* They do, but thinking is evolving that the TCO of having to develop and support those devices isn't worth the revenue they provide. Because the CableCard scheme used in the US is essentially proprietary to the US, the US cable companies have to develop custom hardware at great cost.
* Very true; but there is a lot of investment being made here. Also, if you're watching over the Internet, do you really care if there is a 5 min delay from live action?
* RSNs are a zero-sum game for the cable operators; the money NBCSN makes for Comcast ends up going back out the door to the other RSNs like FoxSN, RootTV, etc. The cable companies would rather not have to pay for any of it. They just use it to bleed each other for money.
For point two, a delay is a problem. Twitch had to introduce a delay as they grew, and it made it difficult for the streamer to respond to things happening in the chat channel. Sticking to traditional TV sports, notification of a scoring event shouldn't happen before the video stream reaches you (ie: ESPN's app notifies you of a scoring event before you see it on a "live" video feed).
Comments
* They do, but thinking is evolving that the TCO of having to develop and support those devices isn't worth the revenue they provide. Because the CableCard scheme used in the US is essentially proprietary to the US, the US cable companies have to develop custom hardware at great cost.
* Very true; but there is a lot of investment being made here. Also, if you're watching over the Internet, do you really care if there is a 5 min delay from live action?
* RSNs are a zero-sum game for the cable operators; the money NBCSN makes for Comcast ends up going back out the door to the other RSNs like FoxSN, RootTV, etc. The cable companies would rather not have to pay for any of it. They just use it to bleed each other for money.
For point two, a delay is a problem. Twitch had to introduce a delay as they grew, and it made it difficult for the streamer to respond to things happening in the chat channel. Sticking to traditional TV sports, notification of a scoring event shouldn't happen before the video stream reaches you (ie: ESPN's app notifies you of a scoring event before you see it on a "live" video feed).