 gets all the money.

ESPN cannot go belly-up soon enough.

Interesting conversation. So does anyone have data on the household penetration of the various cable sports channels? Presumably Fox Sports One still trails ESPN/ESPN2 and the rest fall to a distant third place and beyond? The tradeoff may well be cash today vs. exposure today for a newer conference. As I recall, the old Big East had a symbiotic relationship with the startup of ESPN that made both entities household names.

(01-16-2017 01:13 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Interesting conversation. So does anyone have data on the household penetration of the various cable sports channels? Presumably Fox Sports One still trails ESPN/ESPN2 and the rest fall to a distant third place and beyond? The tradeoff may well be cash today vs. exposure today for a newer conference. As I recall, the old Big East had a symbiotic relationship with the startup of ESPN that made both entities household names.

Good question, I found this from last May. Can't comment on its accuracy. I think it's ironic that SEC Channel and Big Ten Network both beat out the CPS Sports channel.

Quote:1. ESPN $6.61 x 94.5 million homes = $7.5 billion

2. NFL Network $1.31 x 73.6 million homes = $1.16 billion

3. FS1 .99 x 91.2 million homes = $1.08 billion

4. ESPN2 .83 x 94.5 million hiomes = $941.2 million

5. SEC Network .66 x 69.1 million homes = $547.3 million

6. Golf Channel .35 x 79.4 million homes = $332.2 million

7. NBC Sports Network .30 x 83.1 million homes = $299 million

8. Big Ten Network .39 x 62 million homes = $290.2 million

9. MLB Network .26 x 71.3 million homes = $222.5 million

10. FS2 .28 x 64 million homes = $215 million

11. NBA TV .29 x 57.2 million homes = $199 million

12. ESPNU .22 x 74.9 million homes = $198 million

13. CBS Sports Network .26 x 61 million homes = $190.3 million

14. NHL Network .32 x 37.4 million homes = $143.6 million

15. Pac 12 Network .39 x 12.3 million homes = $57.6 million

(01-16-2017 10:34 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  Wait! There is an AAC network?

Typo. ACC network. Not AAC network

I get CBSSN on my dish package. I like the announcers. i have no problem with it. They even play the same music as CBS main channel during march madness so it kind of feels big time, even though the two announcers are high school kids that are being paid in free RC cola and moon pies.