And a big difference between this and the Dodgers situation is the Dodgers still got paid when most of their fans couldn’t watch. This is costing the team money. The fewer the viewers, the less they can charge for advertising.

Tinfoil hat time:

Could Reinsdorf be folding this into his Nashville plan? Skimpy cheap studio production, no working app, demands a sweetheart deal from Comcast that they have no interest in. 2026 rolls around and he tells the MLB owners that this market isn’t viable because the Cubs can build their own RSN but he can’t get broadcast rights. This network folds in a year or two and the Hawks and Bulls wind up on the same network as the Cubs?

17 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Tinfoil hat time:

Could Reinsdorf be folding this into his Nashville plan? Skimpy cheap studio production, no working app, demands a sweetheart deal from Comcast that they have no interest in. 2026 rolls around and he tells the MLB owners that this market isn’t viable because the Cubs can build their own RSN but he can’t get broadcast rights. This network folds in a year or two and the Hawks and Bulls wind up on the same network as the Cubs?

I mean, sure, anything is possible. But where is the RSN for the Sox down there? Fan Duel South? Good luck. Nashville is no farther towards a new stadium than Illinois is with the 78.  Occam’s razor says it’s more likely that incompetent org do incompetent thing.

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

Tinfoil hat time:

Could Reinsdorf be folding this into his Nashville plan? Skimpy cheap studio production, no working app, demands a sweetheart deal from Comcast that they have no interest in. 2026 rolls around and he tells the MLB owners that this market isn’t viable because the Cubs can build their own RSN but he can’t get broadcast rights. This network folds in a year or two and the Hawks and Bulls wind up on the same network as the Cubs?

Seems pretty destructive to the Hawks and Bulls for one team.  

13 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Seems pretty destructive to the Hawks and Bulls for one team.  

Reinsdorf wouldn’t care about the Hawks, and if his family is planning to sell the Bulls, how much does that matter?

Idk I feel like if I’m either Hulu TV or YouTube TV, I do what it takes to get a deal done. The other would lose a ton of subscribers.

34 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Reinsdorf wouldn’t care about the Hawks, and if his family is planning to sell the Bulls, how much does that matter?

Reducing the value of two pro teams you are in partnership with /also own to help another pro team move to another area is next level dumb.  I know you hate the guy like we all do but remove this layer of foil because you are smart enough to know how little sense it makes.  

11 hours ago, tray said:

Stop stalking my posts and mischaracterizing my opinions.

Mr Hate-reactor everyone!

39 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Idk I feel like if I’m either Hulu TV or YouTube TV, I do what it takes to get a deal done. The other would lose a ton of subscribers.

YTTV has zero interest in RSNs.  No chance this network ends up there.  

8 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I honestly wonder if any of you follow any other city or situation. The Dodgers, for example, couldn't be viewed by half the LA area for SIX years. Did you talk about how incompetent they are as business people?

First, you imply it's somehow the CHSN fault that Comcast would force them onto a tier more costly than marquee.

I'm so confused why people on this site are stanning for Comcast. CHSN has stated Comcast has not even reached out to them, and they refuse to offer them the tier marquee is in, for example, despite being flexible on $$'s.

In this case, Comcast can get fuked and calling the Bulls a fringe franchise is one of the dumbest things I've ever read here. The Bulls are worth more than the Cubs, pal. Basketball is the fastest growing sport globally as well.

I’m not your fucking “pal.”  Got get a other bucket.

8 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

I get what you are saying with the carriage contracts. But “soon” for their own app? They have known how this was going down for a long time. They should have anticipated they were going to have issues getting on platforms. The app should have been ready. They literally had years to work on this. I have DIRECTV so I have access without rabbit ears {except when it rains because DIRECTV doesn’t work in the rain), and their studio shows are high school productions. Uneven lighting, audio that sounds like they are in a tunnel. Unprepared is unprofessional.

Agreed 100% on the own app. They should have had this three years ago, let alone now.

16 minutes ago, Rusty said:

I’m not your fucking “pal.”  Got get an other bucket.

Ok, settle down there buddy.

17 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Ok, settle down there buddy.

I’m also not your buddy.

That's the thing. They haven't increased access to games. As of now, there are tons of people not able to watch.

8 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

https://www.abi.org/feed-item/dodgers-fans-to-judge-call-mccourt-out

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/742451-mlb-one-step-closer-to-forcing-the-sale-of-the-los-angeles-dodgers
 

First of all, it was a past Dodgers’ ownership group well before the current one…and it was about screwing over anyone in their path for the McCourts to afford to get divorced.

Those monies partially led to the financial behemoth that is the Dodgers today, going on 12 consecutive seasons in the playoffs and 11 NL West division titles.

Next, JR is getting how much money from this deal for the White Sox?

$2+ billion versus $50 million?  $75 million?  $100 million for the Bulls and Sox???  I might have more faith in Trump’s media SPAC returning a profit than this current Sox endeavor generating an advertising bonanza.

 

The Bulls might have the #1 attendance…but that’s still apparently not enough leverage.  Reinsdorf and the Blackhawks just assumed that Comcast would cave in to their demands.  And it’s not like anyone watching Marquee since the Cubs’ 2015-16 dynasty imploded believes that the Cubs’ own network has been hugely profitable.  They lost a lot of viewers not making the playoffs in 2023 and then basically making cosmetic changes other than Imanaga and bringing Bellinger back for a season, but those were rightly perceived as half-measures.

The other irony is that one of the few growth opportunities in sports is the WNBA (2024 revenues up $140 million, not counting the new broadcasting deal) and Reinsdorf screwed himself there as well by demonstrating absolutely zero interest in the Sky.

You're wrong about it being just mccourt but I don't wanna waste my time with a caufield post. 

Comcast are a bunch of clowns. 

49 minutes ago, Rusty said:

I’m not your fucking “pal.”  Got get a other bucket.

Obviously not, because if you were you'd probably be a little more educated on this stuff, champ.

45 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

You're wrong about it being just mccourt but I don't wanna waste my time with a caufield post. 

Comcast are a bunch of clowns. 

So basically the situations are nothing alike.

Got it.  Great refutation.

So basically cable companies are even worse than the likes of JR, Boyer and Schiffren.

That's pretty a pretty tough act to pull off...basically the worst cable company of all-time is the bar.

 

So we should blame MLB instead of the McCourts?

"MLB calculates that 34 percent of a team’s local revenue, after subtracting costs, is available for redistribution throughout the league. When the Dodgers were mired in bankruptcy last year, the league agreed to value the potential TV rights of any future deal at $84 million the first year, rising 4 percent every year thereafter. Over 25 years, that estimated TV rights revenue of $3.5 billion."

https://apnews.com/dodgers-secure-7b-tv-rights-deal-with-tw-cable-b4f6228e7358451eb4ca4dde50df9a4a

Except the Dodgers got something like $7 billion from Time Warner Cable...

Edited October 20, 20241 yr by caulfield12

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

So basically the situations are nothing alike.

Got it.  Great refutation.

So basically cable companies are even worse than the likes of JR, Boyer and Schiffren.

That's pretty a pretty tough act to pull off...basically the worst cable company of all-time is the bar.

 

So we should blame MLB instead of the McCourts?

"MLB calculates that 34 percent of a team’s local revenue, after subtracting costs, is available for redistribution throughout the league. When the Dodgers were mired in bankruptcy last year, the league agreed to value the potential TV rights of any future deal at $84 million the first year, rising 4 percent every year thereafter. Over 25 years, that estimated TV rights revenue of $3.5 billion."

https://apnews.com/dodgers-secure-7b-tv-rights-deal-with-tw-cable-b4f6228e7358451eb4ca4dde50df9a4a

Except the Dodgers got something like $7 billion from Time Warner Cable...

The problem here caufield is that the carriers are the problem, not the teams. You don't realize that UTILITIES that are subsidized significantly by the government and have a near impossible point of entry for competition, leading to a monopolistic market, should not be able to use their market control to bully businesses.

Thankfully with streaming and being able to go direct to consumer, this nonsense will only continue a little while longer before this pos get what they have coming to them.

11 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I honestly wonder if any of you follow any other city or situation. The Dodgers, for example, couldn't be viewed by half the LA area for SIX years. Did you talk about how incompetent they are as business people?

First, you imply it's somehow the CHSN fault that Comcast would force them onto a tier more costly than marquee.

I'm so confused why people on this site are stanning for Comcast. CHSN has stated Comcast has not even reached out to them, and they refuse to offer them the tier marquee is in, for example, despite being flexible on $$'s.

In this case, Comcast can get fuked and calling the Bulls a fringe franchise is one of the dumbest things I've ever read here. The Bulls are worth more than the Cubs, pal. Basketball is the fastest growing sport globally as well.

It's 100% about being pissed off at Jerry.  

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The problem here caufield is that the carriers are the problem, not the teams. You don't realize that UTILITIES that are subsidized significantly by the government and have a near impossible point of entry for competition, leading to a monopolistic market, should not be able to use their market control to bully businesses.

Thankfully with streaming and being able to go direct to consumer, this nonsense will only continue a little while longer before this pos get what they have coming to them.

Sure, but the cable industry has suffered from competition from direct streaming, Fubo, Netflix, Disney, all of the major networks, Paramount, YouTube, DirecTV, DISH Network, it's not like there aren't OTHER options now...not unlike the cable and phone companies having HAD the advantage on providing internet access after the original America Online "monopoly" was wiped out.  Not unlike the monopoly of ATT/MaBell over landline phone services twenty years or so ago.  Monopolies that are non-responsive to customer needs eventually will get innovated away, out of existence, essentially.

The current start-up costs in that (barriers to entry) in the cable industry would be prohibitively expensive as well.

Let's look at the opposite approach here in China...the government has subsidized the e-vehicle industry to the point where there are legitimately 200+ competing entities all innovating but running into brick walls trying to sell their cars "at a fair price" in US, Europe, Canada, through Mexico, etc.  What's the "fair advantage" a government can provide any industry where it isn't disadvantageous to the rest of the world...and despite the larger point that putting more e-vehicles on the road is a positive externality that will greatly benefit the rest of the world in not having to rely on Russia/Middle Eastern petroleum AND dealing with the negative impacts of catastrophic climate change.

 

In the end, you always end up with an oligopoly-like type situation in the end:  it could be the provision of cellular phone services, it could be food delivery apps (China is down to 2 major ones), it could be insurance providers or large scale competitors with Amazon/Wal-Mart or Uber vs. Didi (Chinese app) here.

Is the provisioning of cable services exactly the same as gas/water/lights-electricity...that are all basically government subsidized monopolies?

Well, not exactly...we're now into the area of societal needs vs. wants.  But it seems like the cable industry monopoly has basically come crashing to a halt in almost every major market due to consumer choices...

Edited October 21, 20241 yr by caulfield12

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's 100% about being pissed off at Jerry.  

There was always the sense that no matter what happened with ownership squabbles in LA...the Dodgers as a brand would always land on their feet and be fine.

The same is no longer the case for the Chicago White Sox as a viable enterprise under JR and his family.

A very large percentage of the population still has no idea how to operate apps and smart TV's. They use their cable box and that's what they're restricted too. 

And yes, exactly... just as I said. With streaming, thankfully these criminal enterprises and their reign is coming to an end but for many consumers, those things simply aren't an option.

“Criminal enterprises” hahahahahahahha.  Like Jerry totally didn’t extort taxpayers to fund GRF.  You’re gonna need a bigger bucket bro.

No one tell this clown that Comcast paid $3.4 billion in shareholder dividends and stock buybacks last quarter.  Their “reign is coming to an end” though.  They are doing better than ever.  Almost like they understand business better than the owner of the most futile team in MLB history.  

Edited October 21, 20241 yr by Rusty

32 minutes ago, Rusty said:

“Criminal enterprises” hahahahahahahha.  Like Jerry totally didn’t extort taxpayers to fund GRF.  You’re gonna need a bigger bucket bro.

No one tell this clown that Comcast paid $3.4 billion in shareholder dividends and stock buybacks last quarter.  Their “reign is coming to an end” though.  They are doing better than ever.  Almost like they understand business better than the owner of the most futile team in MLB history.  

Let's not forget baseball's anti-trust execution and Congressional umbrella...making baseball teams about as close to monopolies as one gets.

Yet despite all those built in advantages and subsidies from the state...the White Sox still can't even compete with KC Detroit Minnesota and KC.

How is that even possible?

It's not ALL because of competitive balance rules and picking 10th rather than first in 2025.  That's hogwash.

12 hours ago, Timmy U said:

I mean, sure, anything is possible. But where is the RSN for the Sox down there? Fan Duel South? Good luck. Nashville is no farther towards a new stadium than Illinois is with the 78.  Occam’s razor says it’s more likely that incompetent org do incompetent thing.

Its a perfect Hanlon's razor

Quote

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.