Q. The NBA is starting and I can’t watch the (Phoenix) Suns because I have the live Hulu and they got rid of the Fox sports channel that carries them. Is there any chance they will come back before many games are played? — Teresa, Mesa, Arizona.
Teresa, Hulu in late October lost the 21 Fox-named regional sports networks, Marquee Sports and Yes Network when it could not reach a new carriage agreement with their owner, Sinclair Broadcasting. The blackout came after YouTube TV lost the channels in September in a separate fee fight with Sinclair. (You can see the complete list of channels below.)
In addition, live streamers FuboTV and Sling TV lost the channels previously this year. The only live streaming service that now carries them is AT&T TV Now (and its sister service, AT&T TV.)
This NBA’s return this week has many customers, and industry analysts, wondering if the channels will return to the four live streaming services. The Sinclair RSNs have the rights to NBA, NHL and MLB games in their respective regions. For instance, Fox Sports Sun tonight will air the Miami Heat-Orlando Magic game in Florida. If you have Sling, Fubo, YouTube TV or Hulu Live, you won’t be able to watch it.
But for the live streaming services, it’s not as easy as flipping a switch and bringing back the channels now when sports fans arguably want them the most. Pay TV operators, including streamers, are aggressively cutting programming costs to offset the loss of subscriber revenue due to cord-cutting. In addition, programming acquisition costs continue to rise, creating more pressure on the operators to reduce spending. The RSN, which is largely a niche offering for sports fans, has become collateral damage.
Dish has also jettisoned regional sports channels, saying their carriage fees far exceed viewer interest. However, most large satellite and cable operators are still carrying them, allowing companies like Sinclair to continue for now.
But for Sinclair’s RSNs to thrive, not just survive, they will need the live streaming audience as well. And the hope of many live streaming subscribers, and Sinclair, is that Hulu, YouTube TV, and perhaps Fubo and Sling, will agree to carry them now with the NBA underway and the NHL scheduled to drop puck on January 13.
I said here in October that the four streamers would stay on the sidelines when the NBA and NHL seasons began. And I’m going to stay with that prediction. The live streaming services operate on thin profit margins. Because their subscription fees are less than cable or satellite, they have even greater motivation to limit their programming acquisition costs. If they pay too much for programming, they will begin to lose money. And while we don’t know exactly how much Sinclair is charging them, it’s more than the average niche channel.
Plus, there is less pressure now to carry them because most of their live streaming rivals don’t carry them. Hulu, for instance, doesn’t have to fear that a sports fan will switch to YouTube TV because the latter doesn’t have the Sinclair RSN, either. Nor does Fubo or Sling. It’s called strength in numbers.
I think it’s more likely you’ll see some deals later in 2021 when the NHL is playing and/or we get closer to the start of the 2021 MLB season in April. By waiting until then, the streamers can save a little extra in programming fees.
That said, if there is a Sinclair deal this week, I suspect it’s most likely to come from Fubo TV. The service has deeper pockets now thanks to a public offering of its stock, and it has emphasized sports since its launch in 2015. It’s quite possible that it will display its new found wealth by bringing back the Sinclair channels.
Last note: The four streamers have been tight-lipped about whether they will sign a new deal with Sinclair, offering pat statements on social media sites that they are hopeful of deal at some point. The TV Answer Man will continue to monitor this situation, and report back here if and when anything changes.
Teresa, hope that makes sense. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
Editor’s Note: The Sinclair RSNs are as listed:
FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Ohio, Sports Time Ohio, FOX Sports Detroit, FOX Sports Wisconsin, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Tennessee, FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports Southeast, FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Sun, FOX Sports New Orleans, FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports San Diego, Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Prime Ticket, YES Network, and Marquee.
I read that Sinclair recently made a deal with Bally’s and is renaming the RSN networks Bally Sports Network. Also read they’re going to offer them as a stand alone service, which would be great! Have you any details about this?
@Michael Weathers,
Yes, I read that, too. But the standalone Ballys App isn’t expected until baseball season, which is near the end of the basketball season. Need something sooner.
Michael is right.
ALL Sports Channels and EVERYONE would benefit
if they are offered in a SEPARATE Package
That plan would also Stop
so much Cord Cutting for NON sports fans
No, there aren’t enough sports fanatics to support a separate local sports tier. The RSN’s make their money on the captive subscribers. Back in the 1990’s, here in Ohio, the local cable system tried to sell a Cleveland Indians channel for $2.99 a month. It sold so poorly that the channel owner pulled it and wouldn’t offer it again unless the cable company put it on basic cable and charged all the subscribers. Unfortunately, the cable company relented and all our bills went up. I’m an unashamed cord cutter and am buoyed by the streaming trend towards ala cart TV.
Just get mlb and or nba networks and use a vpn. Nord offers a obfuscated dns address for those with rokus so no local blackouts.
I’ve been thinking of doing this, however the apps use GPS, how do you do it? I was thinking of setting up a router to use my Nord vpn but haven’t tried it yet.
@ Andrew,
The VPN disguises one’s location, tricking the tracking from recognizing one’s local market, thus circumventing the blackout one would otherwise encounter.
Hi Chris, I know what a VPN does what I’m wondering is how to use it on roku. I’ve not been able to find a way other than cast my laptop to the TV. I know routers can be configured for vpns but I haven’t tried that yet as my shit Verizon router does not have a VPN client
How do you vpn a roku TV? I know how to vpn my laptop…. but what about a roku TV? What are the steps to accomplishing this???
Just stream the games for free from a pirated source. Screw Sinclair and their aggressive negotiations. They are easy to find.
I hope they sign soon, this is crazy… I want my NBA… My concern is streaming is trying get prices close to cable prices and that’s a problem…it is the reason people left cable.
Ceecee, you just contradicted yourself in one post. You want Sinclair to sign with your streaming provider and say it’s crazy without it while complaining that the streaming rates keep rising. HELLO! That is why the streamers dumped Sinclair – to keep the price down. Otherwise, the streaming fees will be back up there with cable, like AT&T TV Now.
Sinclair needs to get it together. Do they want viewers or not?
Sinclair should be investigated for anti-trust violations.
For those people in this discussion solely faulting Sinclair for the discord, referencing how Hulu and Sling also dropped Sinclair, regardless of where the hangup is, if we’re paying higher prices to accommodate pricey local sports packages and then those sports packages are dropped while our pricing stays the same, then who’s doing the gouging? People are missing the forest through the trees.
I’m a YouTube TV subscriber and love the service. But YouTube TV’s price has jumped 62.5%. When it launched three years ago, it cost $35 per month. Sinclair makes compelling points. It’s unfair to overcharge us for the cost of reselling RSN sports programming after the channels have been dropped and replaced with low value content which few want.
https://getmyhometeams.com/
Also, given that Sinclair is publicly making it known that YouTube TV dropped them (Fox Sports Regional Network) while also raising their prices and added stations of little value and offering zero credit for the loss of the Sinclair sports fee, which are all very valid points, it appears that Sinclair and YouTube TV (Google) aren’t likely to be working things out soon.
Google was certain that Sinclair would be forced to comply to their pricing because Comcast and AT&T would also be dropping Sinclair, as did Hulu and Sling previously, and thus offer Sinclair’s sports package no other outlets. But both Comcast and AT&T signed multi-year extensions over the last two years. Predictably, Sinclair is promoting Comcast and especially AT&T Now for viewing local Fox Sports coverage.
I really like YouTube TV’s format, but I will not sacrifice not seeing regular Heat games long term. Maybe T-Mobile TVision will add RSN.
https://venturebeat.com/2020/07/03/probeat-rip-youtube-tv-price-pandemic/
Chris
Do not want to hear from an ATT employee on this matter. Sinclair is forcing subscribers back to ATT to be able to get these RSNs in my opinion. Good day sir.
Mr. Keskeny,
You could stand to brush up on your reading comprehension. You’re getting Oliver Stone here because of that. I’m a YouTube TV subscriber. I’ve never had any services or ties with AT&T and on a personal (political) level, I’m not at all favorable with Sinclair. I’m merely stating the facts.
If I’m paying YTTV to cover RSN costs from Sinclair and then they drop Sinclair over cost disputes, fine, but then I should be credited the difference. Instead they throw in budget channels no one watches and continue to raise rates despite losing the RSN. Being opposed to that is just using one’s head and not being a fool.
@ The Dude and Sports Fan:
I’d pay you a fee for a tutorial towards getting that done.
@ Andrew,
You’ll need a VPN client router. I’m not the foremost expert, but didn’t Verizon offer a “Safe WiFi” VPN which hid IP addresses? I just did a search on how to configure or, if you prefer, if your router is leased, turn it in and purchase a top model which make it a breeze. Here’s what I’m sure of, it can be done. I myself sought a tutorial, but I found that online. My biggest hurdle is bearing the cost of the League-Pass itself. Might as well just get AT&T Now streaming service. Total cost far less. Or I can wait for YTTV to restore or Tvision. Fox/Ballys is supposed to have standalone App, but not soon enough.
add sports time Ohio on hulu in brunswick