Comments on: Half of your cable bill is because of the cost of sports programming http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/ Baseball. Baseball. And then a bit more baseball. Sat, 18 May 2013 14:51:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: sparty0n http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406944 Tue, 04 Dec 2012 00:57:31 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406944 hansob,

You are correct. After seeing the the numbers, I conceed, you are correct. However, at some point the bubble has to burst. It’s just getting too expensive.

]]> By: davidpom50 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406848 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:18:26 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406848 Actually, a big part of the reason for the growth of reality TV is how cheap it is to produce. “You mean we don’t have to pay for writers or actors? Our biggest expense is a big ass house for everyone to live in? DONE!”

]]> By: juanhughjazz http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406772 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 20:47:44 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406772 that’s disappointing considering I watch 1 sports channel(FSD for hockey). I like baseball on the radio, and Lions football I can get on the antenna. I have to figure out how to watch AMC online.

]]> By: ezthinking http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406756 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 20:12:38 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406756 The other half goes toward Real Housewives, Survivor and Dancing with the Stars. At least sports shows you real life.

]]> By: gibbyfan http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406740 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:47:49 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406740 And dont forget to include players salary in that mix as well………..Your being gouged supports that too. I for one am surprised at the numbers Craig has come up with. If accurate, and given the straglehold the cable companies have, it woul dbe an outrage, especially for non sports fans.

]]> By: nightman13 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406724 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:26:50 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406724 When i read things like this, it makes me hate professional sports (I am counting college sports in there too since there are a ton of people making a ton of money off of those.) They gouge us for tickets, gouge us for merchandise, gouge us for parking, gouge us for PSLs, make us pay for their stadiums and then they drive up our television costs. All so a few dozen rich b-stard owners and bowl committees can make a ton of money that they don’t need.

]]> By: sportsdrenched http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406717 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:23:04 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406717 I will say the number of people I know that drop cable/sat and go with al-a-cart streaming options seems to be growing. Not sure if published industry numbers reflect that. But if I’m a cable/sat company I start finding a way to reach these people cause I know people 20 years younger than me aren’t going to pay for it when they move out of their parents house.

]]> By: hansob http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406659 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:29:14 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406659 They ABSOLUTELY need the cable companies. And not just for the infrastructure. They need someone to bundle their product in with other channels so that they can get non-sports fans’ money, too.

B10 Network is in 40M homes right now because of the 150 channel packages. Even at $1 a month (and I’ve seen higher numbers), they would be getting close to $500M a year. Now try to get anything close to that with a la carte subscriptions. No way 20M people would pay $25 a year for it. No way 10M would pay $50 a year for it. There’s no formula that gets them to $500M a year.

]]> By: natstowngreg http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406656 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:25:42 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406656 True. Probably adds $5 a month to my bill just for that.

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406649 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:20:47 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406649 Not to mention the sheer expense for makeup for his dome…

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406647 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:18:23 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406647 So they got rid of Joe Morgan when they needed to raise prices? NOW I get it…

]]> By: natstowngreg http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406642 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:15:53 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406642 Hmmm, if that’s the case, I need to rethink my cable service.

]]> By: Cris E http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406640 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:13:47 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406640 Free TV = no revenues = Buck and McCarver

They are a case FOR paying more.

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406636 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:10:09 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406636 Explain the existence of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

]]> By: 78mu http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406633 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:07:46 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406633 Quality costs money. Without those big fees we’d end up with people like Kruk analyzing baseball games.

Oh, wait!

]]> By: pinkfloydprism http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406632 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:06:34 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406632 Same here… we have a digital antenna, netflix and I buy the MLB package online (cheaper) and watch it on my PS3 with their app… full screen and awesome!

]]> By: 78mu http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406626 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:04:04 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406626 When ESPN first went after NFL games, they knew they could just pass the cost onto the cable providers who would then pass the cost onto subscribers. And as fees rose, they continued to pass on the costs.

The big question is what increase will be the one that bursts the bubble? Will the next round of NFL fees be too much for people to swallow. What about the new contracts for teams like the Angels? Americans love to watch their sports on tv but then I remember people saying you could never lose money buying a house.

]]> By: rmcd13 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406614 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:49:44 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406614 MLB Radio is super cheap, no blackouts, and I can listen to every single game around the country. No cable bill for me.

]]> By: Ben http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406611 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:46:56 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406611 Well that appears to be the plan–raise prices forever, because the cost of sports programming is nested in with the stuff people may actually want, which makes it somewhat inelastic, but mostly because consumers don’t have a choice.

]]> By: cardsfanindelaware http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406601 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:39:21 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406601 Where do you think the cable comes from?? Why it comes from the cable company, satellite company and fiber-optic companies.

For example, if you have Comcast and you have their Triple Play package and want to dump the tv and phone feeds cuz you can get them online, what happens to the internet portion of that bill??

It goes waaaaaay up. They will still get paid.

Satellite and fiber-optic have their hands in this just as much as “cable”.

]]> By: Jeremy Fox http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406586 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:24:13 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406586 Well, except that, as other commenters have noted, maybe you stop paying for cable entirely and get your entertainment some other way, whether that’s pirated online feeds or Netflix or whatever. Demand for cable may be fairly price-insensitive (I have no idea, really), but that doesn’t mean that supply and demand is just irrelevant or that prices can be raised forever with no effect on demand.

]]> By: Ben http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406582 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:19:04 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406582 Supply and demand have nothing to do with cable. Because it’s an all or nothing bundled service, you have no choice but to subsidize sports programming, even if all you want is AMC. If a la carte pricing were an option in the American TV market you could talk meaningfully about supply and demand, but we can’t. You also wouldn’t see these insane TV deals if ala carte pricing were an option, because consumers could choose the three or thirty channels they wanted.

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406571 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:09:53 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406571 FOX doesn’t provide a damn thing.

]]> By: Jeremy Fox http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406570 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:09:51 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406570 Wait, isn’t this like the claim that ticket prices are rising because player salaries are rising? Prices for anything are ultimately set by supply and demand for it, not by the costs of producing or providing it, right?

]]> By: historiophiliac http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406568 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:08:33 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406568 Ditto. No cable here. You can buy the games on mlb.com instead. Bonus: no Buck & McCarver. (And, I get to see my Tigers too then.)

]]> By: sparty0n http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406566 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:08:19 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406566 This just doesnt make any sense to me. First, how can ppl keep paying for cable? I dumped it a long time ago.

Second, when are the leagues going to realize THEY DONT NEED THE CABLE COMPANIES ANYMORE? SEC, BIGTEN, BIG12, NFL, NBA etc… could all go to a monthly subscriber based broadcast over the internet and cut out the cable company “middle-man”.

]]> By: chill1184 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406567 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:08:19 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406567 I don’t watch much TV but it seems that in recent years, reality television has become “Easy Mode” for television executives and producers.

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406563 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:06:24 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406563 Hey!!! Toddlers and Tiaras and Honey BooBoo have fans, too!!!!! God only knows why, but they do.

]]> By: chill1184 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406552 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:59:16 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406552 Not surprising, Sports among other things are reasons why some people even have cable/satellite/fiber optic at all.

]]> By: Utley's Hair http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/03/half-of-your-cable-bill-is-because-of-the-cost-of-sports-programming/comment-page-1/#comment-406540 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:46:01 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=269510#comment-406540 The first version of the title for this post was: “Half of your cable bill is to keep Craig Calcaterra making appearances on NBCSports”

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