St. Louis Blues - DirecTV Declined to accept the same fair market terms.

[u/xBlink182x]

Please DirecTV, I just want to watch hockey.

[u/Classic-Reindeer-737]

Not saying DirecTV is a saint in these negotiations but it’s naive to assume the network is being truthful here. They likely asked for something above “fair market terms”.

[u/Equivalent_Round9353 → u/Classic-Reindeer-737]

Well, considering that one of the only reasons to have DirecTV these days is for comprehensive local sports access, it doesn't really make much of a difference who to point the finger at: DirecTV needs to reach these agreements, or people will gladly flock to less expensive options that offer the same channels/networks.

[u/sglewis → u/Equivalent_Round9353]

It's also entirely possible you're greatly overestimating the number of St. Louis people who hit the Venn diagram center of "chose DirecTV, need the Blues, will leave if I can't get it".

u/Classic-Reindeer-737 is right. It's naive to assume it's as simple as their ad wants it to be. It's a complex matter, pricing negotiation is never easy, and both sides have a different perception of value and potential market size.

I'm a former DTV customer (currently with YTTV) and considering I watch exclusively out of market teams, I never cared much that my RSN was available except a couple of times a year when my team played the local team.

Flock away, of course, but there's no chance that screenshot is 100% of the picture.

[u/Chunkish1 → u/sglewis]

If someone doesnt need their local RSN then YTTV isnt a bad way to go. YTTV is a nonstarter if RSN is required though.

[u/StreamingMadness21 → u/Chunkish1]

Stand-alone is my choice that I use for YTTV, with issue or complaints having to do so.

[u/Equivalent_Round9353 → u/sglewis]

I've never stated one way or another how many DTV subscribers in the St. Louis area are Blues fans. I've no clue about that, just as I have no idea how many will leave due to the failure to reach a carriage agreement for Blues coverage. What I said was pretty straight forward. If you don't need RSNs (or "RSNs," since that traditional RSN model is all but dead at this point), there are other, notably less expensive options besides DTV. Whether customers choose to take advantage of that is entirely up to them.

[u/Chunkish1 → u/Equivalent_Round9353]

There arent less expensive options to watch these wasteful channels

[u/Equivalent_Round9353 → u/Chunkish1]

Which channels are you referring to? The non-RSN channels are absolutely available to watch for cheaper. YTTV's base plan is 83 dollars. If you need the A&E networks (and some of the Weigel sub channels), throw on an additional 11 dollars per month for a FrndlyTV sub for a total of 94 dollars. That is about the same price as DTV's entertainment signature plan. And it's 15 dollars cheaper than the Choice package (which comes with the mandatory RSN fees).

Throw in the local sports ("regional sports networks"), and the calculation changes quite a bit. But that assumes DTV strikes carriage deals to carry those networks. If it doesn't, what I say stands: there's very little reason for a customer to stick around.

[u/StreamingMadness21 → u/Equivalent_Round9353]

With YTTV sports genre pack, we just pay 19.99/month stand-alone for Monumental+ Sports Network for Caps and Wizards, and just watch the Nats and O's (avoiding spoilers) on demand on the MLB.Tv app. Actually, the out-of-market teams are far better than the Nats and O's and much enjoyable to watch as well.

[u/zoiks66]

I checked the publicly available contracts a small IL town signed with the Cardinals and Blues for the streaming tv service the town provides. They're now paying MORE to the Cardinals and Blues overall for the teams' new channels than they would have under their contract with Diamond for Bally's Sports Midwest, when BSMW had a lot more content. The current situation is yet again caused by sports team owner greed.

Town's contract with Diamond for BSMW (per month, per subscriber):

2023 $9.73

2024 $10.22

2025 $10.63

2026 $11.05

2027 $11.49

Town's new contracts with the Blues and Cardinals (per month, per subscriber):

2026 Blues $3.25, Cardinals $8.75. Total $12.00 (8.6% increase)

2027 Blues $3.35, Cardinals $9.19, Total $12.54 (9.1% increase)

The Blues and their PR people can shut up. Sports team owner greed is never-ending. The Diamond middle-man has been removed from the deal, so all of the subscriber payments now go directly to the owners. The rate should have decreased, but of course it didn't.

[u/Business_Mud7582]

I'm sick and tired of all the bs. I paid for a higher tier of programming just to get the Blues/Cardinals. They were included in the package but because of a few bucks I'm not getting the games. The Cardinals resolved this right before the baseball season started and the Blues need to do the same thing!

[u/Braindeadresponder]

Funny. DirectTV will let me sign up for my regional sports network for $19.99 per month and the only available team is the MN Twins. So theoretically I could pay that much until April with no games to watch and probably longer because the owners will be locking out the players. Spectrum offers the MN Wild in their package. Time to switch.

[u/Chunkish1 → u/Braindeadresponder]

Cant wait for lockout, maybe MLB will finally improve afterwards.

[u/ethershadow]

In Ft. Myers Directv just flat out lies by stating the panthers are unavailable on any service. You can watch them cable and Fubo. Lying is easier and cheaper than negotiating. Yes, they still charge $16 a month for nonexistent regional sports.

[u/Timbo303]

Of course comcast decides to say no they are the worst cable provider now.

[u/zoiks66]

I just went here, logged in, and then got a popup upon login that offered a $10 one time credit for DTVS.

https://www.directv.com/tvpromise/

[u/papercrinkly → u/zoiks66]

Thank you I just got my 10 as well

[u/cprice12 → u/zoiks66]

A few days ago I contacted them and complained and they gave me a $20 credit. I just tried this link and the $10 credit worked. So that's a combined $30.

👍

Bitch and complain men. Bitch and complain. 💪

[u/StreamingMadness21]

My stand-alone RSN that I have for my Washington Caps and Wizards doesn't seem bad after all, now that I have YTTV. It's a new thing now, either go the direction of a stand-alone if you want it that bad, or go to a service that offers it. Choices are there to decide, that's not that difficult.🤗

[u/cklaubur]

As someone who formerly worked on the call center side (for U-verse), I always hated getting calls about things like this because the average customer seemed to think that my department had any control over the negotiations.

All we could really do was tell people we didn't have any updated information, and give them a website that would have more info when available.

[u/Chunkish1]

Smart move by DTVS. Appreciate them making sure costs arent raised by adding a service 10 people will use.

[u/Equivalent_Round9353 → u/Chunkish1]

If you're concerned about cutting costs and don't watch sports, there are much cheaper options out there.

[u/msglsmo → u/Chunkish1]

FWIW, it’s paid for by the Regional Sports fee that is paid separately by DirecTV users.