Skip to main content

ESPN may pull its finger out of the Internet-TV dam, unleash a flood of change

According to Bloomberg, ESPN has been in early talks regarding offering its channels through an Interet-based TV service.

The news comes during a month already full of tumult for the TV industry. Last week, we learned that Viacom will offer some if its popular stations such as Nickelodeon and Comedy Central through Sony’s Internet-TV service. Meanwhile, CBS and Time Warner Cable (TWC) continue to wage their war in the public eye as TWC customers in the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas prepare to endure their fourth straight week of a CBS blackout. 

Recommended Videos

That ESPN is entertaining the idea of distributing its channels outside of the cable/satellite networks indicates it recognizes that companies like Apple, Google, Intel and Sony are going to make Internet-based TV delivery a reality, with or without its involvement. But if ESPN does get on board with Internet-TV distribution, it may be enough to get any “on-the-fence” networks moving in the same direction, and potentially open the floodgates of change for TV distribution. But is this actually a good thing for so-called cord-cutters and advocates of a la carte TV?

ESPN is, by far, the most expensive cable channel around. Analyst SNL Kagan estimates it represents $5.54 of a subscriber’s cable bill. Compare that to approximately $.60 for CNN, and even less for something like the Lifetime Network. In fact, it is the bundling of ESPN with other, less popular channels that helps keep those channels afloat. Needham and Company recently released a report indicating that unbundling channels could be the demise of the TV revenue ecosystem, citing that about 50% of TV-related revenue would simply vaporize and estimating that only 20 channels could survive under an a la carte TV model. If every on-the-fence cord-cutter were to ditch cable and satellite service in favor of a few Internet-delivered networks, Netflix, and Hulu, then cable and satellite companies could wind up with nothing left to carry. 

That could leave cable companies with little choice but to boost their broadband Internet service rates, potentially negating any financial benefit to cutting cable. And don’t expect any help from the likes of ESPN, either. ESPN’s President, John Skipper, said today that an Internet TV provider would have to pay as much or more than cable and satellite services, and that in order to get ESPN, providers will have to buy up the entire suite of ESPN channels. “We’re not going to offer one-offs,” Skipper said. 

So if ESPN through Intel’s Internet-TV box or Sony’s Playstation 4 console costs just as much as a basic cable subscription, but comes with none of the extras cable provides, is it worth ditching your cable provider?

Caleb Denison
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
GlassesUSA Black Friday Sale: Get 30% off prescription glasses
GlassesUSA frames close up with multiple styles.

Need a new pair of glasses? Want to stock up for your holiday trips before you head to meet up with your relatives? Typically, you'd have to wait until the official Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving, or maybe even Cyber Monday, but that's not the case this year. Alongside a variety of the best online glasses deals, GlassesUSA is hosting a huge Black Friday sale early, allowing you to save big on prescription glasses and frames with no waiting necessary. Of course, we always recommend browsing the sale of your own accord to see what's discounted because we couldn't possibly cover everything, nor could we know precisely what you're looking for. That said, we've called out quite a few of the best deals below.

Shop Now

Read more
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deals you can shop now
Daughter gifting Ancestry Gift Membership to family

DNA tests are awesome holiday gifts for your family. Together you can all build your family tree and discover your genetic makeup. Unfortunately the tests are pretty expensive, but at least you only need to test once. There are some nice Black Friday deals going on today that will save you a significant amount of money on single tests or bundles. Check out our favorite below, then more more deals worth checking out under that.
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deal
AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit -- $59, was $99

The single person AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is our pick for the best Black Friday deal already available. The kit normally costs $99, but right now it's down to just $59. That's a nice discount of $30 on one of the best DNA tests available. We're not sure how long this deal will last, so you should grab it soon.

Read more
The 5 best DNA test kits for 2024
We spit in a ton of test tubes to find the best and most unique DNA tests
A 23andme DNA kit.

Despite the fact that tons of competitors have sprung up in recent years, 23AndMe still makes the best DNA test on the market. It's the quickest, it's very comprehensive, and the way the company presents your genetic data is simple and easy to digest. However, depending on what kind of information you're looking for, there are other, more specialized DNA tests that might be better suited for you. Whether it's ancestry, fitness, disease risk, or something else entirely, there's likely a DNA kit that'll uncover that data.

With the rising popularity of these tests, we decided to take a closer look and see which ones are worth the investment. To do this, we secured a mail-in kit from as many DNA testing services as we could find, then shipped them a spit tube full of our precious genetic code for analysis. After looking through all the data and personally trying all of these services, there were a few that stood out from the pack. Here are our favorites:
The best DNA test kit in 2024

Read more