Boston’s NESN, the regional sports network that televises Red Sox and Bruins games, will be the first RSN to offer its full slate of programming directly to consumers through a streaming service, allowing them to bypass the pay-TV bundle.
Called NESN 360, the service will cost $29.99 per month or $329.99 per year (each after a $1 first month offer). The yearly option will also also include 8 tickets to Red Sox games this season. NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Red Sox.
NESN 360 will be available only in New England, owing to regional rights agreements tied to the “home” areas of the Red Sox and Bruins, and with the league holding streaming rights outside of the region for its MLB.tv service.
Still, the launch of the streaming service is significant, with RSNs serving as one of the last bastions of important exclusive content tied to the pay-TV bundle. For most sports fans across the U.S., the only way to watch home games of all of their favorite MLB, NHL or NBA teams is to pay for a cable or satellite TV bundle that includes their local RSN. NESN 360 will support pay-TV authentication, so if a user pays for cable, they can get access to the service included.
But by going direct, consumers will have another option (albeit an expensive one in comparison to Netflix, HBO Max or ESPN+), while NESN has less leverage for its next round of cable carriage negotiations.
There have been some experiment in other markets, but none to the degree of what NESN is doing. The YES Network in New York, which is home to the New York Yankees, streams 21 games a year on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon is a part-owner of YES.
In addition to live games (and pre- and post-game coverage), NESN 360 will include on-demand content, including NESN original programming, and select full games and highlights.
“NESN 360 is the latest iteration in NESN’s long history of innovation and providing fans with the best sports viewing experience,” NESN president and CEO Sean McGrail said in a statement Wednesday. “We believe the direct subscription option will build on NESN’s reach in the region, and will be an excellent complement to the existing, valuable partnerships we have with TV providers to bring NESN to all homes in New England.”
Source: Hollywood
