Menu
What's new
By:
Filters
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

Should PACN drop the regional networks?

Should PACN drop the regional networks model & go to a single national station?

  • Yes

    Votes: 57 75.0%

  • No

    Votes: 19 25.0%
  • Total voters
    76
Buffnik

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member
I think they're a complete waste that rarely have anything on, waste a ton of resources, and hurt the ability to gain distribution.

I'd be 100% in favor of dropping the regionals, having 1 national Pac-12 Network, and making the games that don't make it to PACN available as a steam on pac12.com, twitter, etc. for anyone who either has PACN on a cable/satellite/streaming package or who wants to pay for an event PPV or overflow subscription.

It's nuts to me that the Pac-12 is so focused on highlighting its olympic sports that it is making such a horrible business decision.

I'm not sure that Wilner agrees with me, but his new Pac-12 Hotline article absolutely supports my argument:

Olympic Sports broadcasts are what drove the PACN regional networks that have hurt distribution and run up costs, according to Wilner.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/...ybody-watching-part-five-in-a-hotline-series/

Is anybody actually watching the Olympic sports broadcasts?

OK, maybe that a bit general, so let me rephrase:

Is there substantive viewership for the Olympic sports that were at the heart of the conference’ decision to create the regional feeds — yes, the very same regional feeds that have contributed to the modest distribution and revenue numbers?

The Pac-12 wanted to showcase its Olympic sports, which are the best in collegiate athletics, and it determined the optimal model had one national and six regional feeds to super-serve local audiences.

Without the emphasis on Olympic sports, which account for the vast majority of the 850 live events that are broadcast annually, the Pac-12 Networks would follow a more traditional, single-feed structure (think: Big Ten Network).

Sign up for the Pac-12 Hotline newsletter.
 
Buffnik said:
I think they're a complete waste that rarely have anything on, waste a ton of resources, and hurt the ability to gain distribution.

I'd be 100% in favor of dropping the regionals, having 1 national Pac-12 Network, and making the games that don't make it to PACN available as a steam on pac12.com, twitter, etc. for anyone who either has PACN on a cable/satellite/streaming package or who wants to pay for an event PPV or overflow subscription.

It's nuts to me that the Pac-12 is so focused on highlighting its olympic sports that it is making such a horrible business decision.

I'm not sure that Wilner agrees with me, but his new Pac-12 Hotline article absolutely supports my argument:

Olympic Sports broadcasts are what drove the PACN regional networks that have hurt distribution and run up costs, according to Wilner.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/...ybody-watching-part-five-in-a-hotline-series/

Is anybody actually watching the Olympic sports broadcasts?

OK, maybe that a bit general, so let me rephrase:

Is there substantive viewership for the Olympic sports that were at the heart of the conference’ decision to create the regional feeds — yes, the very same regional feeds that have contributed to the modest distribution and revenue numbers?

The Pac-12 wanted to showcase its Olympic sports, which are the best in collegiate athletics, and it determined the optimal model had one national and six regional feeds to super-serve local audiences.

Without the emphasis on Olympic sports, which account for the vast majority of the 850 live events that are broadcast annually, the Pac-12 Networks would follow a more traditional, single-feed structure (think: Big Ten Network).

Sign up for the Pac-12 Hotline newsletter.
Click to expand...
yes and no. Pac12 main network w/ Alternate channels and a Pac-12 Olympic network online :Watch ESPN style that makes everything on the regional networks watachable
 
The main network channel could broadcast football, basketball, baseball/T&F during those seasons.

Have an alternative channel broadcast the oly's, etc.
 
Yeah, maybe have one alternative channel to broadcast the Oly sports, but definitely get rid of the Regional Networks.
 
buff4bcs1985 said:
yes and no. Pac12 main network w/ Alternate channels and a Pac-12 Olympic network online :Watch ESPN style that makes everything on the regional networks watachable
Click to expand...

the bolded. Those who actually want to watch the Oly sports will find it. Outside of that small group nobody else cares.
 
Buffnik said:
Might there be a deal to be made with the new NBC Olympic channel for the Tier One rights to Pac-12 Olympic sports? That would help a ton.
Click to expand...
This is a very good suggestion... With Comcast/Xfinity (NBC/Universal being the Parent company) already being an Original Pac-12 Networks launch partner... It would make sense that there could be a deal to be had
 
Who cares, they are to hard to find and watch anyways. Need to focus on making their network(s) more readily available.
 
BuffUp said:
Who cares, they are to hard to find and watch anyways. Need to focus on making their network(s) more readily available.
Click to expand...
that's exactly the point of all of this. The main reason the Pac-12 network is so hard to get is that the Pac-12 is requiring all channels to be part of the carriage deal with Direct-TV. this would streamline things
 
Understand, I am just really bitter with them and dtv acting like little bitches.
 
If the ratings for the Olympic sports are that low then stop the broadcasts all together, it is a huge drain on the bottom line of the network and the reach/marketing it brings isn't helping. Need more studio talk shows, broadcasted radio shows. Pretty much just copy what the SEC network does for programming and it would work fine.
 
Only if you can get a sweet deal on the rights for lower tier programming. You need alternatives when multiple games are on be it bball or football
 
onealcd said:
If the ratings for the Olympic sports are that low then stop the broadcasts all together, it is a huge drain on the bottom line of the network and the reach/marketing it brings isn't helping. Need more studio talk shows, broadcasted radio shows. Pretty much just copy what the SEC network does for programming and it would work fine.
Click to expand...
It's not that hard to have 1 camera streaming the game and someone providing commentary. It doesn't need to be a slick feed when it's not on what would be the lone PACN.
 
I would pay to watch the Olympic sports on a stream, or they could do it like espn where you type in your PAC 12 tv info yo D.C. Was the stream?
 
Buffnik said:
Might there be a deal to be made with the new NBC Olympic channel for the Tier One rights to Pac-12 Olympic sports? That would help a ton.
Click to expand...

OT: did anyone else find themselves watching 1992 dream team games over the holiday weekend? No? Only Me? Okay then.
 
This is a tough one. I really loved the idea originally and that first season or two we made efforts to catch a lot of volleyball in particular and really enjoyed following them. But it is tough to get hold of out here in the bay area since we don't watch sports on apps and no dvr if it is online. We've given up on following the other stuff and just jump thru hoops when an oddball basketball or football game is only on the regional (pita).

But I think the other idea for this was to capture local advertising that otherwise wouldn't make sense on a national feed. That sure seemed like a strong idea since there are a lot of local businesses that would love to capture this audience in a cost effective way. Maybe that doesn't add up enough to be worthwhile though.

Please god don't turn this thread into yet another dtv soapbox.
 
Buff_nc said:
This is a tough one. I really loved the idea originally and that first season or two we made efforts to catch a lot of volleyball in particular and really enjoyed following them. But it is tough to get hold of out here in the bay area since we don't watch sports on apps and no dvr if it is online. We've given up on following the other stuff and just jump thru hoops when an oddball basketball or football game is only on the regional (pita).

But I think the other idea for this was to capture local advertising that otherwise wouldn't make sense on a national feed. That sure seemed like a strong idea since there are a lot of local businesses that would love to capture this audience in a cost effective way. Maybe that doesn't add up enough to be worthwhile though.

Please god don't turn this thread into yet another dtv soapbox.
Click to expand...
DTV is very low on my list of concerns. What I want to see is for the PACN to maximize the profitability of the distribution it does have, package its assets better for gaining more distribution, and to not lose the ability we currently have to watch Olympic content (even if most gets converted to a SD stream with only select matchups being feature games on PACN).
 
They are definitely not fulfilling their original goals.

What I think the P12N missed is that people don't necessarily want or need olympic sport coverage to be live. It can be tape delayed without dramatically decreasing the number of people watching the event, and it would actually increase the number of people watching the network at non-live game times.

1. The viewing public is used to watching Olympic sports on a tape delayed basis - most people consume the actual ****ing Olympics on a tape delay.

2. If the P12N is showing last night's, or last week's, CU soccer game at 3 pm on a Thursday, there's a non - zero chance that I will have the game, and therefore the network, on in the background of my office. Right now, there's pretty much a zero chance I have the network on in my office on a random Thursday because I don't give a **** about the 2016 USC - Stanford football game (which is what is on this moment) because I know what happened in that game, whereas I have no clue how the soccer team did in its last game.

3. The network needs content to fill time, and it's not like other sports networks don't stockpile game /event footage to show later on. During prime time last night FS2 showed an event that actually took place in the first week of July. It's ok to do this... As long as it isn't something that a **** ton of your viewers (and potential viewers) already watched and/or know the outcome (like the stupid trees-condoms football game that's on right now).

A single network feed that broadcasts more sporting events, even if not live, would do much better in terms of ratings, advertising, distribution, revenue and positive exposure for the conference than what we have right now.
 
What I like about the regional model:
  • I've tuned in to a number of classic games over the last couple of years. You lose most of those time slots without the regionals. They could be offered exclusively as on demand content, though.
  • I like that multiple games can be aired simultaneously. We don't lose half a quarter of Buffs action if the previous game runs long. An acceptable alternative would be Pac-12 Now Apple TV/Roku/Fire/Playstaion/Xbox apps that let you choose the game you want to see in it's entirety on the big screen.
  • It's great for the olympic sports, but I must confess I've only watched a handful of volleyball games and no other olympic sports. I don't have much interest in anything besides football and basketball.
What I don't like about the regional model:
  • It seems that besides live football and basketball games, 2/3 of commercial breaks on Pac-12 Mountain are filled with Pac-12 promos. If you can't even sell ads then it doesn't seem like a very viable business model.
  • If carriage of all the regionals is the sticking point that is keeping the Pac-12 Network off DirecTV, Playstation Vue and other providers, then it seems crazy to force it.
My two huge complaints:
  • I have the Pac-12 Now app on my phone, but I can't watch much through it because Sling isn't listed as a provider for log in credentials. They must fix this for the mobile app and any future streaming box app.
  • For some reason I cannot fathom, the deal they cut with Sling only includes the regional networks. No national feed. Pac-12 Mountain will often show a rerun of a classic game or a niche sport immediately before and after live games rather than showing the pre- and post-game coverage that the national feed gets. It sucks that I miss out on that.
What I think makes sense:
  • For cable and satellite providers, just two networks. The main would focus on football and basketball while the second could focus more on the olympic sports but also show live football and basketball games when they need to air overlapping games.
  • As I said, apps for Apple TV/Roku/Fire/Playstaion/Xbox would be so great. Within the apps you could have access to the main national feed as well as live and on demand content for each school. No need for always-on traditional regional cable channels if the content could be provided through apps. I'd imagine they'd have a much easier time selling ads for streamers who are definitely watching vs. regional networks with few eyeballs most of the time. I'd also be fine with just one cable channel if streaming apps covered the rest.
 
The most successful is the BTN. So emulate their model. Pac-12 made it way too complicated.

Besides BTN, offer the following: http://btn.com/btn2go-big-ten-digital-network/

BTN2Go & BTN Plus

BTN2Go is a live 24/7 multi-platform extension of BTN that gives fans the ability to watch the network live wherever they are via the internet, mobile phone or tablet. This includes 40+ football games and 100+ basketball games. Cable and satellite companies who have agreed to carry BTN2Go will offer it, but you must have BTN as part of your cable or satellite subscription to get it.

We also now offer BTN2Go for iPhone and iPad via the iTunes store as well as for Android phones via the Google store. To learn more and to use BTN2Go, go to BTN2Go.com.

BTN Plus programming includes non-televised games and events available on BTN2Go with a purchase of a BTN Plus subscription. BTN Plus content features live games produced by students at Big Ten universities. A subscription to BTN Plus on BTN2Go does not require a Big Ten Network TV subscription with a TV provider. Learn more here.

BTN2Go International is a digital extension of the Big Ten Network that delivers live and on-demand programming to subscribers outside the US, Canada and select Caribbean Islands, via the web, smartphone and tablets. Subscribers to BTN2Go International will have access to a 24/7 feed of the network, live streaming of all BTN games, on-demand access to archived games carried by partner networks (ABC, ESPN and CBS), and hundreds of hours of original programming, too.

We now offer BTN2Go International for iPhone and iPad via the iTunes store as well as for Android phones via the Google store. You can learn more about BTN2Go in general visit BTN2Go.com. If you can’t find the answers to your questions on the BTN2Go FAQ page or the BTDN customer service page, please contact us here.
 
Last edited:
Could you have a main channel and an alternate, like what Altitude does when they have an Avs game running up against a Nuggets game?
 
I think our reactions would be different if there was any actual content on the regional channels. 99% of the time they're dark.
 
I love the regional networks. I have all of them and they show unique content (games, replays, etc.) on each one. Usually it's basketball, baseball, soccer, etc., but it's worth having them. There have also been a few CU football games in recent memory that have only been on the mountain region network. Without it, here in CA, I wouldn't have been able to see game. So I like them and I'm wondering if all the people who voted yes actually have the P12N and all the regional channels or if they just voted yes out of spite because network isn't on their carrier.
 
No one is saying they don't like the regional networks, they just don't make any sense for distribution and making money for the conference.
 
buff4bcs1985 said:
yes and no. Pac12 main network w/ Alternate channels and a Pac-12 Olympic network online :Watch ESPN style that makes everything on the regional networks watachable
Click to expand...

I originally voted no, but this is the suggestion I would support. I would hate to see them go entirely away from the Olympic sports.
 
Spectrum recently purchased Bright House networks in the Tampa area. I now have access to all the regional channels versus only getting the national feed. Not only do I never worry about getting to see a Buff game, I get to see all sorts of cool, CU, Mountain Regional programming. As a huge Buff fan I love it. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to go to a National feed, at least on traditional tv. Streaming should have plenty of other options.
 
Tatanka™ said:
An acceptable alternative would be Pac-12 Now Apple TV/Roku/Fire/Playstaion/Xbox apps that let you choose the game you want to see in it's entirety on the big screen.
  • As I said, apps for Apple TV/Roku/Fire/Playstaion/Xbox would be so great. Within the apps you could have access to the main national feed as well as live and on demand content for each school. No need for always-on traditional regional cable channels if the content could be provided through apps. I'd imagine they'd have a much easier time selling ads for streamers who are definitely watching vs. regional networks with few eyeballs most of the time. I'd also be fine with just one cable channel if streaming apps covered the rest.
Click to expand...
One main channel and an app on Apple TV/Roku/whatever. Here in VABeach, we only get the national channel on Cox (no other provider carries PAC-12 Network). So if I want to watch a CU game, I have to stream it from my phone through my Apple TV. That blows. But having 6 PAC-12 channels is dumb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top