HULU vs. Fox Regional Sports

[ChrisLong]

HULU and Fox Regional Sports apparently cannot agree on a contract and the streaming service will drop the regional networks. I received an email about this a couple of days ago, but trashed it without looking because I thought it was advertising. Found the email in my TRASH folder and, indeed, this is the case.

Is it a ruse, a negotiating ploy, anybody know?

If I can't watch Angels and Ducks, there is no reason to keep HULU. I already can't get Dodgers, Lakers and Pac-12, but I can live without them.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

The Fox Regionals have been off Dish Network for over a year. The Dish messaging now sounds like they aren't even negotiating anymore, and the channels won't ever be coming back.

 

[tapintoamerica]

HULU and Fox Regional Sports apparently cannot agree on a contract and the streaming service will drop the regional networks. I received an email about this a couple of days ago, but trashed it without looking because I thought it was advertising. Found the email in my TRASH folder and, indeed, this is the case.

Is it a ruse, a negotiating ploy, anybody know?

If I can't watch Angels and Ducks, there is no reason to keep HULU. I already can't get Dodgers, Lakers and Pac-12, but I can live without them.

This just amazes me. The second-largest market in the country has several local sports teams that locals can't see. How does this happen?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

They’ve been off YouTubeTV since the end of baseball season. No idea when they’ll return.

 

[sgreenwell]

My suspicion would be that Hulu's "push" into this area wasn't especially fruitful. Like, we have Hulu, but it's mostly for access to television shows and movies. Having access to regional sports on there almost seems too niche to be worth big money on their part. If they're going to pay out the nose for something, I imagine it's going to be NFL football. (Also - Couldn't Fox just establish their own streaming option at this point? They sold off all of their entertainment IP to Disney, but bundling up their sports content and *ugh* Fox News and selling it for $5 to $10 a month seems doable.)

 

[Driftwood]

Hulu is my only TV provider. I dropped cable more than a year ago. I pay for the Hulu live, and the regional network was a bit of the appeal, I guess.
I got the email yesterday that it was being dropped today. The main thing we watched on it was Braves baseball. It likely won't even be noticed until April.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Sinclair just bought all the regional sports networks just in time for the pandemic. I suspect Sinclair insists their programming is worth more than Dish, Hulu or YouTube TV are willing to pay.

Couldn't happen to a nicer company. I hope Sinclair takes an absolute beating financially.

 

[apeman33]

Sinclair had the most worthless things during the early part of the pandemic: Regional Sports Nets with no programming. And when sports came back, I don't think most people missed the RSNs enough to make them worth worth anything.

They're also not ESPN, NBC or Fox. What other cable networks does Sinclair own that they could use as leverage?

FSN Kansas City exists to carry they Royals and once carried pre-conference Kansas State basketball (I don't know if it still does). I don't watch enough baseball to get upset about missing Royals games and I don't follow K-State basketball. They have nothing else of interest to me.

 

[Della9250]

Sinclair had the most worthless things during the early part of the pandemic: Regional Sports Nets with no programming. And when sports came back, I don't think most people missed the RSNs enough to make them worth worth anything.

They're also not ESPN, NBC or Fox. What other cable networks does Sinclair own that they could use as leverage?

FSN Kansas City exists to carry they Royals and once carried pre-conference Kansas State basketball (I don't know if it still does). I don't watch enough baseball to get upset about missing Royals games and I don't follow K-State basketball. They have nothing else of interest to me.

Of course the flip side to that is Fox Sports Southwest carries the Rangers, Mavericks and Stars -- so you lose a lot with that one in North Texas.

 

[maumann]

I haven't seen any information on new negotiations between Sinclair and Hulu. Both sides are pretty entrenched and I'm not sure how they'll compromise. Perhaps Hulu will eventually offer the RSNs as an add-on, like they do with Showtime, HBO, etc. I can't see them giving in and raising the basic monthly charge for something that doesn't move the needle for a general audience, even if they can monetize the ads.

Hulu is in a tricky spot. They're trying to stick to a price point that keeps them competitive with YouTube but doesn't get them undercut by other streaming providers. While more people are cord cutting, the pie is getting sliced thinner and thinner.

On the other hand, Sinclair paid a ton of money for the RSNs and obviously wants to recoup that investment.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Is Sinclair just stiffing the streaming providers? How are its negotiations with cable companies going?

 

[Danwriter]

This just amazes me. The second-largest market in the country has several local sports teams that locals can't see. How does this happen?

Because sports is a chip in the much, much larger media game.

 

[ChrisLong]

I've told the family not to panic because this is undoubtedly a negotiating ploy. The sides could sign a new deal tomorrow. But we already sacrificed NHL Network, NFL Network, MLB Network, NBA Network and maybe others for the past year. I watched those channels a year ago.

 

[maumann]

I paid $125 per the past three seasons to watch the Tigers lose 100 games on MLB. I refused to renew back last January. Smartest decision ever.

 

[baddecision]

I've told the family not to panic because this is undoubtedly a negotiating ploy.

I don't think it's a ploy. Sling lost my Fox Regional last July, so I quit Sling for YouTube TV. YouTube jacked its price up by 30 percent over the summer, and then announced 1 day before that they were losing the Fox Sports regional. So today is my last day with YouTube TV. I was going to switch to Hulu but then this happened. So I will go back to Sling for $45 vs. $65 for YouTube TV and I'll just catch the Bucks and Brewers in the office when I can.

I can't see how Sinclair thinks it's a good idea to ask for so much from the streaming services that they wind up getting zero. How do you dig out of a financial hole that way, going from a buck a subscriber or whatever to zero, while production costs at least stay the same? If they have in mind a different play (a separate service, etc.), they'd have spilled the beans by now. I mean, it's been more than a year since they left Sling.

The high school tournaments all are carried by the Fox Sports regional. I'm going to let the association know they should consider a different outlet, so that people can see them. I sure as hell will not get cable service just for a Fox regional.

 

[HanSenSE]

Just take a look at how long it took the Pac 12 Network to get on DirecTV. Or many greater LA cable systems to sign on with the Dodgers' network. That's how crazy and how protracted these things can be.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Just take a look at how long it took the Pac 12 Network to get on DirecTV. Or many greater LA cable systems to sign on with the Dodgers' network. That's how crazy and how protracted these things can be.

The Pac 12 Network never did get on DirecTV. I suspect it’ll go out of business before they ever reach a deal.

 

[maumann]

I got an email last night saying Hulu's raising monthly charge for standard service by another $10, up to $65 a month. Without adding any additional benefits.

So question to the collective: Any better alternatives for the same value? SlingTV is cheaper, but we're nowhere close to Atlanta to use an antenna to pick up the local stations.

You Tube? Fubo? It needs to work on a Roku stick. This may be a situation where I have to bend over and say, "Thank you, sir, may I have another!"

 

[ChrisLong]

The email I got said the price is going from $60.99 to $70.99. Yep, no added services. We are biding time right now, because if there are no Ducks and Angels, the Hulu service is worthless to us.

 

[maumann]

The email I got said the price is going from $60.99 to $70.99. Yep, no added services. We are biding time right now, because if there are no Ducks and Angels, the Hulu service is worthless to us.

Agreed. We don't stream $65-70 worth of TV a month. So I may put it on "vacation mode" for the months I don't care about, and use that money to determine if I want to re-up for MLB or NBC Gold. I can sit and watch Pluto or CBS All Access or YouTube videos if I'm bored.

Basically, the streaming services are just repeating the cable/DirecTV/Dish model.