Regional sports networks continue to lose distribution footing in the eroding pay TV ecosystem.
SportsNet Pittsburgh, which was recently cast off by AT&T and put under the control of its two main pro-team tenants, Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates and the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, with day-to-day management handled by co-owner New England Sports Network, just took a significant tier bump with its Comcast renewal, the the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
SportsNet Pittsburgh will no longer be available on the No. 1 U.S. pay TV operator's $70-a-month "Popular TV" tier in the local Pittsburgh region. Local Comcast subscribers who want the channel will now instead have to pay an additional $20 a month for the more sports-loaded "Ultimate TV" package.
“Most of our customers who receive the network today already have Ultimate TV, and our viewership information shows that they are the ones primarily watching it, so that’s why we’re making this change,” Comcast said in a statement. “We appreciate SportsNet Pittsburgh working with us to find a solution that balances cost and consumer choice to watch local sports in this changing video marketplace.”
RSN providers have long exerted pressure to make pay TV operators carry their channels in base tiers. With those economics making non-sports fans flee in droves to cheaper direct-to-consumer streaming options, RSNs have lost leverage and are now beginning to move to more premium programming tiers.
