TORONTO – Cord-cutters or -nevers missing their live sports now have the option to buy Sportsnet Now, a direct-to-consumer service, without a pay-television subscription.
Launching nationally on Friday, the live streaming service (including the regular TV ad load) of the six Sportsnet linear channels promises select NHL, MLB, NBA, soccer and tennis events, as well as original programming like Tim & Sid and Sportsnet Central. Sportsnet Now will be available on tablet, mobile and online for a monthly subscription of $24.99 with no contract and a 7-day trial period. It remains included for existing Sportsnet TV distributors such as Shaw, Telus, Bell, Source, Cogeco, SaskTel and Rogers.
It's a premium priced product, too, at $7 a month more than the Sportsnet channel package which Rogers Cable sells its customers, for example. “It’s a complementary product to us. We’re not targeting people with pay TV subscriptions," said Bart Yabsley, senior vice-president of NHL and video distribution for Rogers Media.
“This service is ideal for sports fans who do not have a TV subscription, but still want to watch live sports,” said Scott Moore, Rogers’ president of Sportsnet & NHL Properties, in Thursday’s news release. “With Sportsnet NOW, Canadians can choose to watch all the live action when they want it, anytime, anywhere. Sportsnet NOW is the fans’ all-access pass to Sportsnet content.”
"We’re trying to reach the millennials and the cord nevers," said Yabsley.
Canadians may subscribe directly via Sportsnet.ca/NOW and then stream on a PC or laptop from a web browser at now.sportsnet.ca The Sportsnet app will be available via the iTunes App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) and is compatible with Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, as well as Android mobile and tablet devices. Additional platforms will be announced in the near future.
"We’re trying to reach the millennials and the cord nevers." – Bart Yabsley, Rogers Media
Rogers Media president Rick Brace told Cartt.ca in an interview that it just seems as though the time is ripe for this type of offering and he believes that its impact on the cable subscription model will be "absolutely negligible." It is the first North American sports service to go over-the-top in this way, according to the company, however, Rogers Media executives did their homework with the Rogers Cable division to ensure Sportsnet Now doesn't interfere with the flow of revenues from the pay-TV business. According to the last available CRTC filings (the 2014 broadcast year), the various Sportsnets took in $420 million in subscription and ad revenue for a pre-tax profit of $70 million.
“They are incredibly important partners who deliver amazing packaging and pricing," added Yabsley about Canadian cable, satellite and IPTV carriers. “This is what we believe is a fair and incredible value for the price.”
As for the content rights, Rogers Media has been purchasing multiplatform rights for years and is able to stream all of its content except for the National Football League, a deal which is about to enter its final season. "We’re discussing with them now the rights for direct-to-consumer," added Brace, who also declined to say how many Sportsnet Now subscribers the company was hoping to earn in the first year.
In photo, left to right: Rogers’ Rick Brace, Scott Moore, Scott MacMillan and Bart Yabsley at the Sportsnet Now press conference Thursday in Toronto.
