Menu
What's new
By:
Filters
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

Pac 12 network / direct tv (PACN now on fuboTV streaming)

BuffsNYC said:
Meh. So the direct TV deal wasn't done. That's not what pisses me off. Satellite and cable are dying, why is Sling the only online provider that carries Pac 12 networks? Hulu, YouTube, PS, WTF?
Click to expand...

This is truer than I would like.

The past is past, opportunity was missed. Reality is that the PAC12 doesn't generate the kind of fervent demand that the SEC or the B1G have. College football is an interest to most PAC fans not a passion. Allbuffs members tend to be among the most passionate Buffs fans and how many here have posted that they selected Direct even though it doesn't carry PAC12N. Somehow I don't think that would be acceptable to Georgia fans or Wisconsin fans like it is here. The fans didn't force Direct and others to pick up the content.

Bigger though is the failure to recognize the future and jump on it.

PAC 12 is supposed to be the most technologically advance of the P5 conferences. What other conference matches the number of highly rated schools in the PAC. The tech center of the nation, even the world is located in the PAC footprint with the Silicon Valley. That center is loaded with grads from PAC schools like Stanford, Cal, even Colorado.

How is the conference not recognizing the move to the online distribution and not being out in the lead instead of trailing? These providers fit the PAC fans better than traditional distribution as PAC graduates are more likely to be early adopters and to be more geographically spread out lending their interest to these formats.
 
At a national level, people probably feel like they get to see all the Pac 12 games that matter to them. Most of the games that hold national interest are picked up by ESPN or the networks. So why should DirecTV give a damned about carrying the Pac Network? Frankly, the PAC Net rarely shows anything I feel compelled to watch other than CU football/basketball. I don't think I've tuned into them once during the "offseason."

Haha! As I typed that I just checked and they have last year's CU vs Utah game. And right as I turned it on, "Big Play Shay" dropped a long pass while all alone.
 
Last edited:
The market is moving so fast, it's hard to see where it will go. Anyone under 30 won't pay for cable tv let alone for a satellite dish for some antiquated 90's satellite dish company. The iPhone killed cable and the body is already cold. lt will take 10 years for that funeral procession to make its way to the end of the street.

The more disconcerting issues are related to how the Pac12 Net isn't on all the innovative streaming services. Frustrating.
 
rosstr said:
The market is moving so fast, it's hard to see where it will go. Anyone under 30 won't pay for cable tv let alone for a satellite dish for some antiquated 90's satellite dish company. The iPhone killed cable and the body is already cold. lt will take 10 years for that funeral procession to make its way to the end of the street.

The more disconcerting issues are related to how the Pac12 Net isn't on all the innovative streaming services. Frustrating.
Click to expand...
Almost every house in my neighborhood has a dish.
 
MiamiBuffs said:
The actual mistake was not partnering with ESPN.
Click to expand...
It was a mistake to not partner with a group that is bleeding money and laying off dozens of on-air talent? Wut?

DTV is a dying model, and espn is a floundering network. It's probably smart to keep the powder dry, but it's frustrating to see the lack of initiative to be on the cutting edge of the next platform.
 
sackman said:
It was a mistake to not partner with a group that is bleeding money and laying off dozens of on-air talent? Wut?

DTV is a dying model, and espn is a floundering network. It's probably smart to keep the powder dry, but it's frustrating to see the lack of initiative to be on the cutting edge of the next platform.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems the days of forcing your channel onto as many paying TV sets as possible are over. Nobody can predict the future, but it seems that we're headed for a completely a la carte system where customers will choose and pay for only the channels they want. That's going to cut back revenue for everbody (SEC network, B10 network, Longhorn network.) At first glance, it appears that, if this is the future, the Pac 12 will be behind some other conferences in network revenue. There are likely more SEC and B10 fans who will pony up for the network than Pac 12 fans. However, I can see the Pac 12 charging a higher rate per subscriber than those other networks.
 
BuffsNYC said:
Yeah, it seems the days of forcing your channel onto as many paying TV sets as possible are over. Nobody can predict the future, but it seems that we're headed for a completely a la carte system where customers will choose and pay for only the channels they want. That's going to cut back revenue for everbody (SEC network, B10 network, Longhorn network.) At first glance, it appears that, if this is the future, the Pac 12 will be behind some other conferences in network revenue. There are likely more SEC and B10 fans who will pony up for the network than Pac 12 fans. However, I can see the Pac 12 charging a higher rate per subscriber than those other networks.
Click to expand...
You know what would be cool? A college football a la carte system instead of these conference networks. Every game broadcasted, revenues are split per school, doesn't matter if it is a home game or not for which school. Just all games that aren't on the main channels funneled down into overflow channels for anyone that subscribes. I would think grouping all of these games together would be worth more than allowing people to subscribe to one and you could charge a higher amount for the entire country instead of just inside the footprint.
 
sackman said:
It was a mistake to not partner with a group that is bleeding money and laying off dozens of on-air talent? Wut?

DTV is a dying model, and espn is a floundering network. It's probably smart to keep the powder dry, but it's frustrating to see the lack of initiative to be on the cutting edge of the next platform.
Click to expand...

I agree with all that. Ive pointed out numerous times that the traditional model thats leading to paydays for SECn and B1Gn today likely have (but not for certain) a flawed future. It was smart for them to have bundled.

My criticism lies in the fact that had we partnered with one of those (Fox or ESPN) 10 years ago and been part of their bundles we'd be having similarly large paydays like them today. And also have that uncertain future as we whistle past the grave yard to cash our big checks (that were not getting) at the bank.

Keeping your powder dry is great if there is going to be a big payday. The problem is that this is something that was once a duopoly style market (choose dish or dtv. or choose evil cable). Duopoly has pricing power over its customers. Whats coming will not have that. It will be fractured with time and energy spent trying to steal each others customers.

rosstr said:
The more disconcerting issues are related to how the Pac12 Net isn't on all the innovative streaming services. Frustrating.
Click to expand...

Im starting to think we will never have the clout without a Fox or ESPN to get on some of these systems as we want to charge X because we have overhead of Y (thats diluted when Fox or ESPN bears the production costs).
 
The Ogre said:
The inability to get some sort of reasonable deal is getting old, and has to be costing the PAC fans. Hard to understand how it's still not solved.
Click to expand...

Alums and those steeped in a program and its conference from the time they were kids will always be fans. What you are not getting is the outsider looking for a game to watch. As well as the Heisman, AP, and other voters that cant tune in.

I dont think its hard to understand at all. We likely want too much money and or too much access. We (the Pac12N) likely want to be included in a standard package. They (the cable company) want us to be in an optional add on package (that few people sign up for). The SEC is on nationwide because they are non negotiably included with ESPN.

At the end of the day we are a regional network, just like the SEC N, that appeals mostly to those in our footprint. The further and futher you get away from our footprint the less and less alums there are that want to watch and will sign up at Big Cable or Sat. Those guys dont want to give up bandwith for something thats small. And then we also have 7 channels...
 
MiamiBuffs said:
Alums and those steeped in a program and its conference from the time they were kids will always be fans. What you are not getting is the outsider looking for a game to watch. As well as the Heisman, AP, and other voters that cant tune in.

I dont think its hard to understand at all. We likely want too much money and or too much access. We (the Pac12N) likely want to be included in a standard package. They (the cable company) want us to be in an optional add on package (that few people sign up for). The SEC is on nationwide because they are non negotiably included with ESPN.

At the end of the day we are a regional network, just like the SEC N, that appeals mostly to those in our footprint. The further and futher you get away from our footprint the less and less alums there are that want to watch and will sign up at Big Cable or Sat. Those guys dont want to give up bandwith for something thats small. And then we also have 7 channels...
Click to expand...

Entirely the issue for the PAC.

PAC schools have the loyalty of their alums and families. In SEC and B1G country the flagship university is a part of the culture for the alums but also for lots of people who couldn't find a college campus much less went to one.

You can look at raw population numbers but what really matters is how many of those people care enough to pay to have the games on their TV sets.
 
sackman said:
It was a mistake to not partner with a group that is bleeding money and laying off dozens of on-air talent? Wut?

DTV is a dying model, and espn is a floundering network. It's probably smart to keep the powder dry, but it's frustrating to see the lack of initiative to be on the cutting edge of the next platform.
Click to expand...

Netflix has been a big proponent of the concept of linear TV dying.

Not everyone believes that to be the case, believing that OTT and linear will be complementary, with both continuing to exist in some shape or form into the foreseeable future.

Satellite and cable aren't dying as quickly as Netflix would have you believe. The established cable and satellite services are adapting. The big players are hedging bets by investing in IP internet based TV while also improving the linear experience.
 
What is the one glaring difference between the negotiations that have taken place to get the Big 10 N, the SEC N, and the Pac 12 N on providers? The Big 10 N is co-owned by Fox, the SEC N is co-owned by ESPN, and Pac 12 N is owned by the Pac 12.

It looks like the Pac 12 vastly underestimated the importance of the leverage ESPN and Fox had in getting the other conference networks onto the established providers and the new OTT providers.
 
For a significant portion of the population the infrastructure to provide adequate bandwidth is just not there. Trying to stream a game while 4 other people in your house are trying to download music and watch netflix, all on a slow dsl line, is not in any way comparable to watching a game in HD on directv. I am not a technophobe in any way, but I don't think cable or directv are going anywhere for quite a while.
 
I'm ready to cut the cord. It's only the Pac12N keeping me with Dish. I also get the SEC Network, Longhorn Network and B1G Network. I live in the footprint of the B1G Network, but not in SEC or Texas territory. Are they on Dish nationally? I know B1G is an add on outside of the area.
 
Clean Undies said:
Netflix has been a big proponent of the concept of linear TV dying.

Not everyone believes that to be the case, believing that OTT and linear will be complementary, with both continuing to exist in some shape or form into the foreseeable future.

Satellite and cable aren't dying as quickly as Netflix would have you believe. The established cable and satellite services are adapting. The big players are hedging bets by investing in IP internet based TV while also improving the linear experience.
Click to expand...

But, all those companies controlled their company owned delivery pipeline. That was until the video streaming came along. Netflix quickly pivoted from a dvd mail service to a streaming service. Once the internet gets faster, and it will get faster, more and more players will appear leaving few with pricing power (except around monopolies). It also appears that those with eco systems will be the eventual winners. Amazon, Facebook, Apple (just announced the creation of their own content to attract users), SonyPS, XBox, Google ATT buy of DTV...

A day will also come when those satellites will fail and have to be replaced.
 
Wilner's interview with two Pac-12 Presidents today is sobering. The leaders of this conference are content with being an afterthought in college football.
 
buffgal said:
I'm ready to cut the cord. It's only the Pac12N keeping me with Dish. I also get the SEC Network, Longhorn Network and B1G Network. I live in the footprint of the B1G Network, but not in SEC or Texas territory. Are they on Dish nationally? I know B1G is an add on outside of the area.
Click to expand...

Of the ESPN channels all were nationwide including LHN on both Dish and DTV.

In May of 2017, DirecTV Now reduced the presence for the Longhorn Network from nationwide coverage to solely to the Big 12 territory (DirecTV's satellite service continues to carry LHN nationally). [14]

DTV Now is their streaming service like Sling
 
MiamiBuffs said:
But, all those companies controlled their company owned delivery pipeline. That was until the video streaming came along. Netflix quickly pivoted from a dvd mail service to a streaming service. Once the internet gets faster, and it will get faster, more and more players will appear leaving few with pricing power (except around monopolies). It also appears that those with eco systems will be the eventual winners. Amazon, Facebook, Apple (just announced the creation of their own content to attract users), SonyPS, XBox, Google ATT buy of DTV...

A day will also come when those satellites will fail and have to be replaced.
Click to expand...

You're glossing over the point that the NFL or ESPN or P12N control live content like sports. A faster internet does not mean sports economics will be devalued.

This is an intellectual property battle more than a distribution battle. Live sports will continue to command premium pricing for as long as sports salaries continue to grow.

Netflix subscribers who are not willing to cough up $30 or more for a single game PPV aren't going to get a live CFB game.

Sling charges $35 - which is the floor of what the market will bare
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Duff Man said:
Wilner's interview with two Pac-12 Presidents today is sobering. The leaders of this conference are content with being an afterthought in college football.
Click to expand...
This is the main reason I have changed my mind on whether I want UT in the conference. The Pac-12 needs a powerful voice in the room that matches up very well on academic achievements & focus but also emphasizes football & athletic revenue on a whole other level. UT would find some allies, but right now I think things are dominated by a different set of priorities (like exposure for water polo being as important as network revenue).
 
I end up watching CU games that are on regional networks online because Dish carries the Pac12N. I can no longer get the regionals without going to Sling. I don't want a hopper as I don't want another contract with Dish.

I would just like to buy an online package for all the Pac 12 games and be able to watch in real time. While they often play a repeat of games in the middle of the night, they are edited to 2 hours.
 
buffgal said:
I end up watching CU games that are on regional networks online because Dish carries the Pac12N. I can no longer get the regionals without going to Sling. I don't want a hopper as I don't want another contract with Dish.

I would just like to buy an online package for all the Pac 12 games and be able to watch in real time. While they often play a repeat of games in the middle of the night, they are edited to 2 hours.
Click to expand...
Yep. How nice would it be if there was one PACN, no regionals, it was available on all the platforms, and then live feeds with Pac-12 announcers for all games that didn't make PACN, ESPN/ABC or FS1/FOX were available through pac-12.com and a PACN app for a subscription fee? I'd be all over that.
 
That is what I would like. A kind AllBuffs member has let me use their login to watch games live which I truly appreciate.

Last weekend, I did convince my friend that she did not want to get DirectTV. They had stopped by her house and she did not know they didn't carry the Pac12N.
 
steph said:
For a significant portion of the population the infrastructure to provide adequate bandwidth is just not there. Trying to stream a game while 4 other people in your house are trying to download music and watch netflix, all on a slow dsl line, is not in any way comparable to watching a game in HD on directv. I am not a technophobe in any way, but I don't think cable or directv are going anywhere for quite a while.
Click to expand...
Once 5G and IOT is available to most people it will make it a better streaming experience you can just take it from you phone. 2022 timeframe. DBS still has a place mostly rural America but still dwindling sub numbers.
 
steph said:
For a significant portion of the population the infrastructure to provide adequate bandwidth is just not there. Trying to stream a game while 4 other people in your house are trying to download music and watch netflix, all on a slow dsl line, is not in any way comparable to watching a game in HD on directv. I am not a technophobe in any way, but I don't think cable or directv are going anywhere for quite a while.
Click to expand...
Well, sure. If people live like that it's a tech problem. Brings up the question of whether it's a desirable thing to have 4 people in the same house living such separate lives that they can't get together as a family on what they do for entertainment, but I digress.
 
Clean Undies said:
You're glossing over the point that the NFL or ESPN or P12N control live content like sports. A faster internet does not mean sports economics will be devalued.

This is an intellectual property battle more than a distribution battle. Live sports will continue to command premium pricing for as long as sports salaries continue to grow.

Netflix subscribers who are not willing to cough up $30 or more for a single game PPV aren't going to get a live CFB game.

Sling charges $35 - which is the floor of what the market will bare
Click to expand...

Someone will buy the rights and then use it as a loss leader to gain customers. See DirecTV, Black Friday, et al. The rights holder still gets what he wants. The middle man is another matter.
 
Buffnik said:
This is the main reason I have changed my mind on whether I want UT in the conference. The Pac-12 needs a powerful voice in the room that matches up very well on academic achievements & focus but also emphasizes football & athletic revenue on a whole other level. UT would find some allies, but right now I think things are dominated by a different set of priorities (like exposure for water polo being as important as network revenue).
Click to expand...

Thats nice. Lets fully monetize the entire collegiate experience for some Six Sigma Growth Hacker magic that makes us NFL lite.
 
MiamiBuffs said:
Thats nice. Lets fully monetize the entire collegiate experience for some Six Sigma Growth Hacker magic that makes us NFL lite.
Click to expand...
It's not a question of whether the Pac-12 will sell out. It's a matter of how far. The decision to not be a western Ivy League was made 100 years ago. Now it's about whether we want to be stepping stone feeder programs for other P5 conferences that pay a lot more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top