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+--- Thread: WGN No More? (/thread-2324.html)
WGN No More? - rok - 02-25-2020
If they can negotiate a deal with Comcast, then that line of reasoning is correct (for the near future). Longer term, and possibly even in the short-term if no deal is reached, it's terrible for local fans.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-25-2020
I'm not guaranteeing opening day, but this is going to get resolved (other than for Dish Network, which has basically adopted a policy of not paying for RSNs). There is the Dodgers situation, but that is an extreme because nobody in the Dodgers' example has a huge incentive to make the deal. The Dodgers' money is guaranteed regardless. They sold their rights to Spectrum (then Time Warner) which is the largest cable operator in the region. While obviously Spectrum would like the cash of selling the network to other providers, the counterpoint is that Spectrum ends up with effective exclusive rights to Dodgers games so that Spectrum can sell their cable service as the only ones in the area with access to Dodgers games. The other providers would obviously like the Dodgers games, but the counterpoint is that they can hurt a competitor by making the Dodgers' rights a big money-loser for Spectrum.
The same isn't the case with Marquee. Everyone has an incentive to make a deal. Yes, there's a sticking point of finding a price everyone can live with, and it's obviously a real one. But there's not the factors present in LA against getting a deal done.
WGN No More? - rok - 02-25-2020
I'm discouraged by the fact that Comcast held out on adding the Big Ten Network when it first launched for more than 1 year, and that was back in 2007 when the cord-cutting trend hadn't really taken hold yet. I know the Cubs are a much bigger local draw, but you also have the Comcast-owned NBC Sports Chicago relaunching without the Cubs (and marketing the team on the other side of town), and I'm sure there is some uneasiness from the perspective of Comcast, which already bumped up their RSN fees this year by $4/month to absorb another $5-6/month price hike.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-25-2020
For anyone who has T-Mobile, they will be offering MLB.TV for free again this year on March 24 only.
WGN No More? - funkster - 02-26-2020
Looks like they've reached a deal with Wow.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-26-2020
Excuse me, that's WOW!
WGN No More? - rok - 02-26-2020
So that covers 0.3% of the local market.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-26-2020
Quote:So that covers 0.3% of the local market.
WOW!
WGN No More? - jstraw - 02-26-2020
Sham WOW!
WGN No More? - rok - 02-27-2020
That would be a NO from YouTube TV.
https://twitter.com/youtubetv/status/1233086055525634048
WGN No More? - funkster - 02-27-2020
Really sucks. I have a shared account with a buddy, was hoping they'd hop on.
WGN No More? - rok - 02-27-2020
Yeah, was hoping they would come to an agreement. Looks like I'll be switching to Hulu once my Comcast contract expires in April.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-27-2020
For those unfamiliar, meet MLBStreams on Reddit.
WGN No More? - funkster - 02-27-2020
I always used when I couldn't find it on my various apps, but someone told me they had zapped reddit streams so I wasn't confident for the upcoming season.
WGN No More? - Kid - 02-27-2020
They've banned some subreddits for other sports, but not MLB yet. Unclear why. But even so, if you go on there now, you can find what sites are working and just save them for the season without even going to Reddit first.