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NBA Authorizes Teams To Launch Local Market Video Streaming

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Hello all....long time Moderator, first time regular user here....

 

In light of the Brighthouse-FSN situation, I thought you would all find this interesting. It's in this week's Sports Business Journal. I'll include the link below, but I believe you must have a subscription to see the content. I'll include the entire copy below...

 

quote:
The NBA is "poised to become the first major U.S. sports league to stream live games in local markets, an aggressive offering that will set up a showdown between cable operators" and RSNs, according to Lombardo & Ourand of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The league has authorized teams to launch video streaming, interactive TV and VOD services "by the start of the 2008-09 season." NBAE Exec VP/Business Affairs & General Counsel Bill Koenig: "We hope to have a model in place this season." Lombardo & Ourand note the service that is "certain to create the most waves is the streaming, which is one of the reasons why the league is negotiating on behalf of its 30 teams to cut live local deals." The plan "would allow viewers to watch live games online within their local market for the first time." The NBA will use "geo-blocking technology to ensure that people outside of a team's territory will not be able to access its games online to comply with the league's local marketing rules." The league's decision to "open its broadband rights creates a minefield of issues between local sports networks and their cable and satellite carriers." One RSN exec said, "I can tell you that we're going to push back. (Cable and satellite operators) will hate this concept." But FSN "hopes to be able to convince cable and satellite operators that streamed games will not hurt their core linear TV business." NBA execs indicated that they "don't know whether the games will be free or not, though the NBA will leave that decision to teams." NBA officials also are "uncertain whether the games will be hosted on the local team site, the RSN site, or both." Details of advertising "within the feeds and who sells that are also still to be worked out" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/18 issue).

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/123314

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Hello all....long time Moderator, first time regular user here....

 

In light of the Brighthouse-FSN situation, I thought you would all find this interesting. It's in this week's Sports Business Journal. I'll include the link below, but I believe you must have a subscription to see the content. I'll include the entire copy below...

 

quote:
The NBA is "poised to become the first major U.S. sports league to stream live games in local markets, an aggressive offering that will set up a showdown between cable operators" and RSNs, according to Lombardo & Ourand of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The league has authorized teams to launch video streaming, interactive TV and VOD services "by the start of the 2008-09 season." NBAE Exec VP/Business Affairs & General Counsel Bill Koenig: "We hope to have a model in place this season." Lombardo & Ourand note the service that is "certain to create the most waves is the streaming, which is one of the reasons why the league is negotiating on behalf of its 30 teams to cut live local deals." The plan "would allow viewers to watch live games online within their local market for the first time." The NBA will use "geo-blocking technology to ensure that people outside of a team's territory will not be able to access its games online to comply with the league's local marketing rules." The league's decision to "open its broadband rights creates a minefield of issues between local sports networks and their cable and satellite carriers." One RSN exec said, "I can tell you that we're going to push back. (Cable and satellite operators) will hate this concept." But FSN "hopes to be able to convince cable and satellite operators that streamed games will not hurt their core linear TV business." NBA execs indicated that they "don't know whether the games will be free or not, though the NBA will leave that decision to teams." NBA officials also are "uncertain whether the games will be hosted on the local team site, the RSN site, or both." Details of advertising "within the feeds and who sells that are also still to be worked out" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/18 issue).

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/123314

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This is great news. I love it. Now we can go around the Brighthous situation. I wonder how much it might cost. But still good to see something trying to get done.

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This would be awesome if they get it up and running for this season especially for those of us who are essentially stuck with BrightHose.

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quote:
Originally posted by Rob:

This is great news. I love it. Now we can go around the Brighthous situation. I wonder how much it might cost. But still good to see something trying to get done.

It would be just like the Magic to sign a deal with FSN to screw the local fans, then turn around and say that, "Well, you can watch the games we took away from you on the internet now, but we're going to have to charge you."

 

So, in essence, they are being paid by FSN to take the games away from us, then would be asking us to pay them so that we can watch what they've already been paid to take from us.

 

I can't wait to hear that spin.

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I wonder who this puts more pressure on to compromise, FSN or Brighthouse?

 

Either way this is a great move by the NBA and one that actually benefits the NBA fans (especially Magic fans).

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Hopefully this puts the pressure on Brighthouse, since that is their big bargaining chip against broadcasting FSN. If only the NFL network would stream those games then we might get some action on that front too.

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i don't think the nfl will ever do it, they only have a few dozen games, i heard somewhere that an nfl team could be playing to an emtpy house and still make their money, minimal operating costs wise, from television. i also heard that college football is the exact opposite, which is why you'll see a 120,000 plus stadium in college and not so much in the pros.

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