ESPN & ESPN2 Ceding To ESPN+

marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
if you're used to the coverage on ESPN & ESPN2 be prepared for a major change....ESPN+ subscription will now be needed to watch many hours of coverage including overnight prime time matches in Oz

I can shell out for the month and cancel, but I'm used to recording overnight on my cable tv DVR and watching in the morning...will I be able to do that on their stream?

these networks really are boxing us in

espnpressroom.com

Another Australian Open Schedule Update: Monday, Jan. 24, ESPN2 Telecast Extended to Feature Madison Keys, Rafael Nadal in QFs

No. 1 Seeds – Nine-Time Winner Novak Djokovic, Australian Ashleigh Barty – Lead the Fields Nightly Live Coverage, Semifinals and Championships on Linear Television, ESPN+ New Highlight Show on ABC Each Weekend ESPN+ – More Exclusive Hours, Matches on Show Courts & Four Quarterfinals; Adds...
espnpressroom.com
 
GabeT

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Hmm. I have the opposite problem. I already have ESPN+ from a Disney package but don’t have ESPN since I no longer have cable. So in the past I had to subscribe for a month to HULU Tv or equivalent to get ESPN. If they moved all the matches to ESPN+ it would make my life much easier.
 
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marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
GabeT said:
Hmm. I have the opposite problem. I already have ESPN+ from a Disney package but don’t have ESPN since I no longer have cable. So in the past I had to subscribe for a month to HULU Tv or equivalent to get ESPN. If they moved all the matches to ESPN+ it would make my life much easier.
Click to expand...

I'm old :)

can you watch on replay?...I also don't want to run across scores of matches I haven't seen yet
 
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marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
pj80 said:
Yeah it's lame...all Djokovic matches will be prime time. What else they gonna show at midnight?
Click to expand...

yeah, just ran through multiple days on my guide...nothing extraordinary airing, what would be at those hours?...they just dumped it for normal taped programming
 
fedfan08

fedfan08

Professional
They’re moving it to ESPN+ showing non-live programming on ESPN and ESPN2 all to milk people for a subscription. What a bunch of BS. Tennis Channel probably can’t afford to have it. F**K Disney.
 
fedfan08

fedfan08

Professional
marc45 said:
yeah, just ran through multiple days on my guide...nothing extraordinary airing, what would be at those hours?...they just dumped it for normal taped programming
Click to expand...
Because they want to force you to sign up for ESPN+ (or the Disney bundle). Never mind that the majority of people’s cable/satellite bills are to pay for ESPN. What a joke.
 
GabeT

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
marc45 said:
I'm old :)

can you watch on replay?...I also don't want to run across scores of matches I haven't seen yet
Click to expand...
The ESPN app has a replay section. I tend to watch on my iPad. If you have Apple TV or something like that I believe the ESPN app there will also have a replay section.
 
fundrazer

fundrazer

G.O.A.T.
These clowns don't realize that forcing so much crap behind subscriptions is just going to push people back to piracy.

Do they really think we don't know where to find free streams for tennis? Have had to do it for years.
 
TopspintheTerrible

TopspintheTerrible

Hall of Fame
I don’t get what the change is. And $6.99 or whatever it is now for 1 month of ESPN+ isn’t a bad deal considering you have access to pretty much every single match.

TennisTV is $15/month and you don’t get majors nor WTA.
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
TopspintheTerrible said:
I don’t get what the change is. And $6.99 or whatever it is now for 1 month of ESPN+ isn’t a bad deal considering you have access to pretty much every single match.

TennisTV is $15/month and you don’t get majors nor WTA.
Click to expand...

I don't mind the money for one month, and then I'd cancel

it's just the convenience of my DVR, and the way they've covered it for years...built it up to an overnight success story from scratch and now this
 
fedfan08

fedfan08

Professional
TopspintheTerrible said:
I don’t get what the change is. And $6.99 or whatever it is now for 1 month of ESPN+ isn’t a bad deal considering you have access to pretty much every single match.

TennisTV is $15/month and you don’t get majors nor WTA.
Click to expand...
The change is only a few hours shown on ESPN (or ESPN2). The rest you have to get from ESPN+. Last year they pretty much had first ball to last ball coverage between those two networks. Greedy bastards.
 
TopspintheTerrible

TopspintheTerrible

Hall of Fame
marc45 said:
I don't mind the money for one month, and then I'd cancel

it's just the convenience of my DVR, and the way they've covered it for years...built it up to an overnight success story from scratch and now this
Click to expand...
I get that. But if you have a smart tv then you can watch all the replays through the ESPN app.
 
TopspintheTerrible

TopspintheTerrible

Hall of Fame
fedfan08 said:
The change is only a few hours shown on ESPN (or ESPN2). The rest you have to get from ESPN+. Last year they pretty much had first ball to last ball coverage between those two networks. Greedy bastards.
Click to expand...
Oh ok, I know what you mean. That’s weird. It’s not like there’s other sporting events in the US competing with the Aus Open @ 2am.

Tennis coverage in the US is a pain in the ass. My biggest issue is having to pay for TC plus to watch RG.
 
fedfan08

fedfan08

Professional
TopspintheTerrible said:
Oh ok, I know what you mean. That’s weird. It’s not like there’s other sporting events in the US competing with the Aus Open @ 2am.

Tennis coverage in the US is a pain in the ass. My biggest issue is having to pay for TC plus to watch RG.
Click to expand...
Of course not. It’s to fleece people for $6.99/mo. Of course I’m going to sign up but I already set a reminder to cancel once AO is over.
 
fedfan08

fedfan08

Professional
ESPN didn’t send anyone to Australia and it seems like they pushed night matches to ESPN+. The ones I watched didn’t have any ESPN crew doing the commentary. Tennis Channel did something similar with the warm-up tournaments. They commented on the day matches and showed Aussie feeds for the night matches. Jason Goodall said he wished they could be in Australia so I assume this is just a covid thing?
 
McLovin

McLovin

Legend
marc45 said:
can you watch on replay?...I also don't want to run across scores of matches I haven't seen yet
Click to expand...
As others have said, yes, you can watch on replay. My only complaint is that the 'skip 10 sec' feature on my Apple TV always displays the progress bar at the bottom, showing how much time remains in the match. If you have passed 2nd grade math (or is it 'maths'?), it's not hard to figure out that a 1h 45m match will likely be over in 3 sets, so whoever wins the 1st, probably wins the match.

As far as paying for the service...

I've mentioned this before, but you can get the Disney + bundle (Disney +, Hulu, ESPN +) for $14/mo. That's not a bad deal when you figure, in addition to the tennis, you've got full access to the Marvel & Star Wars TV and movie catalogue, as well as whatever is playing on Hulu (I don't watch Hulu, but my daughters do).

What's really confusing is I routinely see people happily drop $5 for a cup of coffee, or $8 for a pint of their favorite micro brew, but complain about paying a similar amount for a month's worth of access to a streaming service.
 
celito

celito

Professional
jdx2112 said:
Splurge for the $8 monthly charge and then cancel in 3 weeks
Click to expand...

You could do that. Wimbledon and US Open will be on the same model though. So do it 3 times.

Enough people do that and they start to require 3 month minimum. A lot of people end up doing for 1 month and not bothering with cancelling it though. And they count on that.
 
LOBALOT

LOBALOT

Hall of Fame
celito said:
You could do that. Wimbledon and US Open will be on the same model though. So do it 3 times.

Enough people do that and they start to require 3 month minimum. A lot of people end up doing for 1 month and not bothering with cancelling it though. And they count on that.
Click to expand...

I think though the networks varied for a few of the majors and was not consistent here in the US making it even more frustrating.
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
well, my first experience with ESPN+ and this tournament, and it's awful

main reason....the matches on demand have a time on them, so you know, according to who's winning and the time left, who's going to win!...ridiculous

now I'm going have to be up for the overnight matches live which ruins my sleep pattern
 
norcal

norcal

Legend
celito said:
The $7 is to entice you and get used to the service . Then they jack the price up slowly . Soon it will be $15-$20.
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The price has gone up $1 in 3 years. Set your calendar to cancel (or you cancel right away, you still get to watch the rest of the month). It's not that hard - if you want to watch lots of tennis and choose what matches to watch/ignore.

Does suck that you can tell who wins (a lot of the time) when ff'ing. Not sure how that could be fixed though as it's a timed recording.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
marc45 said:
if you're used to the coverage on ESPN & ESPN2 be prepared for a major change....ESPN+ subscription will now be needed to watch many hours of coverage including overnight prime time matches in Oz

I can shell out for the month and cancel, but I'm used to recording overnight on my cable tv DVR and watching in the morning...will I be able to do that on their stream?

these networks really are boxing us in

espnpressroom.com

Another Australian Open Schedule Update: Monday, Jan. 24, ESPN2 Telecast Extended to Feature Madison Keys, Rafael Nadal in QFs

No. 1 Seeds – Nine-Time Winner Novak Djokovic, Australian Ashleigh Barty – Lead the Fields Nightly Live Coverage, Semifinals and Championships on Linear Television, ESPN+ New Highlight Show on ABC Each Weekend ESPN+ – More Exclusive Hours, Matches on Show Courts & Four Quarterfinals; Adds...
espnpressroom.com
Click to expand...


Actually, that is awesome for me for once. I don't do cable so I miss a lot. But I have ESPN+ with my Disnesy Sub for like $11 a month, so will exploit use with some AO coverage watching!
 
J

jdx2112

Hall of Fame
celito said:
You could do that. Wimbledon and US Open will be on the same model though. So do it 3 times.

Enough people do that and they start to require 3 month minimum. A lot of people end up doing for 1 month and not bothering with cancelling it though. And they count on that.
Click to expand...
Inertia is a hell of a business model.
 
Cupcake

Cupcake

Hall of Fame
Prize money for the AO: A$75,000,000 (2022) They get a large part of that from world-wide TV revenue, which means eventually from us. If you find the right combination to watch, it doesnt seem too expensive to me since I watch hours and hours of it.

I'm currently watching (sort of) Rublev v Mager on ESPN+
 
Open Stance

Open Stance

Professional
Just tried watching ESPN+. The matches are lame and so is the coverage. Guess I'll watch some football but that Rams - Cardinals game is looking pretty one-sided. This AO* is going to be a bust.
 
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