Awful Announcing
"MLB responded by requesting an equity stake in any planned streaming service that featured MLB games, 'a new wrinkle that complicated matters too much to complete on time.'"
"We don’t have any customers calling us on RSNs today. ...We’re not interested in taxing our customers when they don’t watch the channels."
Distribution losses, including with Hulu+Live TV and YouTube TV, played a big role in this write-down.
Sinclair's purchase of the former Fox RSNs from Disney at a $10.6 billion valuation (with $9.6 billion exchanged) had some merit at the time, but those RSNs are facing some dire challenges now.
As per Kevin Kinkead of Crossing Broad, "the NBC Sports Regional Networks are completely doing away with sideline reporters at the end of the season."
On the day of the Cubs' first regular-season game of 2020, Comcast customers in Chicago are finally able to watch Marquee Sports Network.
Not hitting the minimum number of games promised to RSNs could lead to further issues for both teams and those RSNs.
Many YouTube TV subscribers who used to get particular Fox RSNs now don't get those networks under the new Sinclair-YouTube TV deal.
AT&T reportedly received bids of around $500 million rather than the $1 billion they were looking for, and now may not sell the RSNs after all.
After a temporary extension Sunday, the Fox RSNs have now gone dark on Dish and Sling TV. And the sides don't seem close to a deal.
The agreement between the sides expired Sunday, but they've worked out a temporary deal. Will a longer one follow?
Sinclair could possibly add even more RSNs, but these ones might make sense for Comcast as well.
This may help alleviate some of the immediate worries about the RSNs' future carriage under Sinclair.
Many investors are happy with Sinclair's purchase of the RSNs, but distributors are concerned about the negotiations ahead.
Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson expects the Fox RSNs to lose 50 to 75 percent of their distribution in the next couple of years. "It's really hard to see any good outcome for a RSN."
It looks like the 21 former Fox RSNs still out there are in fact heading to Sinclair, with an announcement expected Friday.
It looks like the 21 remaining former Fox RSNs have been sold to Sinclair, which only reportedly reemerged as a bidder earlier this month.
Liberty and MLB have reportedly combined their bids, and Sinclair's now bidding again. The BIG3 bid is also there.
While 15 of the 28 RSNs considered in a Sports Business Journal analysis are up from last year, there's still an average audience drop thanks to some big losses.
As one bidder enters, two others apparently leave.
"Apollo's talks with James' multimedia platform have focused on a strategic partnership deal that could see James contributing and advising on content for the networks."
This is a pairing we did not expect to see involved in the bidding for the Fox RSNs.
Meet the new Fox, same as the old Fox?
There are a whole lot of bidders in the mix for these regional sports networks.
Comcast and Disney have said they would be willing to sell Fox's regional sports networks.
