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Sports media notes: NBC looks at streaming, NBA premieres its version of ‘RedZone’

The new direct-to-consumer product is expected to launch “later this year."

Fans soon might be able to watch Sixers games (along with announcers Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby) without having to pay for a cable subscription.
Fans soon might be able to watch Sixers games (along with announcers Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby) without having to pay for a cable subscription.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by Rob Tornoe
    Updated 
    Published 

Editors note: After this story was published, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal Local said comments about a potential sports streaming product for its regional sports networks launching late this year was “inadvertently” included in a news release and were “misleading.” NBC has since removed the comments about the direct-to-consumer offering from their news release.

Here is the full statement:

“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. 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.”

Want to stream Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games without a cable subscription? You’ll soon get your wish.

Buried in a news release, NBCUniversal announced they are planning on launching a streaming “product” for its regional sports networks, which includes NBC Sports Philadelphia.

At this point, details are slim. The new direct-to-consumer product is expected to launch “later this year,” according to the release, and an NBC spokesperson couldn’t offer any further information.

It seems likely the new sports streaming product would be integrated into NBC’s Peacock streaming service, though that also remains unclear. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that NBC Universal scrapped plans to offer NBC Sports Philadelphia on Peacock over fears of complicating its broader streaming strategy.

NBC would also need to get permission from sports leagues to stream “out of market” games on Peacock, which are available on league-owned streaming packages such as NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice.

For cord cutters, the cheapest way currently to stream local games on NBC Sports Philadelphia is through a subscription to YouTube TV or fuboTV, which both charge $64.99 a month. The network is also available on Hulu + Live TV, which charges $69.99 a month.

The news comes as Bally Sports is expected to launch its own streaming service sometime in the next few months. Bally Sports, which is owned by Sinclair and consists of 19 former Fox Sports regional networks, is expected to charge somewhere in the vicinity of $200 to $225 a year, or about $17 to $19 a month.

NBC Sports Philadelphia experimented with a direct-to-consumer offering a few years ago with the now-discontinued “Philly Pass,” which allowed fans who lived outside of the Philadelphia market to view the network’s shows and on-demand specials, but not games.

NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast, operates six regional sports networks across the country. In addition to Philadelphia, other markets include Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, and northern California. NBCUniversal also owns a minority stake in SportsNet New York.

» READ MORE: Charles Barkley and Shaq praise Joel Embiid, crush ‘crybaby’ Ben Simmons

NBA premieres its version of ‘RedZone’

On Monday night, NBA TV took its whiparound show NBA CrunchTime and placed it on the NBA app, offering it commercial free to viewers interested in catching the key moments of the evening’s eight NBA games.

As Andrew Bucholtz at Awful Announcing noted, removing the commercials made the show similar to NFL RedZone, which is funded by subscriptions. Other whiparound shows, like MLB Tonight and NHL on the Fly, cut away to commercials during the action, so it’s unclear if the NBA is looking to possibly grow this into premium offering or roll it into NBA League Pass.

There were some awkward moments. Viewers didn’t get to see what happened at the end of regulation during Sixers-Grizzlies so the show could air the final five seconds of Pelicans-Cavaliers. But that’s the nature of a whiparound show when multiple games are ending at the same time.

As of now, this is just a one-off experiment, but it certainly seems geared toward sports betting. At one point, with the Grizzlies up by four against the Sixers in overtime, host Jared Greenberg noted that Memphis would have to win by five to cover the spread. And during Heat-Celtics, Greenburg gleefully pointed out the game hit the over, accompanied by a graphic and a FanDuel sponsorship.

» READ MORE: Andy Reid gags again, but Big Red deserves sympathy for Eagles and Chiefs collapses

Quick hits

  1. After a back-and-forth between ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Tom Brady’s father and agent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback officially announced on Instagram Tuesday morning he is retiring after 22 seasons in the NFL. The announcement came hours after Brady denied reports about his retirement on his own SiriusXM show, where he claimed he had yet to make a final decision. “I’m still going through the process I said I was going through. I think when the time is right, I’ll be able to make a decision one way or the other,” Brady said Monday night.

  2. While the Sixers won in thrilling fashion Monday night, the team found the absolute worst blackjack player to take on Franklin during the game.

  1. Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb wasn’t too thrilled to be left out of an NFL graphic spotlighting quarterbacks that have appeared in three or more conference championships. McNabb appeared in five NFC Championship games with the Eagles, matching both Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. But I’d be more upset if I were Hall of Famers like Joe Montana or John Elway, who appeared in seven and six conference championship games, respectively, and didn’t make the cut. Neither did that Brady fellow, who played in 14 conference championship games, winning 10 of them.

  1. MLB’s Hall of Fame announcement last week wasn’t exactly must watch TV. According to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, just 97,000 viewers tuned into the four hour program to find out that former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was the lone player to make it into the Hall of Fame. “What should be a celebration of the sport — a time to honor its most popular all-time athletes — has become an event only accessed by the sport’s hardcore fans,” Ourand wrote.

  2. Tom Howard, the longtime director of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, retired Monday after 20 years on the show. Hosts Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon gave Howard a nice send-off, which included this grumpy quip from Kornheiser: “He’s younger than I am, so what the hell am I still doing working here?”