ESPN & ESPN2 Ceding To ESPN+

[marc45]

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

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

 

[Deleted member 788697]

That is unfortunate.

 

[tennis4me]

Sigh.... I used to be able to watch many matches online with ESPN3 just because I have Internet with my ISP. Now most matches are gone from ESPN3, they all need ESPN+

 

[pj80]

Yeah it's lame...all Djokovic matches will be prime time. What else they gonna show at midnight?

 

[GabeT]

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.

 

[marc45]

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.

I'm old

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

 

[marc45]

Yeah it's lame...all Djokovic matches will be prime time. What else they gonna show at midnight?

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]

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]

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

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]

I'm old

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

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.

 

[victorcruz]

I dunno how my IPTV will handle that, but I'm pretty sure I get all the + channels in 1 of the sections ombulleeble

 

[GabeT]

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.

True but cable tv is dying

 

[fundrazer]

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.

 

[TennisFan436]

So how can we view live coverage? Is Tennis Channel still an option here? I use FuboTv.

 

[fedfan08]

True but cable tv is dying

It’s not like they can’t put it on ESPN+ in addition to ESPN/ESPN2. I just looked at my guide and for most of the time they’d normally be showing AO they’re showing tapped programming. Greedy bastards.

 

[TopspintheTerrible]

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.

 

[Tshooter]

I find this very good news.

 

[marc45]

So how can we view live coverage? Is Tennis Channel still an option here? I use FuboTv.

TC just does replays the next morning...ESPN2 has an afternoon recap the next day

 

[TennisFan436]

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.

TennisTV does not sound appealing at all.

 

[Arsnlrob]

$7/month too much for you guys? Damn...

 

[marc45]

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.

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

 

[TopspintheTerrible]

TennisTV does not sound appealing at all.

If you’re only interested in ATP, then it’s a good option. But Tennis Channel Plus is $100/yr and you can watch every single WTA tournament, most ATP tournaments & Roland Garros.

 

[fedfan08]

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.

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]

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

I get that. But if you have a smart tv then you can watch all the replays through the ESPN app.

 

[TopspintheTerrible]

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.

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.

 

[GummiiBear]

I get that. But if you have a smart tv then you can watch all the replays through the ESPN app.

In my case, I have a PS4 so use that for any streaming services I’ve got. ESPN+ is a little janky (controls) on it, but it gets the job done.

 

[fedfan08]

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.

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.

 

[LOBALOT]

What a rip off again. I pay for TC and I pay for TC+ and I pay for streaming services that include ESPN/2 and again no coverage.

Complete horse doo doo.

 

[intrepidish]

Yeah it's lame...all Djokovic matches will be prime time. What else they gonna show at midnight?

I have some good news for you and some bad news

 

[norcal]

$7/month too much for you guys? Damn...

When you consider price per match (and the other content on there) it's really cheap. I've been watching some qualies already.

 

[fedfan08]

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]

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

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]

$7/month too much for you guys? Damn...

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.

 

[Cup8489]

Yeah it's lame...all Djokovic matches will be prime time. What else they gonna show at midnight?

NOT NOVAK

 

[Purestriker]

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.

Correct. The addiction subscription model and it has proven to work well.

 

[jdx2112]

That is unfortunate.

Splurge for the $8 monthly charge and then cancel in 3 weeks

 

[celito]

Splurge for the $8 monthly charge and then cancel in 3 weeks

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]

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.

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]

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

 

[marc45]

just a note...the semifinals and finals will be live on ESPN & ESPN2

 

[norcal]

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.

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]

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

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

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!

 

[FlamingCheeto]

I got the Disney Hulu ESPN+ package it's like 13 a month super easy barely an inconvenience

 

[jdx2112]

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.

Inertia is a hell of a business model.

 

[James P]

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.

You can cancel immediately. You already paid for the month and they won't take that away from you. That's how I did it, no need to remember lol.

 

[Cupcake]

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+

 

[Autodidactic player]

I got the Disney Hulu ESPN+ package it's like 13 a month super easy barely an inconvenience

I found that the picture quality is much better on the ESPN app than the HULU app. Don't know why. Same content, just better picture quality.

 

[jdx2112]

You can cancel immediately. You already paid for the month and they won't take that away from you. That's how I did it, no need to remember lol.

Good tip

 

[Open Stance]

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.

 

[TopspintheTerrible]

I found that the picture quality is much better on the ESPN app than the HULU app. Don't know why. Same content, just better picture quality.

Yup. It is. You’re not crazy.