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2023 Official Astros World Champs Offseason Thread

tx 3 putt

By tx 3 putt
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tx 3 putt
tx 3 putt

You wanted us. You got us.  You got your asses beat !   Let's do it again in 2023     

henrygandorf
henrygandorf

love these articles and comments from the mlb media about marring a world series or how the baseball world will be critical of the astros for this move. get. the. fuck. out. with. that. nonsense.

MaybeACoordinator
MaybeACoordinator

Going through old pics because of the death of my grandmother / mom and came across this -- 1996, my son's first Astros game.

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IDIOTsavant

IDIOTsavant 8502

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, hornmpa96 said:

Anyone have any insight into what’s going on at AT&T Sports?

Per the WSJ, the networks have notified the teams that it won’t make the next rights payment and has offered to give the teams their inventory back. 

You sure you’re not talking about Sinclair/Bally? Haven’t heard anything regarding AT&T.

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TonyTexas

TonyTexas 10524

Posted
Posted (edited)

Warner Bros. Discovery has told teams that it plans to exit the regional sports network business entirely within the next several weeks.

The company, which operates three AT&T SportsNet-branded channels in Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh and has a minority stake in the Root Sports channel in Seattle, has told teams that they have until March 31 to reach an agreement to take their rights back. If the RSNs can’t reach deals with the teams, the channels eventually plan to move forward with a Chapter 7 liquidation filing.

In a statement provided to SBJ, WBD said, “AT&T SportsNet is not immune to the well-known challenges that the entire RSN industry is facing. We will continue to engage in private conversations with our partners as we seek to identify reasonable and constructive solutions.”

WBD sent letters to the leagues and teams this afternoon informing them of their plans to divest their interest in those four RSNs.

WBD has rights deals with 10 teams across those four networks: four MLB teams (Astros, Mariners, Pirates, Rockies), three NBA teams (Blazers, Jazz, Rockets) and three NHL teams (Kraken, Penguins, Golden Knights).

The moves come at a fraught time for WBD, which has been trying to get out of the RSN business for a while.

Over the past several months, league sources privately have praised WBD Sports’ RSN leadership, led by AT&T SportsNet President Patrick Crumb, for working with the teams to come up with a plan that would enable the company to get out of the RSN business.

In the letters, WBD said that it will allow the teams to use the same production staff and equipment to continue producing the games.

With WBD trying to extend its NBA package past 2024-25 -- as competitors like Amazon, Apple and NBC are emerging -- it's important for WBD to not ruffle feathers in the league office as it disentangles its interest in the RSNs.

Its RSNs hold the rights to three NBA teams -- the Blazers, Jazz and Rockets -- and it’s too early to determine how this move will affect them.

Edited by TonyTexas
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Updawg

Updawg 2286

Posted
Posted
Anyone have any insight into what’s going on at AT&T Sports?
Per the WSJ, the networks have notified the teams that it won’t make the next rights payment and has offered to give the teams their inventory back. 

I hope that means better options for us in austin
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TonyTexas

TonyTexas 10524

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, kevwun said:

It seems the simplest solution would be to make the Astros available to everyone on MLB.TV.  I hope the time crunch forces them to.

I think that’s what Manfred wants to do but there are a lot of questions  Where does  the money comes from. Pro rata portion of subscription revenues based on ratings?  Do the Astros have to form a team to sell commercials? How long will AT&T provide production?  Are you SOL if you don’t have a smart TV?

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kevwun

kevwun 15856

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Posted (edited)

I think that giving the team a percentage of subscription revenue makes the most sense.  It's fair to do it that way since you have to pick your team when you sign up anyway so it's an easy number to come up with.  It's just agreeing on the percentage.  MLB wants to do it anyway eventually so they would do whats necessary to come to an agreement.  They can probably use the ATT equipment and studios for the whole season or at least until they have time to get their own up and running.  MLB.TV solves the problem of distribution because it already exists and works well and that would be a big issue with every other solution.

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PantsTent

PantsTent 2002

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, kevwun said:

It seems the simplest solution would be to make the Astros available to everyone on MLB.TV.  I hope the time crunch forces them to.

This. They already have the platform...don't need another partner.  Just let the people who want to pay to watch baseball be able to do it.  From anywhere...

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Gourmand

Gourmand 7774

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On 2/24/2023 at 9:03 AM, Seasick Sailor said:

Seems relevant to the MLBtv discussion from upthread:

 

Thanks for the tip!

My subscription was set to renew in a couple of days at $149.99 but I joined the MLBPA and got my discount link yesterday and successfully applied it to a new MLB.TV subscription with a $75 discount. 

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Snake Diggity

Snake Diggity 4627

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Pretty clear that the teams/MLB have known about both Bally and ATT issues for months and are going to recapture all the media rights and have their own streaming service.  Long overdue.  Hopefully this is the last season that requires a $70/mo minimum to watch regular season Astros games in market.  I am hoping it’s something like $20/mo to watch just your team or $30/mo to watch all the games.  Would be super cool if they went back to Disney with it and you could get MLB combined with ESPN and SEC network all streaming for some reasonable price.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts revenues this season and beyond.  If all those teams aren’t going to get paid their fees this year then we could see several teams anxious to cut payroll (hopefully not the Astros).  It also remains to be seen whether MLB owning their own tv rights will result in more or less revenue and how that will be distributed.

Edited by Snake Diggity
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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19147

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, kevwun said:

I think that giving the team a percentage of subscription revenue makes the most sense.  It's fair to do it that way since you have to pick your team when you sign up anyway so it's an easy number to come up with.  It's just agreeing on the percentage.  MLB wants to do it anyway eventually so they would do whats necessary to come to an agreement.  They can probably use the ATT equipment and studios for the whole season or at least until they have time to get their own up and running.  MLB.TV solves the problem of distribution because it already exists and works well and that would be a big issue with every other solution.

It might solve the problem of distribution (which isn’t that big a problem) but it doesn’t solve the problem of providing Crane fat stacks of cash to pay for this outfit. My strong suspicion is any subscription pay model is a net money loser compared to the RSN’s. 

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WBT

WBT 20653

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

It might solve the problem of distribution (which isn’t that big a problem) but it doesn’t solve the problem of providing Crane fat stacks of cash to pay for this outfit. My strong suspicion is any subscription pay model is a net money loser compared to the RSN’s. 

Bigly. 

But the RSN bubble is bursting.  The subscriptions and ad revenue must not be there to cover the rights fees.  I doubt that distribution will actually change in the short-term though.  I bet that for a time MLB will just operate the RSNs themselves to keep getting those sweet, sweet subscription fees from people who don't watch baseball.  I don't see how going to streaming only makes sense.  You would probably have to charge something like $60/month and how many fans will be willing to pay that?

Either way though, it seems like league-wide revenue could actually contract from this.  That doesn't look good for future labor relations.

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WBT

WBT 20653

Posted
Posted

Found this article:

https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2023/02/24/report-ownership-for-rockets-astros-television-rights-likely-to-change/

This is their bottom line:

Quote

In the longer-term, once existing carriage agreements expire, the transition to local ownership might allow teams to explore direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming options. But that’s likely a number of years away, and each sports league will have conversations with its teams regarding the best path forward. The vast majority of teams and their broadcast partners are experiencing similar challenges.

For now, in AT&T SportsNet markets, it should largely be the status quo for fans in terms of their ability to watch the games.

 

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WBT

WBT 20653

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And David Barron, out of retirement with the Chronicle's take.  It doesn't really add anything other than to say that the existing carriage deals with Direct TV and Comcast goes through 2032.

Spoiler

For the second time in a decade, the regional sports network that carries Astros and Rockets games is on the verge of financial collapse.

Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of AT&T SportsNet Southwest, informed both teams by letter Friday that it plans to exit the RSN business and wants to negotiate with the teams to assume responsibility for broadcasting and distributing their games.

Despite the dire nature of the network’s impending collapse, fans will not lose access to their local teams’ games, because the Astros and Rockets have contracts to have their games telecast on DirecTV, AT&T and Comcast’s Xfinity cable service through 2032.

The main question as the Astros prepare for their season opener and the NBA season wraps up, then, is not whether the games will be available on DirecTV, AT&T and Xfinity but on which channel the games will air and who will pay production costs for telecasting the games.

Spokespeople for the Astros and Rockets declined comment regarding the letters, the receipt of which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal and Sports Business Daily.

According to the Journal, the letter to the teams sent by Patrick Crumb, who oversees the AT&T SportsNet channels, said that they “will not have sufficient cash to pay the upcoming rights fees” and that unless it can transfer ownership of the network by March 31, “the only realistic option is to file for Chapter 7 liquidation.”

 

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Scraps

Scraps 13570

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Brantley interview on mlb network asked about Yordan-

"I was here in 2019 my first season and his first season here and we were in the same batting group. I had never met him before. I saw him hitting the ball all over the field and asked him what position he played. He said he was LF. I said well then why did they sign me??"

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