BobcatAttack.com - For Fans of Ohio University Sports

Welcome Guest!
Create an Account

site search

where to watch

about us

advertise with us

help

BobcatAttack.com Message Board

Ohio Basketball

Topic: ESPN TV Deal

Topic: ESPN TV Deal

Author

Message

The Optimist
General User

Member Since: 3/16/2007
Location: CLE
Post Count: 5,552

Status: Offline

ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 11:29:04 AM

Based on what Arkley and others have tweeted, the TV deal is looking like it is for both football AND hoops.

For basketball, Arkley mentioned ESPN helping schools set up their stream which would be syndicated through ESPN3??

Sounds like our stream might finally be getting an upgrade??

I've seen crazier things happen.

Ryan Carey
Site Programmer

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Post Count: 948

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 4:04:42 PM

Perhaps, but I fear we'll still be stuck with 1 half asleep student forgetting to follow the action with the camera and a crappy upload line to get the video out of the convo and to ESPN's video provider.

Ryan M. Carey
BBA 2001

Scott Woods
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: On the banks of the Ohio, OH
Post Count: 226

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 4:15:47 PM

Ryan Carey wrote:

http://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/8/19/6045303/explaining-the-new-mac-espn-tv-deal

If I'm correctly understanding what I've been reading about this deal, we won't be streaming anything until we're able to broadcast games "at a level of quality ESPN requires."

Bryan Vance wrote:

ESPN now controls traditional and digital broadcast and digital distribution rights for the entire MAC.

Bryan Vance wrote:

The way Mather explained it to me, this does mean that ALL schools will be required to start streaming men's and women's basketball games through the service, almost immediately. Meaning, if they're going to be streaming MAC basketball games, they can't do it through their own service (many of which were free, including the MAC's own digital network) and will have to go through ESPN3

Last Edited: 8/19/2014 4:19:29 PM by Scott Woods

Religion morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge wisdom and love. So depart that daily thou mayest better serve thy fellowmen thy country and thy God.

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 5:28:00 PM

Again, no insider info, but based on trends I've seen announced for other smaller conferences, I would expect for a school/conference our size something like this being used: http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2013/12/big-west-builds-.../

Another example: http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2012/01/college-of-charl.../

I've actually seen most of the equipment mentioned in that Big West van, and the quality of broadcast you're able to get out of it for the price is incredible (obviously, operator skill plays a big part as well).

Ted Thompson
Administrator

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: MAC Play
Post Count: 7,398

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 6:02:28 PM

anorris wrote:

What is the price?

Follow Ohio Football recruiting on the BobcatAttack.com football recruiting database.

Pete Chouteau
General User

Member Since: 11/17/2004
Location: Nowinsky Country
Post Count: 1,611

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/19/2014 10:55:31 PM

I think it's safe to say that Ohio is well positioned to be one of those 3 or 4 first wave participants given previous growth in the working relationship with the WOUB media group.

Not to mention that there are allies of the athletic department holding high positions in the communications school.

perimeterpost
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Post Count: 3,165

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 12:04:30 AM

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

JSF
General User

Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,341

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 12:05:42 AM

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 2:49:02 AM

Ted Thompson wrote:

anorris wrote:

What is the price?

It is often difficult to get precise pricing on a lot of this stuff, because it's relatively low volume and typically sold more like a car than a typical product (one-to-one, actual sales price not disclosed publicly). This stuff that's more consumer isn't as bad, but still a bit tough. So keep in mind these are all a little fuzzy, but should be in the ballpark. Tried to provide reference where I could.

Ross Carbonite Switcher - $25,000-$30,000 (there are many models so it can vary tremendously - lower end model)
Ross XPression Graphics System - $6,000 (link is for software only - it has to run on something)
Newtek 3Play 425 - $12,000
Behringer X32 - $1,500
Panasonic HPX-370 (x3) - $7,200 each ($21,600)
Panasonic HPX-500 - $12,000 (just the body, you'd need a lens)

Sprinter Van - $40,000 (assuming this would be in one of the larger models)

You'll also need an IP transmission encoder (something like this), which I can't find any pricing on anywhere but would guess is in the ballpark of 5-10k, and obviously cable, installation, and various other odds and ends like comms and routing. Working in conjunction with the conference or ESPN itself, you might get some deals on some of the equipment by placing a larger order.

My rough ballpark based on all this would be in the range of $125-$150k out the door ready to produce shows. I believe the demo I saw was budgeted around $100,000, but I don't think that included a camera complement.

Panasonic HPX-370

ehringer X32

Last Edited: 8/20/2014 3:04:55 AM by anorris

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 2:54:30 AM

For what it is worth, I recognize "cheap" is relative - so for comparison, the video switcher alone commonly used in full control rooms and traditional trucks doing games and such would be significantly more than that entire build.

http://www.creativemac.com/article/Thomson/Grass-Valley-I...

Granted this is ten years old, but the Kalypso is what powers 6 control rooms in our original HD facility (the listed-at-$600,000 version, though I imagine that was negotiated). I believe the Kayenne we're using in the new DC2 would probably be pricier still - no pricing details in this release http://www.grassvalley.com/news/press/releases/view/1918-.... Our deal with Grass Valley for the original DC was listed at over $13 million Euro for switchers, core routing, and cameras. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Thomson+Inks+$13.1+Million+...

Again, all of the above is public info and I've tried to source as much as I could find. I have no knowledge of any negotiations, just educated guesses.

Last Edited: 8/20/2014 3:02:06 AM by anorris

Ted Thompson
Administrator

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: MAC Play
Post Count: 7,398

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 8:18:20 AM

Thanks, Alex. Was curious as to a ballpark estimate to build-out this capability. Is there a hindrance on the upload side?

Follow Ohio Football recruiting on the BobcatAttack.com football recruiting database.

C Money
General User

Member Since: 8/28/2010
Post Count: 3,420

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 9:48:53 AM

Has it ever been clarified whether you will still need ESPN3 access through your cable provider to stream through the MAC site?

OUVan
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Bethesda, MD
Post Count: 5,580

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 10:08:49 AM

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

Deciduous Forest Cat
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Ohio
Post Count: 4,306

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 11:06:40 AM

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 12:39:02 PM

Ted Thompson wrote:

Thanks, Alex. Was curious as to a ballpark estimate to build-out this capability. Is there a hindrance on the upload side?

It truly doesn't take all that much bandwidth to get a good solid picture out. This would be using dedicated hardware to encode and send, as opposed to the consumer PC we're using now. I'd also have to imagine ESPN would insist on some QoS for whatever path(s) we would patch into at various venues.

perimeterpost
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Post Count: 3,165

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 1:17:19 PM

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

that's the issue for me, I have Dish for TV and TWC for internet so I'm unable to get ESPN3 because TWC requires I get both TV and internet from them. Theoretically I could ask a family member who has both from TWC if I could just use their account info to access ESPN3 since they're not a sports fan and aren't using it, but of course I would never do that. *cough*cough*cough*

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 1:37:57 PM

perimeterpost wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

I'm curious to see if this might be about the only positive for customers if Comcast does swallow TWC. Comcast, and virtually every over ISP, doesn't link ESPN3 to any TV plan. Not sure how that would go with existing contracts and such when the company ceases to exist.

Ohio69
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 2,992

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 2:12:33 PM

anorris wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

Woah. I did not know this. So if I ditch my cable but keep internet via TWC there is no way to watch ESPN3?

Is ESPN3 and WatchESPN are the same thing, correct?

Last Edited: 8/20/2014 2:13:41 PM by Ohio69

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

Ted Thompson
Administrator

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: MAC Play
Post Count: 7,398

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 2:17:16 PM

Ohio69 wrote:

anorris wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

Woah. I did not know this. So if I ditch my cable but keep internet via TWC there is no way to watch ESPN3?

Is ESPN3 and WatchESPN are the same thing, correct?

Alex can probably explain it better than I, but ESPN3 and WatchESPN are not the same thing. I have AT&T for internet and I have access to ESPN3 but not WatchESPN.

Follow Ohio Football recruiting on the BobcatAttack.com football recruiting database.

shabamon
General User

Member Since: 11/17/2006
Location: Cincinnati
Post Count: 6,115

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 2:32:41 PM

Yeah... I thought if you had access to ESPN3, you also had access to WatchESPN. I have Cincinnati Bell Fioptics for cable and internet. My wife and I bought a Roku and I thought "sweet, I can watch all sorts of football and basketball on our 42'' TV". Nope. Cincinnati Bell supports ESPN3 but not WatchESPN. Thankfully my in-laws don't mind me knowing their TWC login and password.

Last Edited: 8/20/2014 2:33:07 PM by shabamon

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 3:05:59 PM

Okay, here goes:

WatchESPN is the name of the application and linear network streaming service. WatchESPN, the app, lets you watch live streams of the linear (traditional) cable networks you have access to, as verified through your television provider (I'm assuming here your television provider has contracted for WatchESPN - most major providers have now, save for DirecTV, who is currently negotiating, and whose carriage agreement expires at the end of 2014 - I expect, based on all the deals done in the last few years, their new contract would include the service).

So what you see for that piece of the service is predicated on what level of television service you have. Whatever you receive traditionally, you can stream through WatchESPN. With a recent update, that includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, the SEC Network, and Buzzer Beater/Goal Line.

ESPN3 is the continuation of the original streaming service ESPN360, and is sold similarly to cable networks (a price per month per subscriber), but it is sold to your ISP, not your television provider (I realize these are often the same company for many of you). In its early days, it contained a lot of simulcasts of games on linear networks, along with streams of out of market PPV games (those on GamePlan and such, like the MAC's regional package). More recently, with WatchESPN making linear simulcasts obsolete, ESPN3 has shifted towards much, much more exclusive content, as evidenced by the MAC's (and other conferences) recent rights deal. ESPN3 also is the service that offers replay of games after the fact, even from the linear networks.

The confusing thing is that ESPN3 is available in the WatchESPN app alongside everything else. So within the WatchESPN app, it is possible to have access to many of the linear networks (live only), but not to ESPN3-exclusive or on-demand content (if your cable/satellite provider is TWC or another offering WatchESPN, but your ISP doesn't offer ESPN3 - maybe a smaller DSL outfit or similar). It is also possible to have ESPN3 access without access to the live networks - if you have DirecTV paired with AT&T internet or similar, for example.

In almost every case, for ESPN3 service the only thing that matters is your ISP, and your TV deal doesn't play into it. The only exception I am aware of is Time Warner Cable, which offers ESPN3 to broadband subscribers who have ESPN in their video package (source). Obviously, they're using it as an enticement to bundle.

----

Hope that novels helps to clarify. Here are a couple examples that may also help:

I am a Comcast customer with high speed internet, and only a very basic cable package (makes the internet cheaper). I do not get ESPN on cable TV. Without logging into my corporate account, I am able to use ESPN3, but none of the other services.

A customer with Time Warner high speed internet and Dish Network would have access to live WatchESPN linear networks via Dish, but not ESPN3, as TWC requires their cable bundle to get that.

A customer with Time Warner high speed internet and DirecTV, for now, would get nothing. DirecTV doesn't yet support WatchESPN, and as above, TWC requires cable for ESPN3.

If you have a Time Warner bundle, you have access to everything on ESPN3, and all the linear networks in your TV package.

If you have TV through Dish Network and internet through AT&T or similar, you have access to everything on ESPN3, and all the linear networks in your TV package.

Ohio69
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 2,992

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 4:27:52 PM

anorris wrote:

Wow. Thanks. One last scenario if you don't mind. What if you have Time Warner high speed internet only?

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,913

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 4:31:19 PM

anorris wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

OUVan wrote:

JSF wrote:

perimeterpost wrote:

the good news is we will be forced to upgrade the quality of our video feed in the Convo. The bad news is it is no longer free to the public, the only way to access it will be through ESPN3.

ESPN3's coverage is pretty good at this point.

I agree. If this means a consistently good feed for all games then I think this is a great development. The stream of ESPN3 events to my big screen TV is consistently good.

It's not a great development when you don't have access to ESPN3, even though ESPN continues to hold cable and satellite providers hostage by demanding a huge ransom to carry their stations.

If they do swallow TWC, what are the chances they reverse their policy and actually do start linking their ISP with ESPN3?

anorris
General User

Member Since: 7/6/2010
Location: Bristol, CT
Post Count: 2,262

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 5:41:02 PM

TWC internet only, you get nothing.

No idea for likelihood on that. I'd assume Comcast would assume Time Warner's contracts, so I doubt anything would change short term. At the same time, I imagine there would be some desire by Comcast to make that sort of thing more uniform, as it would make it obviously difficult to advertise and provide support for such fragmented services. However, in a merger this large and complex, I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happened for years, either. Other things like infrastructure and billing might be higher priorities.

JSF
General User

Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,341

Status: Offline

RE: ESPN TV Deal

Posted: 8/20/2014 7:54:02 PM

I hope it continues to sync Russ on home broadcasts.

Showing Replies:	1 - 25 of 26 Posts
Jump to Page:	1 \| 2 Next >

View Other 'Ohio Basketball' Topics

There are 295 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com

294 Guests
1 Registered User:
	GraffZ06

There are no other users looking at this page.