JeffTheAlpaca

NBC Sports radio shut down two years ago and now this




https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/media...own/index.html

Bill Needle

I don't watch much on NBC Sports (not a hockey or NASCAR fan), but it sounds like most major stuff is moving to USA Network? For anything moving to Peacock...goodbye forever. Heck, they took NBC itself off DirecTV for about a month and I didn't notice for three weeks and only then because I was going to watch SNF. NBC Sports was another outlet for Olympics coverage though, so that's probably when I'll miss it.

JeffTheAlpaca

I hope this does not mean less Olympic coverage on cable now and shifted to streaming

Guess no more PFT on NBCSN though it is on Peacock too.

They could have used the NBC Sports talent on the main network and gave them shows like Tirico and Costas when he was there and maybe a football night in America daily show.

Whoever ran that network messed up and did not utilize the full potential of the NBC brand.

I guess CBS Sports Network might survive since they have a lot of live sports.

Red Dog

I'm sure it will mean a lot of Olympic coverage will shift to Peacock. At least starting with Winter Games next year.

That's not a huge deal to me since most of the events I watched in the last few Olympics were using the streaming platform. As long as they allow you to access the full form events after they completed, I'm fine with that.

Red Hood

The ironic thing about this is that for years many people have asked that sports networks have sports instead of talking heads most of the time. NBCSports was actually doing that and it failed. As much as many hate it, talking heads bring viewers. It doesn't help that NBCSports only had hockey and NASCAR for the most part. If they had MLB or NBA games, they would have gotten more viewers. The cancellation of the Olympics last year, and the most likely cancellation this year certainly didn't help matters.

dvd-4-life

I think CBS Sports Network is in the same boat.

Too many college sports and Mickey Mouse sports for it to thrive big time.

Red Hood

CBS Sports has the benefit of hosting many March Madness games during the tournament. They also have college football and talking heads like Jim Rome. They have more to offer than NBCSports.

Red Dog

CBS SN doesn't do March Madness. It's CBS and Turner networks.

Can't believe Jim Rome is still a thing.

I do think that the talking heads is what keeps ESPN alive - with that afternoon slate.

Red Hood

Yes, they do televise the early rounds of March Madness along with TBS, TNT, CBS, and TruTV

Red Dog

And the other thing to remember is that NBC (and NBCSN) is owned by Comcast - and they have so much tied up into their RSNs. The life-blood of NHL and MLB - for hockey/baseball, not to mention their NBA properties. NBCSN is probably an afterthought for Comcast now.

Red Dog

CBSSN? No they don't.

kefrank

CBS Sports Network has analysis/highlight/post-game shows during March Madness but no live March Madness games have ever been broadcast on CSB Sports Network.

Red Hood

You guys are right. They've televised Division II Tournament games but not March Madness per se. For some reason I believed they had shown March Madness games there in the past several years.

Red Dog

They would do a couple (the weird late afternoon Thu/Fri western games in the 1st round) - but that was before the current Turner arrangement - long ago.

AaronHernandez

Feels like the boom for high rights fees prices for Live sports content is a bubble close to bursting. Cable networks are in cost cutting mode and a lot of them are figuring even with low ratings paying for cheap content(scripted reruns and talking head/reality tv that can be rerun ad nauseum) is the most profitable route to go and that everything outside of NCAAF,Olympics and the NFL are costly niche products. And streaming service model doesn't look like something where sports is a growth subscriber because a live sporting event is a 1 day eyeball event,there is no value to Netflix or Prime for a baseball game or hockey game literally the day a game is over unlike a scripted series which can grow through word of mouth. Most sports outside of the big 3 and college football are gonna be mostly behind a paywall real soon

Red Dog

Here's what the cable networks want - playoffs. They don't give a crap about a regular season GOTW or whatever in any sport beyond football. They want games that matter, otherwise, they will pass the regular season off to the RSNs. For regional focus.

JeffTheAlpaca

Overall it sucks and less sports on TV even if they might be niche sports like poker but nice to have a channel that has sports on it most of the time.

I guess the premier league games on NBCSN will be carried by somebody else.

Superman07

I noticed recently a lot of the EPL games were showing on Peacock instead of NBCSN or affiliates. Originally it was the late or a slate of extra games. More recently there were days when 1 game was broadcast and all others were on Peacock. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they been trying to strategically push people there for a few months.

Paff

NBCSN was probably my most-watched sports network, for hockey, and because I'm one of 8 people nationwide who likes Indycar. I hope both sports find a new home in 2022.

PhantomStranger

That's a smart take. I know there is a lot of hand-wringing in MLB that the days of lucrative cable deals are nearing their end. Cable is dying as we speak.

I'd actually suggest some of the smaller sports start banding together for television purposes. I'd even suggest that MLB and the NHL team up - their seasons largely don't conflict and their demographics aren't that dissimilar. It's pretty clear to me that outside of the NFL juggernaut, sports ratings are going down across the board and becoming more niche. This current generation under 30 just doesn't seem as sports-obsessed as the Baby Boomers.

coli

Exactly. NBC Sports Network doesn't want to get caught up in a 10 year TV deal with the NHL as the landscape of TV continues to change towards streaming. I look my at local regional NBC Sports Philadelphia Network and they have cut everything down to the barebone these days. They have laid off so many good analysts and cancelled so many shows, it's a shell of what it was 10 years ago. I literally watch the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games and that is it as the Pre/Post game shows are crap now because they hired the cheapest talent. The studio highlight show at night is gone and the morning highlight show is down to 10 minutes of the recap from the previous night (It's no different than watching the local news cast sports. And the rest of the airtime is infommercials). Back in the day, I would get home from work and turn on Comcast as they would have a few shows before the live games, and than highlight/studio shows after the game as they would have me from 5:00PM-11:00PM every night. Now I watch the games, and that's it. I honestly don't know how these regional cable networks stay in business, as I would be interested to hear from someone here who worked there and knows how they stay profitable?

shizawn

There must be enough advertising on these networks to keep them going.

I do watch NBCSN, mostly for hockey, but I find myself watching fewer and fewer regular season games that don't feature my home team. As long as there are stations that can broadcast the playoffs I'm not sure I'd really miss it.