RonJohn
Helluva Engineer
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Looks like things are coming to a head with ATT. Disney is not playing around....
https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-blitzes-att-mnf-viewers-with-ads-ticker-updates-streaming-blackouts-as-massive-suddenly-contentious-att-carriage-dispute-looms.html
From that article: "You’d think they’d ultimately agree to a deal, but perhaps we’re at the breaking point where ESPN finds themselves no longer immortal as the cable universe continues to unravel."
ESPN has demanded that all subscribers have the ESPN channels whether they want sports or not. Estimates are that the ESPN suite now costs between $15-$18 per subscriber. AT&T is seriously considering getting out of the TV distribution business altogether. I think it would be bad for DirectTV to lose sports. That is one of the big draws of DirecTV (Sunday Ticket, many sports bars use DirecTV, etc) However, I'm not sure AT&T is concerned about that.
Just like I said with Comcast, these are two businesses whose business models are on their last leg. They are both fighting to remain relevant. (And AT&T doesn't really seem to care)