New ESPN/ACC Venture

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

ESPN is getting deeper into the streaming video action, and they are taking the ACC with them. Interesting developments. Certainly feels like the are on the forefront of this technology. So far, just for Apple TV and Roku, but I'll bet it goes deeper fast.

[nocilla]

ESPN is getting deeper into the streaming video action, and they are taking the ACC with them. Interesting developments. Certainly feels like the are on the forefront of this technology. So far, just for Apple TV and Roku, but I'll bet it goes deeper fast.

The main question is will everyone have access to this or just the same people who already have access to espn3/watchespn? My current internet provider does not offer access in the current format. Will that be the same if I bought a Roku/Apple tv or will these devices grant me access on their own? This would be huge if so, for me anyway.

[mattman91]

ESPN is getting deeper into the streaming video action, and they are taking the ACC with them. Interesting developments. Certainly feels like the are on the forefront of this technology. So far, just for Apple TV and Roku, but I'll bet it goes deeper fast.

Is this a small step towards me canceling my cable?

[gus]

Is this a small step towards me canceling my cable?

The article doesn't say this, but I do suspect this is laying the groundwork to begin bypassing the cable providers.

But as of right now, "the service [will only be] available to subscribers of affiliated pay-TV providers..."

Hopefully for cord cutters like me, they'll eventually open it up: I know I'd be willing to pay for the content.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Is this a small step towards me canceling my cable?

Probably not. The bulk of the WatchESPN capabilities are only available to pay TV subscribers (and only with providers that have signed a certain deal with Disney). I would imagine this would be behind the authentication wall too, but I could be wrong.

I got excited about this too at first, but it sounds like the ACC "channel" will just be another way to access games, clips, and replays already available elsewhere, albeit in a more curated fashion.

[Atlanta Duke]

The article doesn't say this, but I do suspect this is laying the groundwork to begin bypassing the cable providers.

But as of right now, "the service [will only be] available to subscribers of affiliated pay-TV providers..."

Hopefully for cord cutters like me, they'll eventually open it up: I know I'd be willing to pay for the content.

Cable fees are still the cash cow - that is why to get WatchESPN you need a cable subscription

The company, which generates about 40% of majority owner Walt Disney Co.'s operating profits, sees the app as a way to cash in on growing demand for online video. But with its TV offerings still lucrative, ESPN is walking a fine line, trying to avoid doing anything that might encourage customers to drop their pay-TV subscriptions.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...26781949947414

But everything is going digital eventually - Disney announced another deal with Apple earlier this week to sell its movies through the iTunes store

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/bu...pw&rref=movies

This venture makes even more sense if Disney sees the day cable programming is unbundled and subscribers who do not want to watch ESPN no longer subsidize those who do

The more than $6 billion in cable fees flowing annually to ESPN from almost 100 million homes is threatened as growing numbers of consumers cut ties with cable providers ...

The current $5.54 average monthly price for ESPN is more than four times the fee for the next most expensive national network. ...

Without revenue from bundles, Disney has argued, it would have to increase the monthly fee for viewers who want ESPN to about $15 a month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/sp...pagewanted=all

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

The article doesn't say this, but I do suspect this is laying the groundwork to begin bypassing the cable providers.

But as of right now, "the service [will only be] available to subscribers of affiliated pay-TV providers..."

Hopefully for cord cutters like me, they'll eventually open it up: I know I'd be willing to pay for the content.

This for me too. It doesn't appear that this most recent development gets us there, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm yearning for the day that I can get HBOGo and ESPN streaming to my Chromecast, but I don't have to deal with all the other crap.