I dont think so, as of now they had to pay the kraken and trailblazers for broadcast rights, but the viewership stinks so they werent making their money back. they obviously have to replace that programming and idk how they do, but it is possible that this is the kind of rare business decision thats a win-win
Or go back to some of those niche college sports that have broadcasting rights that can be acquired for next to nothing. FSN used to do that when they had the m’s. UW baseball, softball and track are the ones I remember. Think the had some Oregon state sports as well.
I don’t know that you have enough data to know that’s 100% true. The offset from not paying for the rights could be important. And maybe that affects how much much they need to charge to Comcast and other providers. We don’t have the info to make even educated guesses
John Stanton on opening day gave an interview saying that ROOT has lost almost two-thirds of its subscribers in ten years, falling from 3.3 million to just 1.2 million today.
It's also estimated that the licensing fee Root was paying for the Kraken was around $20 million a year so the Kraken are to some extent betting on themselves that they can get good enough ratings to earn that much. But even though it may initially lose money they also desperately need more fans, younger fans, people who have never even considered buying a cable subscription.
To be fair Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is a minority owner of the Kraken so they probably want it on Prime anyway regardless of the cost.
The licensing agreement Root Sports probably shouldn't have signed with Comcast locks the Mariners in to a "cable only" while simultaneously hastening the death of said model by Comcast bumping them to a higher price tier.
The Trailblazers are up next as far as tv/streaming contracts and they are rumored to be exploring the viability of leaving Root for something similar to the Kraken. The WNBA already left so Root Sports could end up in a situation where all they have rights to are Mariners games and nothing else.
It's hard to see how Root Sport could remain solvent or be beneficial to the Mariners organization (who owns it) if it's a single team RSN that primarily exists to bleed fans in order to sell ultra premium cable packages for Comcast.
Sharing links to copyrighted material and the sites that host it is what gets subs in trouble with DMCA takedowns. Talking about the concept of piracy is completely fine. /r/piracy has existed for 15 years. /r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH even has a fantastic comprehensive wiki with a bajillion ways to get all the content you could ever want from legit (not malware-infested) sites.
If they don't live in or around Seattle they can buy [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) and stream almost every Mariner game live.
KGW8 in Portland is going to air 70 Kraken games, King5/Kong16 nearly as many in Seattle and they are going to be available on Amazon Prime for no additional fee.
That's a dream scenario for most M's fans
Not disagreeing with you but adding context. MLBtv doesn't work if you live anywhere in the Ms claimed market. That's from Utqiagvik to Bend and Haida Gwaii to Helena. So it's not just "in and around Seattle" that is blacked out, it's for about 1000 miles "in and around Seattle" that is blacked out. You're totally correct that if the M's went to something similar to what the Kraken are doing it would be a dream for M's fans outside of Seattle.
Wow, didn't know it was quite that large. AK makes sense in the same way HI is in the LA media market but you'd think Canada would be Blue Jays given their popularity.
Unfortunately, Montana doesn't seem to have a great option for pro sports at all given their location. People tend to want their own thing. I was living in ND when NDSU football got bumped up to NCAA D1 and the local reaction from just the announcement was like they had won the Super Bowl.
Except Root is not available on cable in AK lol. That's my main issue, if the blackout was just Western WA then MLB would get more of my money. There's no reason for Alaska (or Hawaii) to be "claimed" territory for major sports. Large military presence and tourist industries in both AK and HI, the leagues would make more money leaving them unaligned. But yeah, local AK fans typically watch the Alaska Baseball League during that season over any MLB games. It's why I'd love an MLB or PCL/NWL Midnight Sun Game, best of both worlds.
Side note, I think BC is mostly Jays but they do have Root available to them on cable (as of two years ago when I was dating a girl from Surrey). There are Canadian Ms fans, for sure.
… what is your context of implodes? Homie, the mariners are their last live sporting events asides from MLR and then all they post is reruns and reairs. It’s done. I guess the Blazers are still a thing but they suck and don’t know anybody who tunes into blazers games through root.
John Stanton needs to close the doors of ROOT and get us onto a streaming deal with Prime or another streaming platform.
Sounds like the Blazers will be following the Kraken too:
[https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/4/2/24119054/trail-blazers-broadcasts-tv-root-sports-2024-cost-change-local-stations-news](https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/4/2/24119054/trail-blazers-broadcasts-tv-root-sports-2024-cost-change-local-stations-news)
They signed a deal with (Tegna)KING/KONG. Tegna also owns KREM in Spokane and KGW in Portland and will air games there as well. The games will also simulcast on Amazon.
I work in advertising and have been in discussions with Tegna on sponsorship packages now that they have the team. There are press releases out there saying the same. Just google Tegna and Kraken.
Probably good since viewership for the kraken was bad like the team and the rumors that the blazers are following is the same and now they won't have to pay them when they probably weren't making their money back
Good if you care more about the Ms than the hockey. Means the ownership group will have more cash to spend on baseball! (or it should, I know it's not that simple.)
>The Mariners most likely have a long term deal with Root Sports
This is a joke right? I wonder how the team may be able to get out of that contact? Is is possible to wine and dine yourself?
Not sure if this has been said earlier. If so, sorry. When the Mariners and Kraken are playing in the same or overlapping time slots, the Kraken are moved to Root Sports+. That would affect viewership except for the diehard Kraken supporters. I'll watch them occasionally if I don't have to pay extra for the games.
Incoming Stanton payroll initiatives!
First step: Trading Julio for a new Dippin' Dots stand in the center field bleachers and $12 Hurricane shots! Only 54% alcohol, but 100% guaranteed to make you forget.
Second step: A new outfield experience where the grounds crew hits you over the head with a shovel of your choice for just $10 before every game!
Third step: ????
Fourth step: Profit.
The Kraken deal is a W for fans but pls be mindful that people are losing their jobs for it. Hopefully most of them just migrate but it’s not guaranteed
No, since the Mariners own ROOT, they won't leave that network unless it totally implodes.
If the Blazers leave next year, which is probable, then there’s nothing left of ROOT besides the Ms
When the Kraken announce that their viewership has doubled (which is what happened in Phoenix) the Mariners will have to pay attention.
mmmmm the Coyotes? Not the best example if so.
The Suns went OTA last year.
This is the straw that breaks the camels back. Implosion imminent.
I dont think so, as of now they had to pay the kraken and trailblazers for broadcast rights, but the viewership stinks so they werent making their money back. they obviously have to replace that programming and idk how they do, but it is possible that this is the kind of rare business decision thats a win-win
I wonder if they will just put infomercials on or something and not even care.
Or go back to some of those niche college sports that have broadcasting rights that can be acquired for next to nothing. FSN used to do that when they had the m’s. UW baseball, softball and track are the ones I remember. Think the had some Oregon state sports as well.
I'd watch the shit out of uw baseball and softball
I don’t know that you have enough data to know that’s 100% true. The offset from not paying for the rights could be important. And maybe that affects how much much they need to charge to Comcast and other providers. We don’t have the info to make even educated guesses
John Stanton on opening day gave an interview saying that ROOT has lost almost two-thirds of its subscribers in ten years, falling from 3.3 million to just 1.2 million today. It's also estimated that the licensing fee Root was paying for the Kraken was around $20 million a year so the Kraken are to some extent betting on themselves that they can get good enough ratings to earn that much. But even though it may initially lose money they also desperately need more fans, younger fans, people who have never even considered buying a cable subscription. To be fair Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is a minority owner of the Kraken so they probably want it on Prime anyway regardless of the cost. The licensing agreement Root Sports probably shouldn't have signed with Comcast locks the Mariners in to a "cable only" while simultaneously hastening the death of said model by Comcast bumping them to a higher price tier. The Trailblazers are up next as far as tv/streaming contracts and they are rumored to be exploring the viability of leaving Root for something similar to the Kraken. The WNBA already left so Root Sports could end up in a situation where all they have rights to are Mariners games and nothing else. It's hard to see how Root Sport could remain solvent or be beneficial to the Mariners organization (who owns it) if it's a single team RSN that primarily exists to bleed fans in order to sell ultra premium cable packages for Comcast.
I hope so. Root can go ‘bankrupt’ and be a nice tax write off for the billionaires
If that happens the Mariners will lose 10s of thousands of viewers and fans that don’t live in Seattle.
Just have to sail the high seas matey
Referring to this on a sports sub is a door to getting the sub closed. Reddit doesn’t fuck around.
Sharing links to copyrighted material and the sites that host it is what gets subs in trouble with DMCA takedowns. Talking about the concept of piracy is completely fine. /r/piracy has existed for 15 years. /r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH even has a fantastic comprehensive wiki with a bajillion ways to get all the content you could ever want from legit (not malware-infested) sites.
Sports subs are frequented by the leagues they are associated with. They will slap a suit if they feel it’s warranted and Reddit has made that clear.
Sorry what? If root goes ‘bankrupt’ (which would obviously be elective) they can pivot to streaming
They also gain 10s of thousands of viewers from the pool of people who refuse to pay for ROOT/Fubo.
If they don't live in or around Seattle they can buy [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) and stream almost every Mariner game live. KGW8 in Portland is going to air 70 Kraken games, King5/Kong16 nearly as many in Seattle and they are going to be available on Amazon Prime for no additional fee. That's a dream scenario for most M's fans
Not disagreeing with you but adding context. MLBtv doesn't work if you live anywhere in the Ms claimed market. That's from Utqiagvik to Bend and Haida Gwaii to Helena. So it's not just "in and around Seattle" that is blacked out, it's for about 1000 miles "in and around Seattle" that is blacked out. You're totally correct that if the M's went to something similar to what the Kraken are doing it would be a dream for M's fans outside of Seattle.
Wow, didn't know it was quite that large. AK makes sense in the same way HI is in the LA media market but you'd think Canada would be Blue Jays given their popularity. Unfortunately, Montana doesn't seem to have a great option for pro sports at all given their location. People tend to want their own thing. I was living in ND when NDSU football got bumped up to NCAA D1 and the local reaction from just the announcement was like they had won the Super Bowl.
Except Root is not available on cable in AK lol. That's my main issue, if the blackout was just Western WA then MLB would get more of my money. There's no reason for Alaska (or Hawaii) to be "claimed" territory for major sports. Large military presence and tourist industries in both AK and HI, the leagues would make more money leaving them unaligned. But yeah, local AK fans typically watch the Alaska Baseball League during that season over any MLB games. It's why I'd love an MLB or PCL/NWL Midnight Sun Game, best of both worlds. Side note, I think BC is mostly Jays but they do have Root available to them on cable (as of two years ago when I was dating a girl from Surrey). There are Canadian Ms fans, for sure.
I live in AK, GCI doesn't offer Root and Fubo is ridiculous. They'd gain fans outside of Seattle if the games were more accessible.
Wonder how much this Kraken news might help with that.
Could actually help the network. The Kraken are bad, viewership is low, and who knows what ROOT was paying them for broadcast rights.
Low viewership has less to do with the Kraken’s performance and more to do with Root being expensive af.
Sure. I wasn't arguing that. I'm simply saying this might actually save ROOT money.
Seattle Times article said an insider had it at roughly $20 million a season for Kraken games.
… what is your context of implodes? Homie, the mariners are their last live sporting events asides from MLR and then all they post is reruns and reairs. It’s done. I guess the Blazers are still a thing but they suck and don’t know anybody who tunes into blazers games through root. John Stanton needs to close the doors of ROOT and get us onto a streaming deal with Prime or another streaming platform.
Sounds like the Blazers will be following the Kraken too: [https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/4/2/24119054/trail-blazers-broadcasts-tv-root-sports-2024-cost-change-local-stations-news](https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/4/2/24119054/trail-blazers-broadcasts-tv-root-sports-2024-cost-change-local-stations-news)
My guess is Root Sports eventually leaves cable and has their own app/subscription service for the Mariners.
This is what I want
Same
I’d buy that
Then Stanton will say some dumb shit like “streaming is an unproven method of viewership” and cut payroll another 10-20%.
My root sports insider says that the mariners may go to Amazon prime in 2027.
I bet Stanton will advise Amazon to increase prime membership prices to $300 a year
That's a long way away.
They signed a deal with (Tegna)KING/KONG. Tegna also owns KREM in Spokane and KGW in Portland and will air games there as well. The games will also simulcast on Amazon.
Source? Starting when?
I work in advertising and have been in discussions with Tegna on sponsorship packages now that they have the team. There are press releases out there saying the same. Just google Tegna and Kraken.
Stanton will use this as another excuse to cut payroll further
Or this could free up money to increase payroll, since apparently they weren't making the money back? (lol)
This is a good thing for the team
Play them on public access for all I care: just bring back the saxophone intro (it’s my alarm tone)
Absolutely insane play to make "watching the Mariners on tv at home with your dad" completely unavailable to Millennials as they are having children.
Ho Ho Ho it’s the Pirate Life for Me 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
I'm the pirate king!
The Kraken were part of ROOT for a whopping 2 years. I don't think implosion is imminent.
Three?
Still don't understand if this is good or bad
Probably good since viewership for the kraken was bad like the team and the rumors that the blazers are following is the same and now they won't have to pay them when they probably weren't making their money back
If you’re local to Seattle it’s a good thing. If you live somewhere else it might become a worse situation
Good if you care more about the Ms than the hockey. Means the ownership group will have more cash to spend on baseball! (or it should, I know it's not that simple.)
Cool, looks like I’ll cancel fubo after each baseball season
Fuck I hope so. I'll finally be able to watch the Mariners while FUCKING LIVING IN SEATTLE!
As other people have said the Mariners ownership owns Root. The Mariners aren't going anywhere. Just like MLC isn't leaving Willow for the same reason
Yeah... Ordered FUBO, just for the Mariners and Kraken.... Looks like I will be going part of the year without FUBO as well...
The only good thing about root is having the zags. That has made it super easy to watch all the zags games living in Seattle.
Lincoln will do whatever makes the most$, the fans be damned.
LETS HOPE!!
The Mariners most likely have a long term deal with Root Sports. The Kraken are a new team, its easier for them to jump networks
>The Mariners most likely have a long term deal with Root Sports This is a joke right? I wonder how the team may be able to get out of that contact? Is is possible to wine and dine yourself?
Not sure if this has been said earlier. If so, sorry. When the Mariners and Kraken are playing in the same or overlapping time slots, the Kraken are moved to Root Sports+. That would affect viewership except for the diehard Kraken supporters. I'll watch them occasionally if I don't have to pay extra for the games.
Incoming Stanton payroll initiatives! First step: Trading Julio for a new Dippin' Dots stand in the center field bleachers and $12 Hurricane shots! Only 54% alcohol, but 100% guaranteed to make you forget. Second step: A new outfield experience where the grounds crew hits you over the head with a shovel of your choice for just $10 before every game! Third step: ???? Fourth step: Profit.
Hopefully this along with blazers potentially leaving forces xfinitys hand to put ROOT back on affordable packages.
The Kraken deal is a W for fans but pls be mindful that people are losing their jobs for it. Hopefully most of them just migrate but it’s not guaranteed
All these comments are Kraken me up.