NESN for $30 a Month? No Thanks

NESN, the regional sports network that carries the Boston Red Sox and Bruins, launched an app NESN 360 that allows subscribers access to the network and it's libraries and other exclusive content for $29.99 per month.

At first blush the product seems way over-priced. That's about triple what NESN charges the cable operators to carry the network. But perhaps that's the point. Perhaps the initial price had to be high enough that the cable operators did not feel threatened. In the age of cord cutting - live sports, like Red Sox and Bruins games, are the one last advantage to having a cable subscription.

It looks like the app is free (or minimal charge) to those who already have NESN through a cable operator. I'm guessing that one result of the new app will be NESN 360 passcode info will shortly be more shared in New England than Neftflix passcodes.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Perspective - the history (and scope) on pandemics through the ages

- Military wants to replace the Reaper drone. It went from the Predator drone to the Reaper drone but if the next drone is named the Terminator drone then I might be a bit queasy.

- Heh Heh

- The dirty secret of coaxial cable broadband

- I've said it before - Randy Quaid is a guilty pleasure

- Wait - Franz Kafka was a workout nut? Who knew?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - Congress mandates cable TV pricing disclosures. Good first step towards full transparency of what subscribers are actually paying for.

- Very Cool

- Definitely going to hell for laughing at this

- US Coast Guard says Ryuk ransomware took down maritime facility. HT Stephen Landry

- Concussion lawsuit against Pop Warner Football is dismissed

- Star Wars humor

- How to live a creative life

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- First Principles: Building blocks of true knowledge

- The Iron Price

- Heh heh - astronaut accidentally calls 911 from space

- Channels starting to get cut as cable TV struggles against dropping revenue

- Holy shit! How about no thank you!

- Russ Roberts on economic alarmists. I'm a big Russ Roberts fan.

- Heh Heh

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The only thing keeping cable TV alive is expensive Internet packages

- Heh heh

- Terry Pratchett's Discworld finally being made into a TV series

- Funny because it's true!

- Stem cell treatment drastically reduces drinking in alcoholic rats. Mesenchymal stem cells seem to be the super answer to many human maladies (including potentially aging)

- These 12 questions deserve answers. But I'm not holding my breath.

- Heh heh

Brave New Streaming World

The first cracks in the traditional cable model was when HBO decided to offer a streaming only platform called HBO Go. It then followed that up with HBO Now for people who aren't connected to a cable company. The cableco umbilical cord was cut and suddenly people getting HBO Go, Netflix and YouTube (substitute Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus to mix and match a package that's right for you) had plenty of content and no desire to continue with a $100+ cable bill. Cutting the Cord suddenly became cutting edge and fashionable.

Then came the "skinny" packages. Sling TV starts with 30 channels for just $20 per month. DirecTV Now offers 60+ channels for $35 per month and they just signed up over 1 million subscribers making them the 3rd largest OTT (over the top) streaming service behind Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. But that too is just the beginning because even in 30 channel packages and especially in 60 channel packages there will be channels a subscriber won't watch and will chaff at paying for.

For example - if I'm a liberal I might not particularly like the fact that I have to subsidize Fox News. Conversely a conservative may feel the same about MSNBC or even CNN. Further levels of choice will be demanded.

Which brings me to this interesting case - Wave Broadband vs Comcast's NBC Sports Network. The case basically questions Comcast's "packaging" requirements and a Wave Broadband win may open the door for further a la carte content choices. Wave actually has very little to lose as they already charge their subscriber just the content costs as a pass-through. Wave's business is really in providing the broadband pipe.

We live in interest content times and the times are a changing.