After months of negotiations, and the threat of a blackout, Disney/ABC and Time Warner Cable signed a long-term deal yesterday, that not only ensures access to the television giant’s programming on Time Warner, but also adds a wealth of long-awaited services to Time Warner’s huge subscriber base. Most notable in Disney/ABC’s stable is the ever-growing ESPN family of sports networks. Here’s a breakdown of what this deal means to subscribers:
1. The Status Quo:
The threat of a blackout of channels may seem like a bunch of positioning and bluffing to the outside observer, but if negotiations get to a stalemate, blackouts certainly can happen. In fact, last March, similar negotiations with Cablevision, a New York area cable provider, resulted in Disney-owned WABC-7 being blacked out for the start of the Academy Awards. Hard luck New Yorkers also lost the Food Network and HGTV on Cablevision for three weeks in January, and local sports network MSG was recently blacked out by Time Warner Cable there as well.
We will never know just how close we came to not having access to ESPN in Time Warner markets, including Milwaukee, but the fact of the matter is, the Disney/ABC stable, which includes ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, and SOAPnet, will be available for the foreseeable future.
2. ESPN3.com
ESPN3.com, formerly known as ESPN360, is ESPN’s online broadband sports network, which offers a wealth of live and on-demand sports programming, most of which is unavailable on television, outside of an all-sports package such as ESPN Game Plan or Full Court. The caveat with ESPN3 is that access is only granted to those logging into the site from an ESPN-approved broadband provider. It has been a longtime lament of sports fans on Time Warner broadband that they were shut out of this fantastic service. Thanks to this deal, Time Warner’s 14 million nationwide subscribers now have access to ESPN3, and its more than 3,500 annual live sporting events.
This deal also allows Time Warner to feature what the press release calls “cleared content from ESPN3.com” on its sports tier. It’s unclear what exactly this means, but it will likely result in new live sports programming available on Time Warner’s air, which is certainly a good thing. The deal will also allow Xbox 360 users in Time Warner’s markets to access ESPN3 from their console, giving users an easy way to enjoy online-broadcasted sports from their living room flat screen.
3. 3D
ESPN launched a 3D channel in conjunction with the World Cup. This is a new venture, but ESPN is adding new 3D live sports programming consistently. The new technology still doesn’t have much penetration as of yet, but those early adopters who have bought a 3D capable TV no longer have to be content with just watching Avatar and Monsters vs. Aliens anymore.
4. New Stuff
The deal supposedly will also allow for the placement of more ABC, Disney, and ESPN on-demand content through Time Warner’s VOD platform. This certainly means access to that episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Hannah Montana you might have missed last week, but what it also could mean is on demand access to last night’s college basketball games, or the most recent edition of SportsCenter, which would be a huge addition to any sports fan.
ESPN is also implementing two new channels similar to the NFL Network’s Red Zone Channel: ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater, which will respectively cover college football and basketball. Like the Red Zone channel, these two channels will spend the day jumping between ongoing games all around the country, allowing viewers to not miss a crucial moment of any game. Very cool, indeed.
Finally, the deal promises subscribers the ability to watch ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU through their broadband and mobile Internet devices. Details on this are sketchy so far, but the ability to watch ESPN on your iPad or Droid would be a nice addition.
Putting it All Together
Ultimately, this deal means a lot of new sports content to Time Warner subscribers. It’s unclear when all of these features will be implemented, but as of this morning, ESPN3.com was already available through my Time Warner broadband. More details about the deal can be found in the joint press release here.
Now that that’s done, we Time Warner sports junkies can go back to our regularly scheduled programming of lamenting the lack of the NFL Network on our cable.
1. The Status Quo:
The threat of a blackout of channels may seem like a bunch of positioning and bluffing to the outside observer, but if negotiations get to a stalemate, blackouts certainly can happen. In fact, last March, similar negotiations with Cablevision, a New York area cable provider, resulted in Disney-owned WABC-7 being blacked out for the start of the Academy Awards. Hard luck New Yorkers also lost the Food Network and HGTV on Cablevision for three weeks in January, and local sports network MSG was recently blacked out by Time Warner Cable there as well.
We will never know just how close we came to not having access to ESPN in Time Warner markets, including Milwaukee, but the fact of the matter is, the Disney/ABC stable, which includes ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, and SOAPnet, will be available for the foreseeable future.
2. ESPN3.com
ESPN3.com, formerly known as ESPN360, is ESPN’s online broadband sports network, which offers a wealth of live and on-demand sports programming, most of which is unavailable on television, outside of an all-sports package such as ESPN Game Plan or Full Court. The caveat with ESPN3 is that access is only granted to those logging into the site from an ESPN-approved broadband provider. It has been a longtime lament of sports fans on Time Warner broadband that they were shut out of this fantastic service. Thanks to this deal, Time Warner’s 14 million nationwide subscribers now have access to ESPN3, and its more than 3,500 annual live sporting events.
This deal also allows Time Warner to feature what the press release calls “cleared content from ESPN3.com” on its sports tier. It’s unclear what exactly this means, but it will likely result in new live sports programming available on Time Warner’s air, which is certainly a good thing. The deal will also allow Xbox 360 users in Time Warner’s markets to access ESPN3 from their console, giving users an easy way to enjoy online-broadcasted sports from their living room flat screen.
3. 3D
ESPN launched a 3D channel in conjunction with the World Cup. This is a new venture, but ESPN is adding new 3D live sports programming consistently. The new technology still doesn’t have much penetration as of yet, but those early adopters who have bought a 3D capable TV no longer have to be content with just watching Avatar and Monsters vs. Aliens anymore.
4. New Stuff
The deal supposedly will also allow for the placement of more ABC, Disney, and ESPN on-demand content through Time Warner’s VOD platform. This certainly means access to that episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Hannah Montana you might have missed last week, but what it also could mean is on demand access to last night’s college basketball games, or the most recent edition of SportsCenter, which would be a huge addition to any sports fan.
ESPN is also implementing two new channels similar to the NFL Network’s Red Zone Channel: ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater, which will respectively cover college football and basketball. Like the Red Zone channel, these two channels will spend the day jumping between ongoing games all around the country, allowing viewers to not miss a crucial moment of any game. Very cool, indeed.
Finally, the deal promises subscribers the ability to watch ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU through their broadband and mobile Internet devices. Details on this are sketchy so far, but the ability to watch ESPN on your iPad or Droid would be a nice addition.
Putting it All Together
Ultimately, this deal means a lot of new sports content to Time Warner subscribers. It’s unclear when all of these features will be implemented, but as of this morning, ESPN3.com was already available through my Time Warner broadband. More details about the deal can be found in the joint press release here.
Now that that’s done, we Time Warner sports junkies can go back to our regularly scheduled programming of lamenting the lack of the NFL Network on our cable.
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