Following Sinclair’s initiative to launch a streaming, direct-to-consumer service for its regional sports networks, NBC Sports aims to follow the same path.
According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Alex Weprin, Valari Dodson Stabb, newly named chairman of NBCUniversal Local has been tasked with emphasizing the streaming side of NBC’s offerings. A big part of that endeavor will be to start a DTC service made up of the NBC RSNs that have rights to local sports teams.
UPDATE: NBCUniversal Local issued a statement saying that plans to launch a DTC service are still being evaluated.
“In a personnel-related announcement issued by NBCUniversal Local on Jan. 31, a reference to the NBC Sports Regional Networks’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) plans was inadvertently included and was misleading,” said an NBCUniversal Local spokesperson.
“At this stage in the process, our DTC strategy is evolving as we assess options in each of the unique sports markets we serve. At this time, we don’t have any further details about launch plans including timing or markets. More information will be announced when available.”
The NBC RSNs are comprised of six channels, including NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports California, and NBC Sports Bay Area. (NBC Sports Northwest shut down when the Portland Trail Blazers moved to Root Sports.)
As Weprin mentions, NBC has previously launched streaming versions of its local stations on Peacock with Telemundo soon to follow. (Local stations and Telemundo have been overseen by Staab since 2011.) But a streaming service featuring the NBC RSNs would have much less content than what Sinclair is offering. Sinclair has 21 RSNs compared to NBC’s six.
Yet NBC has larger markets in its RSN catalog with Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and California’s Bay Area. (Los Angeles Kings games are also carried on NBC Sports California.) An NBC offering would arguably boast quality over quantity, depending on a viewer’s rooting interests and regional ties.
NBC has tried direct-to-consumer subscriptions on a limited basis for viewers in Portland and Philadelphia with “Blazers Pass” (for 15 Trail Blazers telecasts) and “Philly Pass” (with NBC Sports Philadelphia programming offered on NBC Sports Gold before Peacock’s launch).
What would a NBC RSN streaming service cost subscribers? Sinclair is eyeing a $20 monthly fee according to its latest quarterly report filed to the SEC in January. But it also has to build out a streaming service, while NBC already has its Peacock infrastructure set up. And as mentioned, it would offer fewer channels.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
