Comcast Exploring Spinoff of NBCU Cable Networks Into New Company

[secondchoice]

I haven't subscribed to linear cable television in over two decades. Why is ESPN2 pulling larger numbers than ESPN proper? Is it like back when MTV moved all the music videos to MTV2?

Also, it's amazing how decrepit these networks' numbers have become. I can't believe most are even still on the air.


Were you at 1010 Wilshire? I think it was Pacific Bell's primary corporate location in the L.A. area, and aside of a few central offices in Alhambra and Montebello, I used to run all around the inside of that place as a kid on weekends when a relative had an upper floor job there. The entire building is now residential.


Do you still have any contacts in that field? I'm very curious about the status of the SS7 PSTN these days. Not just last mile/local loop statistics (e.g. remaining subscriber counts). But especially the actual, internal digital TDM parts. Youtube is filled with videos of urbex people climbing abandoned long lines microwave towers. The internet is full of talk about ILECs wanting to completely scrap their 5AESS/DMS100/GTD5EAX switches. I wonder how much of the nationwide TDM network (as a web of links physically distinct from the internet) still exists, versus how much is being offloaded (invisibly to subscribers) onto IP, etc.

A lot of Point to point vocal communication still routed through a switch or an Internet numerical address using some kind of tunneling protocol or an video app. What few friends I know remaining have actually been busy reworking rural 2 wire POTS circuits into 4 wire "naked DSL" service. They are still doing a lot of T3 or faster service for 5G cell sites.

The TDM stuff is still being used by utility companies and anyone needing strong, safe and cheap data between sites. The DOD still has a lot because it is not easily accessible be the internet. it can be broken into but the users will know who an where almost immediately.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Occam's Razor. The election is over. Interest in politics is going to wane. Cable TV overall is a declining industry, and Comcast is making a business decision that they don't wish to ride out the losses until the next election cycle.

BTW, Elon Musk is now talking about buying MSNBC.

{pulls pin, tosses grenade, runs for the tall grass} 😂

 

[michael hagerty]

Occam's Razor. The election is over. Interest in politics is going to wane. Cable TV overall is a declining industry, and Comcast is making a business decision that they don't wish to ride out the losses until the next election cycle.

BTW, Elon Musk is now talking about buying MSNBC.

{pulls pin, tosses grenade, runs for the tall grass} 😂

He's been talking about it since the day they announced the spin-off. In fact, he won't stop talking about it.

He posted this just yesterday:



For those who've forgotten, this is exactly the kind of stuff he did before buying Twitter.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

He's been talking about it since the day they announced the spin-off. In fact, he won't stop talking about it.

He posted this just yesterday:

View attachment 8123

For those who've forgotten, this is exactly the kind of stuff he did before buying Twitter.

So pathetically immature.

 

[TheBigA]

BTW, Elon Musk is now talking about buying MSNBC.

Was brought up earlier in the thread. It gets filed next to similar talk about Byron Allen

In fact Joe Rogan has also now entered the discussion:

Elon Musk threatened to buy MSNBC. Joe Rogan jumped in with ideas, too.

More Musk trolling.

mashable.com

I don't know of any country where the population itself seeks to shut down any opposition to its government. The Chinese must be very entertained.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Was brought up earlier in the thread. It gets filed next to similar talk about Byron Allen

In fact Joe Rogan has also now entered the discussion:

Elon Musk threatened to buy MSNBC. Joe Rogan jumped in with ideas, too.

More Musk trolling.

mashable.com

I don't know of any country where the population itself seeks to shut down any opposition to its government. The Chinese must be very entertained.

Also SpinCo never had any meetings with Musk over this deal.

 

[TheBigA]

Also SpinCo never had any meetings with Musk over this deal.

SpinCo doesn't exist.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

SpinCo doesn't exist.

True and more specifically Comcast never talked to Musk for a bid it's basically like John Catsimatidis thread we had in the past month and him hyping up getting another station beyond his flagship 77 WABC. But it ended up being about what role Salem has on John Catsimatidis for broadcasting his content for the rest of the country.

 

[Will_H_69_9]

He's been talking about it since the day they announced the spin-off. In fact, he won't stop talking about it.

He posted this just yesterday:

View attachment 8123

For those who've forgotten, this is exactly the kind of stuff he did before buying Twitter.

moral of the story, if you are a man child, if you have a lot of cash, you gonna end up being the biggest brat in the world that isn't gonna learn to act like a grown up. this inappropriate pic is proof of him being a immature manchild who refuses to grow up and now he's influencing the most powerful people in the world and hanging with another guy who is truly a man child who too got into money.

 

[NoDakObserver]

Wait, wait... is Prime Video (ranked #1 here) actually Amazon Prime? If so, why don't any of the other streaming services show up on this list.

I'm guessing this viewership is solely from Thursday Night Football, as those ratings are publicly reported because the NFL is so big "everyone" wants to know how many people watch each game. And the advertisers want to know too.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'm guessing this viewership is solely from Thursday Night Football, as those ratings are publicly reported because the NFL is so big "everyone" wants to know how many people watch each game. And the advertisers want to know too.

Exactly:

NFL TV Ratings: Can Amazon Keep Up Record TNF Pace?

Through eight games of Amazon Prime Video’s 16-week schedule, Thursday night NFL games are averaging 13 million viewers.

frontofficesports.com

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Through eight games of Amazon Prime Video’s 16-week schedule, Thursday night NFL games are averaging 13 million viewers.

Does Amazon plan to keep jacking up its Prime subscription rate to pay for sports? Amazon has 200 million Prime customers so 13 million football viewers is only 6.5% of them.

The whole reason so many people cut the cable cord is to get the hell away from subsidizing other people's viewing preferences, especially sports with its out-of-control price increases. The biggest part of cable TV's never-ending inflation was the cost of sports channels.

In 2021, Amazon announced it had acquired the exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football starting in 2023. Then in 2022 they announced the largest Amazon Prime price hike in the company's history, gouging football fans and non-football fans alike with a 17 percent subscription price increase. A total coincidence, no doubt.

 

[Weiserguy]

Does Amazon plan to keep jacking up its Prime subscription rate to pay for sports? Amazon has 200 million Prime customers so 13 million football viewers is only 6.5% of them.

The whole reason so many people cut the cable cord is to get the hell away from subsidizing other people's viewing preferences, especially sports with its out-of-control price increases. The biggest part of cable TV's never-ending inflation was the cost of sports channels.

In 2021, Amazon announced it had acquired the exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football starting in 2023. Then in 2022 they announced the largest Amazon Prime price hike in the company's history, gouging football fans and non-football fans alike with a 17 percent subscription price increase. A total coincidence, no doubt.

There's an obvious solution to this problem. Cancel your Prime membership. Let Amazon know this is why you're canceling. They'll still sell you products, you might just have to pay extra for the shipping. (Or do what I do, batch your purchases so your total order qualifies for free shipping. Though I probably only did 6-8 orders per year back when I had Prime, so no major loss for me. YMMV)

I've done exactly what I'm advising. It adds a small amount of inconvenience, but unless you're ordering things from them every week, you'll probably save money. And if you are ordering every week, you're already getting your money's worth from that part of your membership.

 

[michael hagerty]

Does Amazon plan to keep jacking up its Prime subscription rate to pay for sports? Amazon has 200 million Prime customers so 13 million football viewers is only 6.5% of them.

Yes.

The whole reason so many people cut the cable cord is to get the hell away from subsidizing other people's viewing preferences, especially sports with its out-of-control price increases. The biggest part of cable TV's never-ending inflation was the cost of sports channels.

In 2021, Amazon announced it had acquired the exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football starting in 2023. Then in 2022 they announced the largest Amazon Prime price hike in the company's history, gouging football fans and non-football fans alike with a 17 percent subscription price increase. A total coincidence, no doubt.

In case you haven't noticed, Amazon has conquered America's shopping habits and not shown a shred of concern for people and their welfare---including their own employees.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ex-wife MacKenzie Scott is the philanthropist no longer in the family:

The MacKenzie Effect: How Billionaire MacKenzie Scott Is Changing the Giving Game

A $36 billion fortune made Scott one of the richest women in the world. How she’s giving it away makes her fascinating.

www.townandcountrymag.com

Mr. Bezos himself has other pursuits---including sending sex-toy-shaped rockets to space:

Why Does Jeff Bezos’ Rocket Look So Much Like a Penis? We Asked a Rocket Scientist.

Basically, it comes down to girth.

slate.com

 

[michael hagerty]

There's an obvious solution to this problem. Cancel your Prime membership. Let Amazon know this is why you're canceling. They'll still sell you products, you might just have to pay extra for the shipping. (Or do what I do, batch your purchases so your total order qualifies for free shipping. Though I probably only did 6-8 orders per year back when I had Prime, so no major loss for me. YMMV)

I've done exactly what I'm advising. It adds a small amount of inconvenience, but unless you're ordering things from them every week, you'll probably save money. And if you are ordering every week, you're already getting your money's worth from that part of your membership.

Yay, Weiserguy!

Or you can do what I did and tell Amazon to take a long walk off a short pier. Cancel Prime, delete the bookmark and never shop there again.

This may or may not be practical, depending on where you live, but just about everything I used to buy from Amazon, I can get up, grab the car keys, go to a store, buy and bring home my own damn self.

The one thing that seemed a bit too big (a new desk chair), I went down to Costco, sat in to make sure it was right, then went home, ordered it and had it delivered.

I'll be fine walking into stores to buy things. In fact, according to my Amazon history (I looked before I deleted the account), most of the things I bought from them I can find at Costco, Target, Staples and Barnes & Noble.

 

[Weiserguy]

Yay, Weiserguy!

Or you can do what I did and tell Amazon to take a long walk off a short pier. Cancel Prime, delete the bookmark and never shop there again.

This may or may not be practical, depending on where you live, but just about everything I used to buy from Amazon, I can get up, grab the car keys, go to a store, buy and bring home my own damn self.

The one thing that seemed a bit too big (a new desk chair), I went down to Costco, sat in to make sure it was right, then went home, ordered it and had it delivered.

I'll be fine walking into stores to buy things. In fact, according to my Amazon history (I looked before I deleted the account), most of the things I bought from them I can find at Costco, Target, Staples and Barnes & Noble.

There are the occasional specialty items that are really difficult to find locally. You can order them from specialty stores, but the specialty stores don't have their own fleet of trucks roaming your neighborhood, screwing up traffic flow. Or lockers in front of Safeway or in Kohls or inside the local Whole Foods. In those instances, dealing with Amazon can be worth it for the convenience factor. The trick is making it as infrequent as possible, and doing a Google (Bing/DuckDuck) search first to see if there's a non-AZ way to get the item(s). Personally, I'll take Costco any day of the week.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ex-wife MacKenzie Scott is the philanthropist no longer in the family:
and
Mr. Bezos himself has other pursuits---including sending sex-toy-shaped rockets to space:

Jeff Bezos has little to do with the operation of Amazon anymore. He has a board seat and is living the good life in his retirement.

The current CEO Andy Jassy deserves the brunt of the blame for the enshittification of Amazon but hardly anyone realizes that, or even knows who he is. I'm no fan of Bezos but at least he knew what people wanted and the real innovations at Amazon happened under his watch. Building a pioneering online bookstore into a global marketplace, introducing the concept of Prime shipping, developing the first household AI assistant, the Amazon Echo -- those are some of the big reasons why Amazon has conquered America's shopping habits and won the hearts of millions.

Now along comes Jassy with a typical Wall Street price hiking, cost-cutting corporate CEO mindset without a creative bone in his body. He has already turned Amazon into little more than a Chinese marketplace and is set to introduce a new low price tier of cheap fast fashion and disposable junk to compete with Temu and Shien. Amazon which was once a leader is now a follower, jumping on the streaming bandwagon with its also-ran content now with ads, enabling marketplace scammers and focusing on low-end junk in its store.

Hopefully millions more will agree with your membership canceling strategy and do the same.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

NBA signs new 11-year media agreements with The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video through 2035-36 season - NBA.com: NBA Communications

The NBA today announced the renewal of its partnership with The Walt Disney Company and new agreements with NBCUniversal (NBCU) and Amazon under which ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video will telecast NBA games beginning with the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.

pr.nba.com

If one is wondering why NBC is keeping the Local Sports Networks like NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California for now in the mist of a spinoff. Some of this is because NBC signed a contract to air NBA games on NBC and Peacock. Yes this means that NBC is moving some of the teams like Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics from local broadcast rights only to national broadcasts when they sign the league contract.

NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the renewal of its partnership with The Walt Disney Company and new agreements with NBCUniversal (NBCU) and Amazon under which ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video will telecast NBA games beginning with the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.

The NBA App will be a universal access point – seamlessly directing fans to every national game on Disney, NBCU and Amazon platforms.

The new media deals will expand the reach of NBA telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services – Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service – and with dramatically increased exposure on broadcast television. Approximately 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from the minimum of 15 games under the current agreement.

 

[Larry]

If one is wondering why NBC is keeping the Local Sports Networks like NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California for now in the mist of a spinoff. Some of this is because NBC signed a contract to air NBA games on NBC and Peacock.

In the case of NBC Sports Philadelphia another division of Comcast owns the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast owns 25% of the Philadelphia Phillies, two of the teams airing on the channel.

 

[Weiserguy]

In the case of NBC Sports Philadelphia another division of Comcast owns the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast owns 25% of the Philadelphia Phillies, two of the teams airing on the channel.

And let's not forget that Comcast Corporation is itself headquartered in Philadelphia.