{"id":8108,"date":"2015-04-27T17:11:15","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T21:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=8108"},"modified":"2015-04-27T17:11:15","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T21:11:15","slug":"espn-sues-verizon-over-custom-tv-but-skinny-bundles-seem-here-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/27\/espn-sues-verizon-over-custom-tv-but-skinny-bundles-seem-here-to-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN sues Verizon over Custom TV, but skinny bundles seem here to stay"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Verizon\u2019s attempt to offer smaller, cheaper television bundles could be short-lived if Disney\u2019s ESPN has its way.<\/p>\n

The sports broadcasting giant has sued Verizon over new \u201cCustom TV\u201d bundles that give users a small base package of channels plus optional add-on packs, CNBC reports. The new TV package arrived last week, and costs $25 less per month than Verizon\u2019s standard 235-channel bundle. ESPN is part of the \u201cSports\u201d add-on pack, which costs $10 extra per month if subscribers don\u2019t choose it as one of their two free add-ons. (Check out my latest cord-cutting column for all the details and gotchas with Custom TV.)<\/p>\n

Even before filing the lawsuit, ESPN had made its displeasure known. The company had been telling reporters that Custom TV \u201cwould not be authorized by our existing agreements,\u201d which don\u2019t allow ESPN or ESPN2 to be part of an optional sports package. Fox Sports and NBC have also been grumbling about Verizon\u2019s plan, but so far haven\u2019t piled on with their own lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Still, Verizon believes it\u2019s within its rights to offer skinny bundles to TV subscribers. \u201cWe believe that we are allowed to offer these packages under our existing contracts,\u201d CFO Fran Shammo said in an earnings call last week.<\/p>\n

Clearly, both sides are interpreting their contracts differently. The question is whether Verizon will try to defend its interpretation in court, or collapse under pressure.<\/p>\n

The story behind the story: This dust-up only highlights the strain that cord-cutting has put on the traditional pay TV business. Verizon realizes its subscriber base is at risk, and wants to reach the growing number of people who are walking away from expensive TV package. Networks, however, don\u2019t want to lose the revenue that comes with being part of a huge channel bundle. Even if Custom TV dies, it\u2019s unlikely that TV providers will stop trying to come up with smaller packages.<\/p>\n

via ESPN sues Verizon over Custom TV, but skinny bundles seem here to stay | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Verizon\u2019s attempt to offer smaller, cheaper television bundles could be short-lived if Disney\u2019s ESPN has its way. The sports broadcasting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[330,1152],"class_list":["post-8108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-espn","tag-verizon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-26M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9297,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2018\/02\/11\/this-week-in-tech-653-x-stands-for-nothing\/","url_meta":{"origin":8108,"position":0},"title":"This Week in Tech 653: X Stands for Nothing","author":"NCCT","date":"February 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9vdjtG9ozeQ HomePod should have been delayed longer. 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