Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, February 6th, 2024

A new sports-centric streamer is coming. And I have many questions.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, February 6th, 2024.

SOME PROGRAMMING NOTES
My original plan was to write about today's events at the TCAs and I'll try and include some of the highlights into tomorrow's newsletter. But the new proposed sports-centric streamer blew those plans out of the water, and I bailed out of the AMC Networks cocktail party early to reach out to a few people about the plan.

I did have a great talk with Jon Giegengack and Mark Loughney from Hub Research. There was a lot of great insight in the conversation and I'll have that interview transcribed in the next few days.

Before I left the AMC party, two people saw my name tag and stopped me. One woman told me she read my website and the newsletter and that I was "a badass." The second person told me they read my newsletter and said "You...aren't what I expected." Which I also prefer to think of as a compliment.

THERE'S A NEW SPORTS-CENTRIC STREAMER COMING IN THE FALL
ESPN, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday that they have reached an understanding on principal terms to form a new Joint Venture (JV) that would run a streamer that included sports rights and linear TV channels controlled by the three media companies.

The announcement is short on details (including price) but here is what we know based on the respective press releases and some conversations I had with company executives throughout the evening:

* Subscribers to this still-unnamed app would have access to the linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+. It is also going to include "content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports." The releases notably aren't super specific about what might be included (or not included) and I suspect this is still being negotiated with the various sports entities.

* Each entity would own one-third of the JV, have equal board representation and license their sports content to the joint venture on a non-exclusive basis.

* The service would have a new brand with an independent management team.

* I was told by several people that neither Paramount Global or NBC Universal were approached to be part of the proposed sports mini-bundle. Sources said the sports rights controlled by Paramount were seen as a more "problematic" negotiation in order to be included in the service. And NBC Universal has long said it will only license its channels and sports rights on an all-or-nothing basis.

And there are so many questions. Here are just a few of them:

* While no price has been released, because this service is essentially a limited vMVPD, it is not going to be able to offer a regular price that is a discount from what other rival vMVPD's can offer. It will be somewhat cheaper than rivals such as YouTube TV because it won't include networks from Paramount and NBCUniversal, Hallmark, A&E Networks and AMC. But given that it will include more sports programming than the typical vMVPD, it's hard to see how it can have a non-discounted price of less than $40 per month.

* What does this mean for the future of ESPN+ as a stand-alone app? And does this make a proposed standalone ESPN app less viable? Reporting today from CNBC includes this paragraph:

The launch of the product will not stop ESPN from offering a full direct-to-consumer streaming product, which Disney is still researching and remains on schedule to debut by 2025, according to a person familiar with the matter. ESPN has previously said it plans on releasing that product this year or next year.

But it's hard to imagine there is much of a business model for ESPN app that is cheaper, but includes only Disney-controlled media rights.

* What does this joint venture mean for the bottom lines of the three respective companies? One reason each of these three companies has been exploring streaming options is that a linear-first approach is increasingly difficult to justify economically. The answer is to either pay less for media rights or try and spread the costs across a number of platforms. And with rival streamers getting into the live sports market, the only option is to spread the costs. 

The problem is that if it is a joint venture, it means if this JV pulls subscribers from its parent services, it will be essentially a financial wash for the parent companies. It's not at all clear how a bundled "discount"  would work, especially given the limits on pricing for the individual channels.

* There should be a press moratorium on using the phrase "game changer" in relation to this idea. It's clear that there are still a number of unresolved issues to work out. And there is a not small chance that this could grab a lot of subscribers and also lose an immense amount of money for the joint venture. The new service would be considered a new "distribution partner" for the sports rights and would pay each of the three companies a licensing fee. Which would provide extra revenue to the parent companies. But it could also create a massive deficit for the the JV.

* Just how committed are some of the sports leagues to this venture? The NBA released a very passive-aggressive statement this evening about the idea and it sounds as if the league has questions:

While we look forward to learning more about this new venture, we’re encouraged by the opportunity to make premier sports content more accessible to fans who are not subscribers to the traditional cable or satellite bundle.

* According to sources, the plan has been structured in a way that essentially creates a sort of sports-centric subscription-based TV Everywhere app. The company will be prevented from creating original content or competing for future sports rights with the parent companies.

* Will the parent companies have access to subscriber data such as credit card info, email addresses and other identifiable customer data that can then be monetized separately by the three companies?

I have so many more questions. Especially when it comes to things like advertising. But this idea strikes me as something driven more by fear than anything else. Which is never a great approach to take when considering the launch of a new streaming service.

ODDS AND SODS
* Hallmark Drama is rebranding as Hallmark Family on Feb. 28, while Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will become Hallmark Mystery on March 6th.

* WE tv is set to premiere the reality series The Braxtons, which sounds as if its a lot like Braxton Family Values, which aired on the network for seven seasons from 2011 through 2020.

* Fox has renewed the Joel McHale-led comedy Animal Control for a third season. Season two of the series premieres on March 4th.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH:
* America In Black (BET)
* #CyberSleuths: The Idaho Murders (Paramount+)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH:
* Abbot Elementary Season Premiere (ABC)
* Assembled: The Making Of The Marvels (Disney+)
* Bad Education (BritBox)
* Black Is The New Black Series Premiere (BritBox)
* Expedition X (Discovery)
* 50/50 Flip Season Two Premiere (Hulu)
* Judge Steve Harvey Season Premiere (ABC)
* Love Never Lies (Poland)
* Luz: The Light Of The Heart Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Not Dead Yet Season Premiere (ABC)
* Raël: The Alien Prophet (Netflix)
* The Conners Season Premiere (ABC)
* Tournament Of Champions: The Qualifiers (Food)

SEE YOU THURSDAY!