ESPN pulls announcer from UVA game because his name is Robert Lee

[Mims44 1,869]

13 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

NFL Network or NFL Sunday Ticket? 

NFL network is only available on "gold" package, I currently use "bronze" which provides most of the ESPNs and SEC network... but not NFL network.

[Mims44 1,869]

10 minutes ago, Bigbens42 said:

Not so easy that a lot of consumers are ready to take the plunge.

A la carte is the future. ESPN finds themselves tethered to a dying model, and they are losing money as a result, but they aren't losing money due to their editorial work shifting left.

I wish I had the article handy because I'm sure you'd want to look it over. But I read that one of (not the only) reason ESPN was having struggles was their personalities not resonating with their audience like they used to.

Some of the losses couldn't really be helped, Stuart Scott was beloved and was lost for example, others took more lucrative offers from other networks, or were simply let go. Their replacements for the most part (there are still some the article mentioned were very popular) are not reaching the fans like the old ones did.

 

Of course there's a myriad of potential reasons for that, but I for one turn to ESPN to NOT have to listen to more political BS, and not to get sports flavored political BS.

[aujeff11 6,243]

18 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

NFL network is only available on "gold" package, I currently use "bronze" which provides most of the ESPNs and SEC network... but not NFL network.

You're not missing out. I only watch it for the  lame Thurs night games.

[AUDub 11,147]

26 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

I wish I had the article handy because I'm sure you'd want to look it over. But I read that one of (not the only) reason ESPN was having struggles was their personalities not resonating with their audience like they used to.

Some of the losses couldn't really be helped, Stuart Scott was beloved and was lost for example, others took more lucrative offers from other networks, or were simply let go. Their replacements for the most part (there are still some the article mentioned were very popular) are not reaching the fans like the old ones did.

I agree that ESPN is a personality driven medium, but what made SportsCenter irrelevant is YouTube and the Internet in general. SportsCenter is, first and foremost, a highlight and analysis show. Why bother waiting for them to show what you want to see when you can have it on your PC or phone in an instant?

26 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

Of course there's a myriad of potential reasons for that, but I for one turn to ESPN to NOT have to listen to more political BS, and not to get sports flavored political BS.

I haven't really paid attention to it. I know they've moved to the left editorially, I just never see it, but that's probably because I rarely watch any of their content other than games and the occasional 30 for 30. SportsCenter hasn't been relevant for a while since you can get all of your highlights online and their talking head show's just don't appeal to me. I simply don't watch it when Stephen A. or Jemele Hill are on there, and I can't imagine there are thousands of TV viewers who dislike Smith so much that they didn't simply change the channel, but rather cancel their cable or satellite entirely.

[AU64 10,122]

Well cable has got me where it hurts.....my love of sports.  There is not enough of it on over the air TV to fill my addiction so I'm stuck with it I guess. 

For 20 bucks on ebay I got a nice little antenna that gets me about 30 stations...many of them HD but only the sports programming that shows up once or twice a week on CBS, ABC or Fox.....no baseball and only ACC basketball.   .......but nothing to fill my love for the SEC. .

[Strychnine 1,802]

1 minute ago, AU64 said:

Well cable has got me where it hurts.....my love of sports.  There is not enough of it on over the air TV to fill my addiction so I'm stuck with it I guess. 

For 20 bucks on ebay I got a nice little antenna that gets me about 30 stations...many of them HD but only the sports programming that shows up once or twice a week on CBS, ABC or Fox.....no baseball and only ACC basketball.   .......but nothing to fill my love for the SEC. .

 

Take a look at Hulu Live TV then.  It has all of the channels that carry Auburn games, so it might be a cheaper alternative.  It includes "cloud DVR", but that is really just turning your selected live programming into on-demand.  It works with Chromecast and Fire sticks, so that give you a cheap option for every TV you would not want to buy a full Fire TV for.  I suspect Android TV will be officially added soon.

[Strychnine 1,802]

1 hour ago, Bigbens42 said:

Not so easy that a lot of consumers are ready to take the plunge.

A la carte is the future. ESPN finds themselves tethered to a dying model, and they are losing money as a result, but they aren't losing money due to their editorial work shifting left.

 

True.  The writing is definitely on the wall, but having to bounce between multiple services to get the same thing your cable or satellite box currently provide is an annoyance that most will still pay their way out of.  Without a full turnkey solution, it is still not ready for primetime.

Personally, I keep expanding my Plex library.  I will eventually have basically everything I want there, on a local resource that does not require the internet or a cable company to function.

[AU64 10,122]

17 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

 

Take a look at Hulu Live TV then.  It has all of the channels that carry Auburn games, so it might be a cheaper alternative.  It includes "cloud DVR", but that is really just turning your selected live programming into on-demand.  It works with Chromecast and Fire sticks, so that give you a cheap option for every TV you would not want to buy a full Fire TV for.  I suspect Android TV will be officially added soon.

Last year I "loaned" my cable password to a friend who was able to go to Watch ESPN and see all they had to offer for free.     Worked good for him out in Oregon and allowed him to follow his favorite southern teams without being hooked to cable.   Wonder how many thousands/ millions do this?    Made me a bit nervous ....probably not legal but not sure how ESPN or anyone can control something like that.

[Strychnine 1,802]

6 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Last year I "loaned" my cable password to a friend who was able to go to Watch ESPN and see all they had to offer for free.     Worked good for him out in Oregon and allowed him to follow his favorite southern teams without being hooked to cable.   Wonder how many thousands/ millions do this?    Made me a bit nervous ....probably not legal but not sure how ESPN or anyone can control something like that.

 

I am not a sports aficionado beyond college football, so it has never been the cord-cutting dealbreaker for me that it is for many others.  There are enough sports bars and restaurants around that I have never had any difficulty finding a way to watch any game I actually cared about, as any Auburn game of consequence is always on CBS, ESPN, or the SEC Network.

Sharing your password is definitely a breach of their TOS, but it is not a big enough deal that anyone is likely to bother you about it.  As for how it could be controlled or monitored, your friend would be accessing it from an ISP that corresponds to the west coast, while you have a billing/service address in North Carolina.  I think cable providers are far more concerned about losing their monopolies to streaming services, than they are password sharing.  They could easily employ two-step authentication if they were concerned with password sharing.

[aujeff11 6,243]

16 hours ago, Strychnine said:

True.  The writing is definitely on the wall, but having to bounce between multiple services to get the same thing your cable or satellite box currently provide is an annoyance that most will still pay their way out of. 

I don't know about that. If an antenna works out okay, I'll have what I need ( locally) without the contracts or the bs that Direct TV and the like offers. Just scroll through your guide and see all the fluff that comes with satellite or cable. Infomercials and other channels dedicated to selling products damn near covers a whole third of the channels offered. Not to mention nobody is calling you trying to get you to bundle the services after you cut the cord. Another biggie is the traditional usually tv services usually  doesn't reward loyalty. I had direct tv for like 8 years and I was paying almost double than Joe Schmoe which was always seeking and getting introductory offers after they expired.

Cord cutting: 

PlayStation Vue is very functional( moreso than Sling TV) and it's services are similar to Netflix. (Only con I have with Vue is no SEC network.) They have a user log-in screen which allow the users to access their own personalized content. My wife and the three year old have their own accounts as do I. That way I can view my own channels in the home menu without having to also view Disney Jr channels and their suggested shows.  That would get mundane pretty quick. (first world problems.) 

Lastly, DVR is on tap. You can buy Sling TV Cloud for 5 extra and it gives you 50 hours worth of storage. Only downside is the user cannot rewind or pause/ resume yet. But that is coming most assuredly. 

And then there are benefits that come from the Roku and those mediums as well such as voice searching and the multitude of apps that are available for download. 

I'd say the benefits already outweigh cable by a small margin. Would be no contest with a better DVR system already in place, a more interactive guide available, and more local channels in the TV listing.

Relevant topic::    https://www.google.com/amp/ew.com/movies/2017/08/08/disney-leaving-netflix-launching-streaming-service/amp/

 

Quote

In addition, Disney will be rolling out an ESPN-branded sports streaming service in early 2018. It will feature approximately 10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year, including content from Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis, and college sports.

 

[Strychnine 1,802]

2 hours ago, aujeff11 said:

I don't know about that. If an antenna works out okay, I'll have what I need ( locally) without the contracts or the bs that Direct TV and the like offers. Just scroll through your guide and see all the fluff that comes with satellite or cable. Infomercials and other channels dedicated to selling products damn near covers a whole third of the channels offered. Not to mention nobody is calling you trying to get you to bundle the services after you cut the cord. Another biggie is the traditional usuallt doesn't  reward loyalty. I had direct tv for like 8 years and I was paying almost double than Joe Schmoe which was always seeking and getting introductory offers after they expire.

 

 

I was not arguing in favor of cable or satellite.  All I was saying is that cord-cutting is still not ready (beyond) for most people.  Satellite or cable install brings the hardware to your house, and then installs it.  Cord-cutting requires DIY work, and in some respects requires technical expertise that may not be present.  The ability to delete cable/satellite from your life certainly exists, but it is not the simple turnkey solution that many apparently want.  If it were, everyone would be doing it already, and we would not be having this conversation.  As foolish as it may be to you or I, the fluff that comes with sateliite or cable is still preferable to most.

In other words, cord-cutting has not provided the idiot box that is apparently preferred, but it is definitely a more realistic solution than it was even two years ago.

My personal setup is a 16TB Plex server that can handle transcoding 5 HD streams, Nvidia Shield TV on main TV, and Chromcasts on everything else.

[SaturdayGT 719]

17 hours ago, Mims44 said:

Could you elaborate on that?

Charter is all that's available to me, but I wouldn't describe what they've offered me as a "good deal". About 200$ a month for a landline I don't use, the cheapest cable package and standard internet.

Though it does give me most of the channels I care about (college sports) I'd have to up it by about another 100$ if I wanted the NFL network.

    Im paying $133.00 per month. That includes the basic Internet speed which by itself would be 70 bucks a month alone. I think its the silver package for TV...Its the one that has all the HBO's, Cinemax's, and Showtimes.  So basically, Im paying $63 bucks a months for TV and its good for 2 years.   I got it about 4 months ago. I was considering going with the playstation Vue or sling TV at the time, but Id need Internet, and then to get what Im getting from Charter, Id have to pay in the neighborhood of $50. So for just $13 more a month, I just couldn't pass it up!!

 

  If I were you, Id call up charter go straight to the cancellation department (not customer service) and tell them you want to cancel your service. I used to do that with direct TV every time they went up on me.  My first attempt to cancel, the guy actually told to do it that way. He gave me a really good deal, and gave me free premium channels for 6 months on top of a much lower bill. He told me to call back and talk to the cancellation department and not to waste your time with customer service once the premiums end or the bill goes up. I did that for about 4 years and never paid more than $90 bucks a month which is about $50 bucks less than they wanted to charge me!

[aujeff11 6,243]

11 hours ago, Strychnine said:

My personal setup is a 16TB Plex server that can handle transcoding 5 HD streams, Nvidia Shield TV on main TV, and Chromcasts on everything else.

I don't know what any of this means. I'm not very tech savvy. Care to expound? 

[Strychnine 1,802]

3 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I don't know what any of this means. I'm not very tech savvy. Care to expound? 

 

Plex is a home media server.  Think of it like making your own personal Netflix that you can use anywhere in the house, but it does not depend on an internet connection to work.  Nvidia Shield TV is an Android TV on steroids.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Just now, Strychnine said:

 

Plex is a home media server.  Think of it like making your own personal Netflix that you can use anywhere in the house, but it does not depend on an internet connection to work.  Nvidia Shield TV is an Android TV on steroids.

I'm still all ears, bae. How does it help with cordcutting? Is it expensive? What is the Nvidia Shield TV? 

[Strychnine 1,802]

6 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I'm still all ears, bae. How does it help with cordcutting? Is it expensive? What is the Nvidia Shield TV? 

 

I have Plex packed full of shows and movies that I have acquired over the years.  I am not interested in much that is currently airing, so my goal is end up getting away from subscription fees entirely, and just use Plex exclusively.  With available channel plugins, Plex can also act as a central frontend for other streaming services.  EDIT:  Forgot to address expense.  Plex is $150 for a lifetime license, and it needs some rather beefy PC hardware to run on.  It runs on my PC gaming rig, but most people buy refurb servers or pro workstations (mostly for Intel Xeon CPU's).

Nvidia can probably explain the Shield TV better than I can:  https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/shield-tv/

[AUDub 11,147]

6 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

 

I have Plex packed full of shows and movies that I have acquired over the years.  I am not interested in much that is currently airing, so my goal is end up getting away from subscription fees entirely, and just use Plex exclusively.  With available channel plugins, Plex can also act as a central frontend for other streaming services.

Nvidia can probably explain the Shield TV better than I can:  https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/shield-tv/

I used an Ubuntu MythTV server extensively in the past. Difficult to set up by awesome once you got it going. 

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

On 8/22/2017 at 9:47 PM, TitanTiger said:

*scrambles to find out if there was a Confederate general named Beth Mowins*

Ya'll know I'm the resident feminist , but I admit my own hypocrisy here. I do not like female football commentators. 

[TitanTiger 20,479]

Just now, GiveEmElle said:

Ya'll know I'm the resident feminist , but I admit my own hypocrisy here. I do not like female football commentators. 

I don't dislike female announcers in general.  There are some I could listen to.  I think Suzy Kolber would be an excellent one for instance.  I don't like the ones they've used so far, Beth Mowins in particular.

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

I don't dislike female announcers in general.  There are some I could listen to.  I think Suzy Kolber would be an excellent one for instance.  I don't like the ones they've used so far, Beth Mowins in particular.

They are super hot and smart. I just don't like them. Tubberville will be in the booth this season for ESPN. And I love Kirk Herbstreit and Jesse Palmer. See a pattern here? Lol

[Strychnine 1,802]

6 minutes ago, Bigbens42 said:

I used an Ubuntu MythTV server extensively in the past. Difficult to set up by awesome once you got it going. 

 

I think a lot of people looking for the free solution still use MythTV as a backend for Kodi.  As far as I know, it ends up with the same basic capabilities as Plex, with more intensive setup and maintenance.

[ArgoEagle 1,783]

5 minutes ago, GiveEmElle said:

They are super hot and smart. I just don't like them. Tubberville will be in the booth this season for ESPN. And I love Kirk Herbstreit and Jesse Palmer. See a pattern here? Lol

It's got to be big ears, pointed noses, or lots of hair gel. Am I warm?

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

21 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

It's got to be big ears, pointed noses, or lots of hair gel. Am I warm?

Not even close. 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

2 hours ago, SaturdayGT said:

    Im paying $133.00 per month. That includes the basic Internet speed which by itself would be 70 bucks a month alone. I think its the silver package for TV...Its the one that has all the HBO's, Cinemax's, and Showtimes.  So basically, Im paying $63 bucks a months for TV and its good for 2 years.   I got it about 4 months ago. I was considering going with the playstation Vue or sling TV at the time, but Id need Internet, and then to get what Im getting from Charter, Id have to pay in the neighborhood of $50. So for just $13 more a month, I just couldn't pass it up!!

 

  If I were you, Id call up charter go straight to the cancellation department (not customer service) and tell them you want to cancel your service. I used to do that with direct TV every time they went up on me.  My first attempt to cancel, the guy actually told to do it that way. He gave me a really good deal, and gave me free premium channels for 6 months on top of a much lower bill. He told me to call back and talk to the cancellation department and not to waste your time with customer service once the premiums end or the bill goes up. I did that for about 4 years and never paid more than $90 bucks a month which is about $50 bucks less than they wanted to charge me!

I do this with DirecTV as well.  I refuse to get rid of it because I LOVE NFL Sunday Ticket, but I get it for free or 50% off every year.  It's worth the 15 minute phone call.

[alexava 6,973]

57 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I don't dislike female announcers in general.  There are some I could listen to.  I think Suzy Kolber would be an excellent one for instance.  I don't like the ones they've used so far, Beth Mowins in particular.

Verne was annoying but I really don't care who calls the game. Some are better than others but I rarely complain. Gary Danielson  and Kirk are more knowledgeable than most. I don't understand some, especially bammers who constantly rail on the tv crews.