ESPN And Bundesliga Sign Six-Year U.S. Television Deal

[Eco]

Quote

ESPN And Bundesliga Sign Six-Year U.S. Television Deal

ESPN+ will be the new U.S. home for the Bundesliga, Germany’s top domestic soccer league, as the result of a new six-year agreement that will begin in August 2020 the league announced on Monday, September 30. The Bundesliga’s current deal is with Fox, but that deal will expire at the end of this season. 

Ahead of the deal announcement on Monday Bundesliga vice-president of the Americas Arne Rees, ESPN senior vice-president of programming and acquisitions Scott Guglielmino and CEO of Bundesliga International Robert Klein explained some of the details of the deal.

“First of all, I want to say there is no ESPN+,” Rees says. “Most of the games will be on ESPN+, but it is a partnership with ESPN, an organization that has about 90 million people that use the digital format. That number goes to about 200 million if you add all the TV and radio users to that.”

 

“What ESPN+ is now and what ESPN+ will be by the time we start our contract are two different animals,” Rees said. ESPN will launch a new bundle on November 12 that will allow users to access Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ all in one package available for $12.99 in the United States.

“ESPN+ we view as complementary to all of our platforms, whether it's a linear audio distribution, open digital, it's very much a complementary piece,” says Guglielmino.

“They were the quickest to one million [users], quickest to two million [users],” Klein says. “And with a new bundle coming in November we will soon be in the 10s of millions during the length of this contract.” 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/manuelveth/2019/09/30/espn-and-bundesliga-sign-six-year-us-television-deal/#5841b1f7543d

[nudge]

Is this good or bad? 

[DeadLinesman]

I’m confused by just about every sentence in that post . It’s on ESPN+, but there is no ESPN+. WTF.

[Pyfish+]

Nah, I'm good thanks. That article was bloody confusing ha. 

This is what they're chatting about: https://watch.espnplus.com/sports/

[Stan]

5 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

I’m confused by just about every sentence in that post . It’s on ESPN+, but there is no ESPN+. WTF.

Sounds like ESPN+ is an additional (free) service if you subscribe to ESPN on that new bundle?

If not, then I'm seriously confused too  

[Faithcore]

Must be something like TF365+.

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Faithcore said:

Must be something like TF365+.

Pssst don't talk about it; it's supposed to be exclusive...

[Faithcore]

13 minutes ago, nudge said:

Pssst don't talk about it; it's supposed to be exclusive...

It is. But we only invite who we want to invite, right?

I think it's okay to let the others know that they are missing out.

[Eco]

5 hours ago, nudge said:

Is this good or bad? 

Very good. Read below. 

5 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

I’m confused by just about every sentence in that post . It’s on ESPN+, but there is no ESPN+. WTF.

There is an ESPN+. It's an add on service here in the States, and so for $5 a month I watch all Serie A matches, some Dutch league, 1 Championship game, a couple of Chinese matches, and some other odd sports. 

So basically they are increasing this service ot be $12 (still not bad at all), and it'll include every Serie A match, PLUS now the Bundesliga. This is massive as to watch every Bundesliga match now, requires a subscription to Fox Soccer Plus, which is $20/month and you don't get the extra matches like the Serie A and whatnot. So now, I will be able to watch any Bundesliga match I want, alongside any Serie A match I want. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

5 hours ago, Stan said:

Sounds like ESPN+ is an additional (free) service if you subscribe to ESPN on that new bundle?

If not, then I'm seriously confused too  

Nah it's an additional paid service in the US to stream matches. I actually hate ESPN+ because it's ESPN, so it's owned by Disney and they own a shitload of fucking channels, but they want everyone else to pay more money and buy an additional service to watch more matches.

When I first saw the news I thought "nice, I'll watch more Bundesliga matches now" (because right now Bundesliga matches are broadcast on Fox Sports - which tbh might actually be owned by Disney now too - but holy fuck their coverage is terrible). But then I saw it was ESPN+. So my reaction is actually "well, I guess I'll be watching even less of the Bundesliga than I do currently."

[Eco]

5 hours ago, Stan said:

Sounds like ESPN+ is an additional (free) service if you subscribe to ESPN on that new bundle?

If not, then I'm seriously confused too  

ESPN+ is an extra service you can pay for. It's $5 a month, and you have to have a cable provider to have the ability to subscribe to this service. 

Cable here can cost $100 a month if you include internet, but right now I have the cheapest service possible, plus ESPN+, so I have access to all F1 practices/Quals/Races, all Serie A matches, and now will be able to watch all Bundesliga matches. They also have the MLS so I can watch any MLS match live. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, Eco said:

Very good. Read below. 

There is an ESPN+. It's an add on service here in the States, and so for $5 a month I watch all Serie A matches, some Dutch league, 1 Championship game, a couple of Chinese matches, and some other odd sports. 

So basically they are increasing this service ot be $12 (still not bad at all), and it'll include every Serie A match, PLUS now the Bundesliga. This is massive as to watch every Bundesliga match now, requires a subscription to Fox Soccer Plus, which is $20/month and you don't get the extra matches like the Serie A and whatnot. So now, I will be able to watch any Bundesliga match I want, alongside any Serie A match I want. 

Eh... I'm not to keen on paying extra for more TV. I'm already paying $50 a month for YouTube TV - which has most channels I'd want to watch and... like any other TV service waaaay more channels that I'll never fucking touch - and paying extra for more matches is... really not what I want to do. I also hate that NBC's done the same shite with the Premier League... it was better before when you could watch the other matches on other NBC channels that weren't showing anything other than infomercials at that point in the day (at least here on the west coast, where CNBC would also be showing Premier League matches).

[Eco]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Nah it's an additional paid service in the US to stream matches. I actually hate ESPN+ because it's ESPN, so it's owned by Disney and they own a shitload of fucking channels, but they want everyone else to pay more money and buy an additional service to watch more matches.

When I first saw the news I thought "nice, I'll watch more Bundesliga matches now" (because right now Bundesliga matches are broadcast on Fox Sports - which tbh might actually be owned by Disney now too - but holy fuck their coverage is terrible). But then I saw it was ESPN+. So my reaction is actually "well, I guess I'll be watching even less of the Bundesliga than I do currently."

Ah, but Disney is coming out with their own streaming service, which will be included in this $12/month. If you have kids like I do, then this is vital. It'll also include Hulu if anyone cares, but for such a low, monthly, cost, I'm absolutely down for this. 

To watch any and all live matches from MLS, Bundesliga, and Serie A for $12 a month? It's absolutely worth it. 

[Eco]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

Eh... I'm not to keen on paying extra for more TV. I'm already paying $50 a month for YouTube TV - which has most channels I'd want to watch and... like any other TV service waaaay more channels that I'll never fucking touch - and paying extra for more matches is... really not what I want to do. I also hate that NBC's done the same shite with the Premier League... it was better before when you could watch the other matches on other NBC channels that weren't showing anything other than infomercials at that point in the day (at least here on the west coast, where CNBC would also be showing Premier League matches).

I think we pay about $50 a month for cable, another $50 for my internet (Gig Fiber internet since I work from home), so an added $12 isn't too bad, IMO. 

Right now to get access to Bundesliga is like $20/month, and I think it's $25/month to get access to all EPL matches. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, Eco said:

Ah, but Disney is coming out with their own streaming service, which will be included in this $12/month. If you have kids like I do, then this is vital. It'll also include Hulu if anyone cares, but for such a low, monthly, cost, I'm absolutely down for this. 

To watch any and all live matches from MLS, Bundesliga, and Serie A for $12 a month? It's absolutely worth it. 

When I have kids I'll be tempted to bin off TV entirely (although I'll illegally stream my football lol) and give them the same experience with TV as a kid that I used to have - 5 fucking channels and that's it.

[Eco]

The Russian Premier League is now on Youtube, but I'm not sure if you have to have YouTubeTV. If so, I might have to change to that. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, Eco said:

I think we pay about $50 a month for cable, another $50 for my internet (Gig Fiber internet since I work from home), so an added $12 isn't too bad, IMO. 

Right now to get access to Bundesliga is like $20/month, and I think it's $25/month to get access to all EPL matches. 

I pay fuckin $80 for my internet... and it's not even gig fiber. Fuckin' California lol

[Eco]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

When I have kids I'll be tempted to bin off TV entirely (although I'll illegally stream my football lol) and give them the same experience with TV as a kid that I used to have - 5 fucking channels and that's it.

Yeah - we don't do a ton of TV. But each week to have a 'movie night' that is usually a kids movie. We have Netflix for 'free' as it comes along with our cellular service, but they are losing all their Disney movies since Disney released their new streaming service. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Just now, Eco said:

The Russian Premier League is now on Youtube, but I'm not sure if you have to have YouTubeTV. If so, I might have to change to that. 

I think that's just YouTube, without needing the YouTube TV (which is a different app on my TV/phone, and different website on my computer) - so I think you'd be able to watch the Russian Premier League with just your YouTube app without needing to pay anymore (thankfully).

[Eco]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

I pay fuckin $80 for my internet... and it's not even gig fiber. Fuckin' California lol

Yeah - fuck that. 

I was just in Monterrey, CA, for work, and while it's absolutely beautiful (played golf there on the coast), I noticed everything is priced the same as here in Atlanta, plus an additional 25%. Plus the taxes you guys have to pay....no thanks. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Just now, Eco said:

Yeah - we don't do a ton of TV. But each week to have a 'movie night' that is usually a kids movie. We have Netflix for 'free' as it comes along with our cellular service, but they are losing all their Disney movies since Disney released their new streaming service. 

T Mobile? Nice, me too.

I like how the last several posts have mostly been about us describing the streaming services we use and their various prices 

[nudge]

5 minutes ago, Eco said:

Ah, but Disney is coming out with their own streaming service, which will be included in this $12/month. If you have kids like I do, then this is vital. It'll also include Hulu if anyone cares, but for such a low, monthly, cost, I'm absolutely down for this. 

To watch any and all live matches from MLS, Bundesliga, and Serie A for $12 a month? It's absolutely worth it. 

Can you adopt me for a few months until Disney+ launches in Europe and Asia? I need my Star Wars fix.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Just now, Eco said:

Yeah - fuck that. 

I was just in Monterrey, CA, for work, and while it's absolutely beautiful (played golf there on the coast), I noticed everything is priced the same as here in Atlanta, plus an additional 25%. Plus the taxes you guys have to pay....no thanks. 

In San Diego we call it the "sunshine tax" - being from a place where rain just pisses down on us constantly, going to San Diego and not really having to ever experience seasons has been so pleasant, it's worth it to me. It's like living on holiday... but with a job...

[Eco]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

T Mobile? Nice, me too.

I like how the last several posts have mostly been about us describing the streaming services we use and their various prices 

Yeah - I get it through the company so I don't pay for it. 

But once I realized that these Europeans don't know ESPN+, this news isn't as exciting as it is for me...in fact it might actually infuriate them considering I bet if @Tommy was to do it legally, it'd be near impossible to watch all Bundesliga matches. 

[Eco]

2 minutes ago, nudge said:

Can you adopt me for a few months until Disney+ launches in Europe and Asia? I need my Star Wars fix.

Ha - yes, I will then have access to all of the Star Wars films. 

While I love the original 3, I haven't seen ANY other than those (I don't watch a lot of movies), but I'll certainly start my SW binge when the service starts.