A Spirited Valentine ...

[HMF]

Do we know if SWL is going to be considered canon?

Yes.

 

[flynnibus]

The building is a bulky rectangle. A blurry cereal box looks similar.

I don't agree. The three tells in the shape.. the top.. the staggered two structures.. the wide facade.

I mean, I don't understand why people are acting like this would have been some huge commit to make happen. It's eye candy in the background of a CGI scene from intermingled properties of the same parent company.. from teams that likely were collaborating.

 

[ford91exploder]

The survey has a good measurement, but your leaps from it are poor. That metric only measures the broadness of appeal of a product -- it does not measure the **level** of interest within a product and how strong the attachment is. AKA how strong an attachment is WITHIN the audience for the product.

Ex: If surveyed nationally, the level of interest for a Univ of Florida channel would be low. But within the demographic of those interested, the willingness to pay would be significantly higher for that product, than other products that may have broader appeal.

Your leap ignores the reality that while a sport may not have BROAD appeal, it's level of commitment may go DEEP within it's audience.. and hence still be very valuable.

Good points the problem with your analysis is that there have been multiple studies on ESPN's value to the cable audience and they have all come to roughly the same conclusion. In that only 20% of the population is willing to pay 6-8$ on a ala carte basis and a radically lower percentage is willing to pay more.

The simple fact is other than for playoff games televised live sports are losing their viewership and one reason for that is the 9-5 5 day/wk is DEAD in the US unless you are a government employee.

If you are a salaried worker in corporate america 40hrs/wk is looked at as a 'minimum standard of performance' and. 50-70 hrs is the expected norm.

The rest of people are working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

What time does this leave for games viewing????

 

[ford91exploder]

Question.. if I ever manage to get to Paris and visit Disneyland Paris by chance..
Do they prefer english or do I need to try learning French?

Spanish will probably work better than english, With it being France i would learn some basic French

 

[flynnibus]

Good points the problem with your analysis is that there have been multiple studies on ESPN's value to the cable audience and they have all come to roughly the same conclusion. In that only 20% of the population is willing to pay 6-8$ on a ala carte basis and a radically lower percentage is willing to pay more.

The old model is dead - but you're mixing and matching to suit your agenda and it has zero credibility. Bundling and ESPN being able to bully through excessive fees to all users is dying. But yet you continue to take slices of data and misapply them to spin new messages.

The simple fact is other than for playoff games televised live sports are losing their viewership and one reason for that is the 9-5 5 day/wk is DEAD in the US unless you are a government employee.

Yet another extrapolation that means nothing.

Please stop citing yourself as a source.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I don't agree. The three tells in the shape.. the top.. the staggered two structures.. the wide facade.

I mean, I don't understand why people are acting like this would have been some huge commit to make happen. It's eye candy in the background of a CGI scene from intermingled properties of the same parent company.. from teams that likely were collaborating.

Well yeah. Mission Breakout was supervised by Feige and Gunn. In fact, I think Gunn actually directed the ride film.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Concussions aren't real, Roger Goodell told me so.
And even if they are real, According to Jim Harbaugh they're good for the brain because it allows it to "reset"

ESPN has been more loyal to Roger Goodell than any of their employees. That's a problem, they have a bias towards the NFL and are now no longer a trusted news source for sports.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Hello, 25 year old millennial here.

In the past 13 months, I've been to 2 Cavs games, 1 Indians game, and 1 Nationals game (could have gone to the Browns for my first NFL game, but 1. There was a lot of snow. 2. ... it's the Browns...) Lucky for me, I didn't have to pay for the Cavs or Indians games (thanks Mom!). Even in the cheapest seats can be expensive, and that's without food and parking money. I'd love to be able to go to more games (either in Detroit or Cleveland), but gas + food + drink (water can be like $4) + parking really adds up.

Also, if health standards change, I believe that football and hockey could look different in 10-15 years. Last year I did a lot of research on concussions for work, and the effects of concussions can really be horrific. People will still watch sports, that's not going to change, but safety could start being a priority for players (if Goodell gets his head out of his a** and thinks about the men working for him).

Didn't have to pay for tickets, yep, sounds like a millennial to me.

 

[rael ramone]

Good points the problem with your analysis is that there have been multiple studies on ESPN's value to the cable audience and they have all come to roughly the same conclusion. In that only 20% of the population is willing to pay 6-8$ on a ala carte basis and a radically lower percentage is willing to pay more.

http://fortune.com/2016/01/15/espn-standalone-streaming/

Based on BTIG, it's about 57% who would be willing to see ESPN leave their set if it meant saving $8 on their monthly bill. The percent who would pay $20 (perhaps enough to make up for those who don't want to pay anything) is in the single digits.

People have a price that they are willing to pay for sports, perhaps more than any other kind of programming, but not at a price that allows them to maintain their margins, especially with the rights fees that they have committed themselves to.

 

[Nmoody1]

Spanish will probably work better than english, With it being France i would learn some basic French

What?! Why spanish? The park doesn't even make announcements in Spanish (except for opening announcement and fireworks... and then it's also in german, Italian, Portuguese and something else!). All menus in the park (display menus) are in French and english. Most CMs will understand English, to some degree, but it's always polite to try a few things... hello, thankyou, numbers. At least to be seen to be making an effort.

 

[Absimilliard]

Didn't have to pay for tickets, yep, sounds like a millennial to me.

I am a millennial I guess and so far I have seen the following events live, which in my case is mostly wrestling:

- Ringside seats for 3 WWE NXT events.

- Sat in good seats for two WWE regular events.

- Sat in good seats at the legendary Korakuen Hall fighting sport arena in Tokyo for a Dragon Gate (wrestling federation based in Kyoto)

- Attended Dominion 6.19 in Osaka, presented by NJPW.

- Attended a local wrestling show in Montreal in a nightclub.

My interest is wrestling yes, but notice this: if I like your product and the price you charge is "fair", I will even travel to Japan to attend your show. Just don't gauge me with 300$ seats in the nose bleed, 10$ sodas, 50$ parking, etc. As much as I like wrestling, I still sat this year's Wrestlemania event in Orlando out. Nose bleed seats for 200$? Floor seats for 2 grands? Too much for me and I could fly to Tokyo, get floor seats for an event at the Tokyo Dome there and still save money....

Regarding the NFL and ESPN, I think the NFL arrogance and bigger than everything else is finally catching up to them. at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA is a demonstration of that. What happened there? The team who built the stadium had the usual "magical though" that everyone would take public transportation to the stadium. Sure, some people will take it... and after waiting 2-3 hours for a train won't take it again.

Now, parking? Very limited and with many of the lots not allowing tailgating. Their way of getting more parking was to buy the nearby California's Great America from Cedar Fair and use it for parking, but that fell through. What ended up happening is the theme park is closed on game days and the 49ers compensate the owner for the lost revenue.

Last is the Stadium design itself. Watching Wrestlemania there looked utterly miserable for the attendees as most of the bleachers are right in the sun and there is little shade available. Add the usual rip off concession prices and you had a recipe for a disaster.

Edit: forgot the last point: NJPW, wrestling association from Japan, always had an underground following around the world. This year, after a few years where they held joint shows with another federation in the States, they decided to organise two solo events in Long Beach, CA on July 1st and July 2nd. Prices were actually decent for the tickets and they booked a hall at the convention hall there. End result? The "underground following" translated to tickets for the events and meet and greets selling out in 10-15 minutes. What is even more telling is that the millennials, who compose a majority of the following... are holding on to the tickets. There are precious little tickets available on Stubhub and others and since it was so underground, the scalpers could not just steal the tickets. There is still so much demand they released new 30$ tickets that I presume will be standing room.

 

[ford91exploder]

The old model is dead - but you're mixing and matching to suit your agenda and it has zero credibility. Bundling and ESPN being able to bully through excessive fees to all users is dying. But yet you continue to take slices of data and misapply them to spin new messages.



Yet another extrapolation that means nothing.

Please stop citing yourself as a source.

Bureau of Labor statistics will give you the breakdown of jobs since the ACA when most hourly employers cut back hours dramatically for purposes of benefit avoidance with 'full time' employment now defined as 30/hrs week so most non-union hourly employees are allowed 20 hrs week or less.

As to 40 hours being a minimum for salaried workers just ask anybody about how many hours they are expected to work for vs what they are paid for.

 

[Bolna]

Question.. if I ever manage to get to Paris and visit Disneyland Paris by chance..
Do they prefer english or do I need to try learning French?

What?! Why spanish? The park doesn't even make announcements in Spanish (except for opening announcement and fireworks... and then it's also in german, Italian, Portuguese and something else!). All menus in the park (display menus) are in French and english. Most CMs will understand English, to some degree, but it's always polite to try a few things... hello, thankyou, numbers. At least to be seen to be making an effort.

I think @Cesar R M speaks Spanish as his first language and that is why there was the comment about Spanish working well.

In my experience there is no need to speak any French at DLP. However, a few phrases in French will be helpful, especially for the world around DLP. I only once (in 1997) had a problem with English at DLP. In general my experience in France is that when I start a conversation in French (in my very very basic French) it will cause the other person to try as well to communicate with meand they are going to use their English skills to help out. If you just come in and speak English, the willingness to help out is often far lower.

As to other languages: There is actually a lot of language support for various languages at DLP. They have menus in several languages (I think French, English, German, Netherlands, Italian and Spanish). A lot of CMs, especially at restaurants, speak multiple languages. We had a server once who spoke perfect English with us, French with another table, was from Hungary, so of course spoke Hungarian, then a new table came in and she spoke Italian with them and when she found out that I was from Germany, she had fun testing out her German on me.

There are plenty of visitors from Italy and Spain at DLP and in my experience they are less likely to use English than visitors from the Netherlands or Scandinavia. So, DLP is quite good at helping out and making the parks accessible for people who speak neither French nor English.

 

[RoysCabin]

Edit: forgot the last point: NJPW, wrestling association from Japan, always had an underground following around the world. This year, after a few years where they held joint shows with another federation in the States, they decided to organise two solo events in Long Beach, CA on July 1st and July 2nd. Prices were actually decent for the tickets and they booked a hall at the convention hall there. End result? The "underground following" translated to tickets for the events and meet and greets selling out in 10-15 minutes. What is even more telling is that the millennials, who compose a majority of the following... are holding on to the tickets. There are precious little tickets available on Stubhub and others and since it was so underground, the scalpers could not just steal the tickets. There is still so much demand they released new 30$ tickets that I presume will be standing room.

Assuming my girlfriend can finalize her time off that weekend, I'll be one of said Millenials holding onto his tickets and going! Can't wait.

 

[Cesar R M]

I think @Cesar R M speaks Spanish as his first language and that is why there was the comment about Spanish working well.

In my experience there is no need to speak any French at DLP. However, a few phrases in French will be helpful, especially for the world around DLP. I only once (in 1997) had a problem with English at DLP. In general my experience in France is that when I start a conversation in French (in my very very basic French) it will cause the other person to try as well to communicate with meand they are going to use their English skills to help out. If you just come in and speak English, the willingness to help out is often far lower.

As to other languages: There is actually a lot of language support for various languages at DLP. They have menus in several languages (I think French, English, German, Netherlands, Italian and Spanish). A lot of CMs, especially at restaurants, speak multiple languages. We had a server once who spoke perfect English with us, French with another table, was from Hungary, so of course spoke Hungarian, then a new table came in and she spoke Italian with them and when she found out that I was from Germany, she had fun testing out her German on me.

There are plenty of visitors from Italy and Spain at DLP and in my experience they are less likely to use English than visitors from the Netherlands or Scandinavia. So, DLP is quite good at helping out and making the parks accessible for people who speak neither French nor English.

Thank you!

And yes you're correct. My main language is English. I do not speak english very fluently (some spelling errors) because of being partially deaf.

and also, impressive CM!
I Remember a similar event in Disney Cruise Line (On the Wonder) there was this awesome Italian looking server in the Palo. He was speaking like 5 languages (one in every table, fluent Spain style spanish with us) It was amazing!.

 

[Kman101]

As a general rule I'd go to any other country that speaks another language knowing a few key phrases. That goes a long way.

 

[rael ramone]

https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/05/08/power-five-tv-rights-deals-amazon-google

Very interesting....

If streaming ever became broadcast quality/dependability, it looks like Big Tech may bid for live product, and have the ability to monetize it in a way that traditional media never could...

 

[ford91exploder]

https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/05/08/power-five-tv-rights-deals-amazon-google

Very interesting....

If streaming ever became broadcast quality/dependability, it looks like Big Tech may bid for live product, and have the ability to monetize it in a way that traditional media never could...

Streaming already IS broadcast quality the problem is that physics says you cant do it wirelessly (you can in a faraday cage) but in a shared airspace the laws of physics rule. Ie at any given frequency only x symbols can be carried.

The problem is ATT and VZ want to force people off wires to wireless plans where they can charge by the bit. So theyve refused to upgrade their fiber/copper infrastructure.

If we were putting 1gb fiber pipes into every house we would not even be having this discussion.

Ironically you can now get 10Gb service from COMCAST but VZ and ATT want to sell 2.5 mb DSL as broadband

 

[Sonconato]

Just read this and thought I would share it:

Disney Dogged by ESPN Woes, With Fewer Viewers and Higher Costs
by
Christopher Palmeri
May 9, 2017, 4:16 PM EDT May 9, 2017, 4:37 PM EDT
Walt Disney Co. failed to assuage investor concern about its struggling cable division, saying profit in the business slumped last quarter as ESPN continued to lose subscribers and spent more to televise games.

Sales in the cable division totaled $4.06 billion, trailing the $4.2 billion average of analysts’ estimates. The unit’s profit slid 3 percent, the company said, a reflection of higher expenses for NBA games and college football. Disney shares fell in late trading.

The results show Disney struggling to get a handle on the troubles at its largest business -- TV programming. The owner of ESPN and ABC has seen ratings slide as audiences watch more video online, while sports leagues keep demanding more money. The company is paying $600 million more for rights to National Basketball Association games alone, and a shift in college football schedules also lifted expenses.

The cable unit’s struggles overshadowed positive results in other divisions. The entertainment company said Tuesday total profit rose to $1.50 a share in the fiscal second quarter, beating the $1.41-a-share average of analysts’ estimates. Sales at the Burbank, California-based company rose 3 percent to $13.3 billion, slightly behind expectations.

Disney shares fell 1.7 percent to $110.20 in extended trading. The stock rose 0.6 percent to $112.06 at the close in New York and is up 7.5 percent this year.

Problems in the cable division led Disney to warn of modest profit growth this year. Ad sales have slumped at competitors including Time Warner Inc. and Viacom Inc. Last month, ESPN eliminated about 100 positions including many on-air personalities.

Profit at Disney’s ABC broadcast division rose 14 percent, fueled by fees from pay-TV providers, sales of programs to other outlets and lower marketing costs.

Disney’s namesake theme parks were buoyed by the new Shanghai Disney Resort, which opened on the Chinese mainland last June. Profit rose 20 percent to $750 million in the division, which is expected to account for as much as two-thirds of Disney’s earnings growth over the next two years as new attractions draw more guests. The company’s newest attraction, Pandora -- the World of Avatar, opens May 27 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

Film profit grew 21 percent to $656 million, driven by the “Beauty and the Beast,” the company’s only release in the quarter. The live-action remake of the company’s 1991 animated hit has grossed $1.19 billion in theaters worldwide since its March 17 release, underscoring the success of the company’s strategy of redoing past films for contemporary audiences. Revenue for the studio was down 1 percent.

 

[King Panda 77]

Thank you!

And yes you're correct. My main language is English. I do not speak english very fluently (some spelling errors) because of being partially deaf.

and also, impressive CM!
I Remember a similar event in Disney Cruise Line (On the Wonder) there was this awesome Italian looking server in the Palo. He was speaking like 5 languages (one in every table, fluent Spain style spanish with us) It was amazing!.

Just take the British approach. Speak loudly and slowly in English. Works a charm