Apparently, the revolution will not be televised…at least not on TV as we know it.
Dish Network announced their new streaming television service, Sling Television, at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) on Monday. Sling Television will become the first online TV service offered by a traditional media player and certainly the first to offer ESPN. The service, currently priced at $20 per subscriber, will include live and on demand content from ESPN, TNT and Food Network. Plus, Sling TV will feature web content from MCN (Multi-Channel Network) players like Maker Studios – also a Disney company.
Before I go into why we should care, kudos to Dish Network for challenging the system. Although it totally makes sense, Dish is – by far – the most pioneering and innovating companies of the Pay TV ecosystem. In the same breadth, I gotta talk about how this pioneering spirit descends from the great media renegade Charlie Ergen. By renegade I mean, if the media landscape was The Wire, he would be Omar (hands down). People shutter when they know he’s coming and he’ll literally hold your network ransom until he gets what he wants. (I could literally go on…and on….and on….with this metaphor of Ergen as Omar. – ya’ll don’t want that)
For more reasons why Dish pioneers in this space, check out CNET Picked Dish Hopper as ‘Best of CES’ … Until CBS Stepped In
Or more on how badass Charlie Ergen is, check out Dish Network’s Charlie Ergen Is the Most Hated Man in Hollywood
What Does This Mean & Why Are People So Damn Excited?
Because ESPN is the holy grail of TV Networks. Sports watcher have virtually no access to live games on ESPN outside of your paid cable/telco/satellite service. It doesn’t re-air well – meaning limited content across services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. And, it continues to top its own position as the highest rated telecast across cable television as overall cable ratings decline. If ESPN is finally available outside the “bundle” – does that mean the great unbundling that everyone fears has come?
For more on the redeeming qualities of ESPN, check out Can ESPN Save TV?
This also means TV Network brands are absolutely vital. Networks need to quickly build brand equity – become memorable and grow personalities. They need to connect with viewers and not just broadcast the shows that connect with viewers (because you get those shows on Netflix). As TV unbundles and viewers have to choose, they’ll pick ESPN, HBO, AMC and FX? No one picks Pivot, Ovation or Reelz – let’s be honest.
What does the Future Hold?
The biggest question remains – can Dish Network build a sustainable business model from this? They need this venture to fuel long-term growth, i.e. pick up on lost $$ for cord-nevers (millennials who’ve never had a cable subscriptions), but will this be enough?
