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Mike Reynolds
Viewer's Choice, having recently landed contracts with the NBA and NHL, is looking to broaden its offering of out-of-market sports packages even further.
Rob Jacobson, VC's SVP distribution/product development and the man who negotiated the pay-per-view distributor's accords for the NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice packages, is looking to drive deals with NASCAR, Major League Baseball and the NCAA men's basketball tourney.
Pointing to the joint venture VC recently signed with ACTV Inc. and Liberty Digital, the distributor is interested in using this technology to allow viewers to enhance their NASCAR experience by, among other things, being able to follow certain drivers from white to checkered flag.
"That's one of the things (NASCAR) has been talking about," said Jacobson. At press time, he said it was still unclear if VC would have to negotiate for those rights directly with NASCAR or its broadcast partners.
Jacobson said VC is also ready to take a cut at MLB's Extra Innings package. "We'd like to start having those conversations and connect for next season," he said.
While DirecTV has dibs on the 2000 NCAA men's basketball tournament, VC expects to speak with CBS, which retains rights through the annual rite of early spring known as "March Madness" through 2002, soon. "They told us they have interest in speaking with us," Jacobson reported.
VC also hopes to score with the NFL Sunday Ticket, when its exclusive contract with the pro football circuit expires after the 2002 season.
While a NASCAR pact could give cable a leg up on DBS, the agreements with the NBA and the NHL - and any future rights to the MLB and NFL packages - are catch-up plays versus the satellite providers.
"Being able to offer the out-of-market sports packages really helps cable level the playing field versus DBS. Viewer's Choice sales and marketing teams are putting a lot of resources behind League Pass and Center Ice, and so are cable operators," said Jacobson. "How big they get depends on digital rollouts."
Last month, VC and the NHL carved out a three-year agreement for Center Ice, which will showcase up to 30 games per week and 750 in all, to residential and commercial subscribers, after the league's All-Star Weekend Feb. 5-6. The half-year package, stretching through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, is available for $99. In subsequent seasons, Viewer's Choice, which becomes In Demand Jan. 1, will sell full-season Center Ice packages for $139.
In August, VC dunked a three-year pact with the pro hoops circuit to distribute NBA League Pass, beginning with the current season. DirecTV, which also inked a three-year extension at that time, had been the exclusive out-of-market carrier since the 1994-95 season. Available for $169, or at an early-bird price of $149 for those who signed up by Sept. 30, NBA League Pass offers up to 40 games weekly - more than 1,000 in total over the course of the season - outside of a subscriber's local viewing area. Jacobson said League Pass will be available to some 1 million digital cable residential subscribers during its rookie season, a number that he believes will grow significantly over the course of the deal.
"It's about time," said Ted Hodgins, PPV manager for Cox Communications (formerly Media General Cable) in Chantilly, Va., of VC's deals with Center Ice and League Pass. "They will give cable the same access as DBS. Unfortunately, a lot of the sports die-hards, except for those who live in apartments, already have their dishes."
According to DBS Investor, a title published by satellite advocate The Carmel Group, satellite operators will generate more than $311 million in gross revenue from some 2.5 million subscribers of out-of-market sports packages in 1999, netting an estimated $62 million in the process. The Carmel Group projects that satellite providers will gross $661 million in 2003, and net some $132 million.
The appeal to hoop and hockey junkies who want to see every game aside, Jacobson said these sports packages appeal to the displaced fan. "If you grew up in Los Angeles and now live in New York, this is a way to stay on top of the Lakers," he said.
Moreover, given basketball's urban appeal, Jacobson believes League Pass will play well in the bigger cities. "There are a lot of apartment dwellers who can't use a satellite dish," he said.
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