Viacom, which owns channels like Comedy Central and MTV, is in advanced talks to be a part of a sports-free TV package priced at $10-$20 a month, CEO Bob Bakish said at a conference Monday, according to Variety.
A TV bundle without sports that costs under $20 is coming together, according to Viacom's CEO
Viacom, which owns channels like Comedy Central and MTV, is in advanced talks to be a part of a sports-free TV package priced at $10-$20 a month.
Earlier this month, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said there's room in the market for a sports-free package that costs $8 to $12 a month.
There are two basic camps on this matter.
The parent companies of the major broadcast networks — NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox — have paid a lot for sports rights, so they want no part of a bundle that makes sports seem less important. The cable networks they own are also out. So no FX, USA, or Fox News.
That means the bundle will have to be constructed of companies like Discovery, Viacom, AMC, Scripps, and Turner (though it does have some sports rights). Those five put together could indeed make a pretty compelling cheap "entertainment" bundle at $20 or less. You would get a spread of programming from CNN's news, to AMC's dramas, to Comedy Central or the Food Network. There would be holes, but at the right price people might be willing to overlook it.
Distributors who want to sell such a bundle might run into trouble, however. How? Some of the contracts cable and satellite providers have signed with heavyweights like Disney and Fox have fine print designed to stop new bundles like these. And in 2015, ESPN sued Verizon over a sports-free bundle, saying it violated distribution deals.
But it seems that at least one distributor is looking to bring a $10-$20 bundle to market anyway.
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