Post by soulflower on Mar 10, 2024 12:57:50 GMT -5
MASN and Comcast agree to deal placing Orioles games in pricier package
Opinion - Comcast keeps putting the screws to Orioles fans. MASN should help us.
Really shortsighted move for both Comcast and MASN.
Younger adults don't want to purchase cable subscriptions. The business model needs to adapt to the new trends if they want to keep making a profit long-term.
Opinion - Comcast keeps putting the screws to Orioles fans. MASN should help us.
A price hike for MASN this season should signal to MLB and the Orioles to find more direct-to-consumer options
I’m shooting a flare. I’m blinking “SOS” in Morse code.
I want to be liberated from cable TV.
In Maryland, Comcast has us in a unique bind. There are only so many options to watch the Baltimore Orioles. So, naturally, it is turning the screws on us, the suckers who have yet to cut the cord.
Friday afternoon’s announcement that Comcast and MASN came to a carriage agreement in one sense is the evasion of absolute disaster. Imagine if Xfinity customers in this state couldn’t watch the reigning AL East champs, brimming over the top with exciting young players and prospects.
We will get to watch them. We’ll just have to pay more.
MASN broadcasts now move to the Ultimate tier, which costs $20 more per month — though there will be promotional pricing incentives for the first six months. But, if you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering why you’re going to continue to pay this much for cable, when your home TV is increasingly the place where your streaming platforms live.
This is the trend, however. As pointed out by my Banner colleagues, Comcast has been consolidating regional sports networks (known as RSNs) on more expensive platforms. As more people cut the cord, you’d think Comcast and similar cable providers would try to find ways to broaden their base and reach more people. Instead, they seem more determined to squeeze the customers they have for every last dime.
It doesn’t seem like a winning strategy, especially as baseball in particular is taking heed of calls to evolve and adapt to a younger (and perhaps less attentive) audience. Increasingly expensive cable packages feel stuck in a long-ago era, and probably only stave off the inevitable.
What’s a great way to pour cold water on the burgeoning excitement around Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday? Make sure fewer people can see them play through increasingly pricier packages.
It’s a huge reason that, anecdotally, I don’t seem to know anyone younger than 30 who is a cable subscriber. For packages that cost more than 100, 120, 150 bucks a month, it makes more economic sense to head down to the local pub to catch the game for the cost of a drink or maybe just not watch at all.
MASN, however, could help us. A direct-to-consumer product is long overdue — it should be one of the first priorities when David Rubenstein’s group takes over the network.
One striking thing about moving back to Maryland last year was how few options there are to get MASN, which exists largely on traditional providers. No, there’s no direct-to-consumer service, but also, you cannot get MASN on YouTube TV, Hulu or Sling, for instance.
I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the complications of getting broadcasts on those platforms, but given how much dependence cable has on live sports — the purest source of the biggest ratings — shouldn’t the Orioles have more leverage at this point?
I’m shooting a flare. I’m blinking “SOS” in Morse code.
I want to be liberated from cable TV.
In Maryland, Comcast has us in a unique bind. There are only so many options to watch the Baltimore Orioles. So, naturally, it is turning the screws on us, the suckers who have yet to cut the cord.
Friday afternoon’s announcement that Comcast and MASN came to a carriage agreement in one sense is the evasion of absolute disaster. Imagine if Xfinity customers in this state couldn’t watch the reigning AL East champs, brimming over the top with exciting young players and prospects.
We will get to watch them. We’ll just have to pay more.
MASN broadcasts now move to the Ultimate tier, which costs $20 more per month — though there will be promotional pricing incentives for the first six months. But, if you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering why you’re going to continue to pay this much for cable, when your home TV is increasingly the place where your streaming platforms live.
This is the trend, however. As pointed out by my Banner colleagues, Comcast has been consolidating regional sports networks (known as RSNs) on more expensive platforms. As more people cut the cord, you’d think Comcast and similar cable providers would try to find ways to broaden their base and reach more people. Instead, they seem more determined to squeeze the customers they have for every last dime.
It doesn’t seem like a winning strategy, especially as baseball in particular is taking heed of calls to evolve and adapt to a younger (and perhaps less attentive) audience. Increasingly expensive cable packages feel stuck in a long-ago era, and probably only stave off the inevitable.
What’s a great way to pour cold water on the burgeoning excitement around Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday? Make sure fewer people can see them play through increasingly pricier packages.
It’s a huge reason that, anecdotally, I don’t seem to know anyone younger than 30 who is a cable subscriber. For packages that cost more than 100, 120, 150 bucks a month, it makes more economic sense to head down to the local pub to catch the game for the cost of a drink or maybe just not watch at all.
MASN, however, could help us. A direct-to-consumer product is long overdue — it should be one of the first priorities when David Rubenstein’s group takes over the network.
One striking thing about moving back to Maryland last year was how few options there are to get MASN, which exists largely on traditional providers. No, there’s no direct-to-consumer service, but also, you cannot get MASN on YouTube TV, Hulu or Sling, for instance.
I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the complications of getting broadcasts on those platforms, but given how much dependence cable has on live sports — the purest source of the biggest ratings — shouldn’t the Orioles have more leverage at this point?
Really shortsighted move for both Comcast and MASN.
Younger adults don't want to purchase cable subscriptions. The business model needs to adapt to the new trends if they want to keep making a profit long-term.