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Comment by brianwawok | Hacker News Reader

Sports is the main reason I don't have cable. Would I pay $20 for a few HGTV channels, and a few Discovery channels, and HBO? Sure. Would I pay $50 for the same + 20 sports channels? Nope, sports have 0 value to me.

Not a huge loss though, netflix helps make up for missing content.

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Conversely sports is the only reason I do have cable. Maybe these dinosaurs are realizing that the casual sports watcher (i.e. not me) aren't willing to be forced into a specific delivery system.

Same here. (and I have the most basic package).. Right now, for me dedicated streaming NBA/ NFL are too expensive or tied to specific cable subscriptions.

> Nope, sports have 0 value to me.

Honestly, sports have negative value to me, like ads. The manufactured excitement, the soap opera lives of the players, the constant assumption by the media complex that I must care about who plays and wins are draining. If I could pay for some sort of sports blocker which would prevent me from having to know about what sports season it is and what athlete is doing what, I would throw my money at it. Likewise for actors pontificating about science and politics…

There's a difference between sports and sports entertainment. ESPN (and many others) sell sports entertainment. What you have described as having "negative value" is sports entertainment.

What's funny is, I felt the exact same way -- I cut the cord SPECIFICALLY to choke off ESPN. I want unbundled content so I can pay for the channels I value.

But, ironically, I realized the main reason I watch video content is for sports. It's just sports that the ESPN world doesn't value. I watch every Formula 1 qualifying and race session, but ESPN doesn't care, and anyway, F1 coverage in the US virtually died with the death of Speedvision/Speed Channel.. it's only now coming back, but it sure ain't on ESPN.

About the only other thing I care about these days is the occasional NHL game and live football game, but I follow an out-of-market team and ESPN doesn't help me much there anyway. 99.9% of their content is drivel -- I simply don't care about the analysis or talk shows or sports center.

So, I guess I do value sports, but I sure as hell don't value ESPN, and I'm happy to cut off their funding.

Bring on unbundled content so we can vote with our dollars.

I can't speak for the US but in the UK the primary driver for satellite television is sports. People don't pay almost $200 a month for what can be had on Netflix and NowTV.

In fact I remember the panic from Sky when courts forced Sky to basically give up some of the EPL games. Sports is huge in the pay tv arena.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/170d365a-97ec-11e3-ab60-00144feab7...

$200 a month? I'm not aware of anyone paying an amount even approaching that. The Sky Sports bundle - which is 7 sports channels, Premier League, etc - is £45 per month at face value and cheaper with negotiation.

If you maxed out a US cable or Satellite service you could hit $200, especially if you're paying for things like NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTv, which gives you access to all of the football games.

According to [1], watching every top football match in the UK will cost close to £100/month, which is $150. Probably less with a bit of negotiation, or switching suppliers for limited-time deals.

[1] http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/tv/sport/premier-league

In the US I have family buying the super duper comcast package which is near $200 (At least $175)

And you can get HBO without getting cable.

Are you referring to HBO Now? Because no, I cannot just go online and order HBO Now because I am not a Verizon nor Optimum subscriber.

http://help.hbonow.com/app/answers/detailHBO/a_id/172

Umm, yea you can. You can buy it through the app, no Verizon/Optimim needed. They probably have some clause in their contracts with cable companies that they won't directly sell access, but you can go through Google/Amazon/Apple just fine.

http://help.hbonow.com/app/answers/detailHBO/a_id/125/rec/1

> HBO NOW is a stand-alone streaming service that you can purchase from a participating provider (not part of a cable subscription).

The subscriptions are handled through in-app purchases. I cannot load any of those apps onto my existing devices. So now I have to buy a device, so that I can subscribe to HBO Now?

The point is that the blanket statement, "And you can get HBO without getting cable," is correct but not complete. You still must flow through a provider, and the providers are not universally available. A random person with an internet connection and a computer cannot order HBO Now.

Borrow a device to sign up? Buy one for a few dollars? It's really not hard.

I rest my case.

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