Latest news with #VinceTorres
Chicago Tribune
13-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
DirecTV offering Chicago sports fans new $19.99 streaming package to get both CHSN and Marquee in time for opening day
Opening day for the White Sox is two weeks away and there is still no carriage agreement for the fledgling Chicago Sports Network to air on Comcast, essentially blacking out a rite of spring for 1 million pay-TV viewers in the city and suburbs. DirecTV has come up with an alternative option for Chicago sports fans with a new local streaming package – MyHome Team – just in time for the baseball season. MyHome Team features 20 regional sports networks, including the Cubs on Marquee Sports Network and the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks on CHSN. Chicago viewers would be able to watch all local games, in addition to having access to sports news and features on out-of-market RSNs. The new local sports offering, announced Thursday, costs $19.99 per month as an add-on to DirecTV's MySports skinny bundle, which launched in January in 24 markets including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia with a full roster of national sports networks. 'MyHome Team delivers unmatched flexibility and control for a local sports enthusiast to tune in and watch their teams whenever they want, whether that's all season long or during portions of the season,' Vince Torres, chief marketing officer at DirecTV, said in a news release. Subscribing to the MySports package, which is required to get the local sports add-on, costs $69.99 per month and features ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, NFL Network, Big Ten Network and other national cable channels. In Chicago, it also includes local broadcast stations WMAQ-Ch. 5, WLS- Ch.7 and WFLD-Ch.32. The combined $90-per-month local and national sports bundle is about $25 less than DirecTV's lowest-priced Choice package, which runs about $115 per month after a discounted three-month introductory rate. The White Sox, coming off the most losses in a season in major league history, are set to begin anew against the Los Angeles Angeles on March 27 at Rate Field. The Cubs are traveling to Tokyo to open the MLB season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, and start their stateside schedule March 27 at the Arizona Diamondbacks. The broadcast picture for both Chicago teams remains a little fuzzy, however, with their respective local networks engaged in ongoing carriage negotiations with Comcast. A joint venture between the Bulls, Blackhawks, White Sox and Nashville-based Standard Media, the Chicago Sports Network supplanted NBC Sports Chicago, the 20-year-old regional sports network whose broadcast rights expired in September. CHSN went live in October on pay-TV platforms DirecTV and Astound, and over the air with WJYS-Ch. 62 in Chicago. It subsequently added streaming service FuboTV and rolled out its own direct-to-consumer streaming app, but has yet to reach a carriage agreement with Comcast, turning the network's inaugural Bulls and Blackhawks campaigns into a lost season for a huge swath of Chicago-area viewers. Now the Comcast impasse threatens to keep the White Sox off the air on the largest pay-TV provider in the Chicago market, a potentially devastating blow to the fans, the team and the new regional sports network. A Comcast spokesperson this week said there were 'no updates' to the negotiations with CHSN. Meanwhile, Marquee, which launched in 2020, has remained on Comcast through a series of short-term extensions after its inaugural carriage agreement expired Sept. 30. A Marquee spokesperson did not return a request for comment. The Cubs president of business operations, Crane Kenney, told the Tribune last week he is 'optimistic' Marquee and Comcast will reach an agreement to keep the team on the air. Sources familiar with the negotiations said Comcast is looking to move both Marquee and CHSN to its more expensive Ultimate cable programming tier, something it has done with other regional sports networks across the U.S. in recent months. The Ultimate tier costs an additional $20 per month – on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee Comcast charges Chicago-area subscribers each month. Comcast has been issuing a monthly $8.85 credit to partially offset that fee during the ongoing carriage negotiations with CHSN. Whether Comcast reaches agreements with Marquee and CHSN before Opening Day remains to be seen, but DirecTV's new MyHome Team streaming package may provide the impetus and the platform for some frustrated Chicago sports fans to finally cut the cable cord.
USA Today
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
DirecTV's new Genre Packs let streamers select from news, sports, Spanish-language TV
DirecTV's new Genre Packs let streamers select from news, sports, Spanish-language TV DirecTV has new Genre Packs of news, movies and TV shows, and Spanish-language programming you can stream for a monthly charge. And you can add other Mini-Packs of movies and sports programs, too. Show Caption Hide Caption Black Friday: How to score major deals on Disney+, streaming platforms With so many streaming services out there, it can be expensive keeping up with content. Here's how to save money, while enjoying your favorite shows. Problem Solved DirecTV wants to make it easier for streamers to create their own programming package. The TV provider is offering three new standalone streaming content offerings, or Genre Packs, for subscribers to choose from: MyEntertainment (TV shows and movies), MyNews (U.S. and global news) and MiEspañol (Spanish language programming). The Genre Packs, which cost $34.99 or $35.99 monthly, are available to stream now at They will be available through streaming device partners and in the coming months. Subscribers to a Genre Pack can also opt to add an additional Mini-Pack of content such as MyCinema ($9.99 monthly) or MySports Extra ($12.99 monthly). The new offerings build on DirecTV's recent launch of MySports, a subscription streaming service with 40 channels ($69.99 monthly), and MyFree DirecTV, a free streaming service with more than 90 advertising-supported live TV channels. All of these and the new Genre Packs and Mini-Packs can be watched on a browser or in the DirecTV app on popular streaming devices. "At DIRECTV, we're breaking up with the one-size-fits-all bloated cable bundles of the past by delivering new ways for consumers to enjoy the content they love at the best value," said DirecTV chief marketing officer Vince Torres in a press release. "Our new Genre Packs and Mini-Packs provide lower-priced options, allowing customers to pick and choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it." The TV distribution market continues to shift toward streaming. Streaming revenue (including advertising revenue from streaming subscriptions with ads) of $17.3 billion, surpassed revenue from pay TV subscriptions ($16.7 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, according to The Hollywood Reporter, citing research firm Ampere Analysis. As more money goes to streaming, services have devised new ways to attract subscribers including deals and lower-priced packages for those who will watch commercials. More control over the content they pay for is a "big win for consumers," said Rich Greenfield, a partner and media and technology analyst at LightShed Partners. "To me the key is that programmers are finally realizing that the all or nothing strategy is a losing proposition," he told USA TODAY in an email. "If you force consumers to choose the absurdly bloated expensive bundle, they increasingly are choosing no bundle," Greenfield said. "Programmers are now allowing packages of smaller channels to maintain the health of their most important channels and sacrificing the vast majority of channels that consumers have been forced to take for decades." Stream this: From 'Gladiator II' to 'Saturday Night,' 15 movies you need to stream right now DirecTV adds new streaming video options Here's a closer look at DirecTV's new content packages:
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DirecTV's new Genre Packs let streamers select from news, sports, Spanish-language TV
DirecTV wants to make it easier for streamers to create their own programming package. The TV provider is offering three new standalone streaming content offerings, or Genre Packs, for subscribers to choose from: MyEntertainment (TV shows and movies), MyNews (U.S. and global news) and MiEspañol (Spanish language programming). The Genre Packs, which cost $34.99 or $35.99 monthly, are available to stream now at They will be available through streaming device partners and in the coming months. Subscribers to a Genre Pack can also opt to add an additional Mini-Pack of content such as MyCinema ($9.99 monthly) or MySports Extra ($12.99 monthly). The new offerings build on DirecTV's recent launch of MySports, a subscription streaming service with 40 channels ($69.99 monthly), and MyFree DirecTV, a free streaming service with more than 90 advertising-supported live TV channels. All of these and the new Genre Packs and Mini-Packs can be watched on a browser or in the DirecTV app on popular streaming devices. "At DIRECTV, we're breaking up with the one-size-fits-all bloated cable bundles of the past by delivering new ways for consumers to enjoy the content they love at the best value," said DirecTV chief marketing officer Vince Torres in a press release. "Our new Genre Packs and Mini-Packs provide lower-priced options, allowing customers to pick and choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it." The TV distribution market continues to shift toward streaming. Streaming revenue (including advertising revenue from streaming subscriptions with ads) of $17.3 billion, surpassed revenue from pay TV subscriptions ($16.7 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, according to The Hollywood Reporter, citing research firm Ampere Analysis. As more money goes to streaming, services have devised new ways to attract subscribers including deals and lower-priced packages for those who will watch commercials. More control over the content they pay for is a "big win for consumers," said Rich Greenfield, a partner and media and technology analyst at LightShed Partners. "To me the key is that programmers are finally realizing that the all or nothing strategy is a losing proposition," he told USA TODAY in an email. "If you force consumers to choose the absurdly bloated expensive bundle, they increasingly are choosing no bundle," Greenfield said. "Programmers are now allowing packages of smaller channels to maintain the health of their most important channels and sacrificing the vast majority of channels that consumers have been forced to take for decades." Stream this: From 'Gladiator II' to 'Saturday Night,' 15 movies you need to stream right now Here's a closer look at DirecTV's new content packages: MyEntertainment ($34.99 monthly): More than 40 channels including A&E Network, Bravo, Discovery, E!, Food Network, FX, Freeform, FYI, HGTV, Lifetime, Oxygen, Syfy, The History Channel, TLC and Vice TV. Also comes with the Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic (a $10.99 value, has some commercials). DirecTV will add Max Basic with Ads ($9.99 monthly value) to the package soon. MyNews ($39.99 monthly): More than 10 national news channels and select local channels where available; comes with CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. MiEspañol ($34.99 monthly): More than 60 Spanish language channels including ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, Nat Geo Mundo, Telemundo, and Univision. DirecTV plans to add ViX Premium with Ads (a $4.99 monthly value) soon at no additional cost. MyCinema ($9.99 monthly): Subscribe to MyEntertainment, MyNews or MySports and you can add this Mini-Pack of seven channels of movies, romance, and family programming; includes Great American Family, Sony Movies and Turner Classic Movies. MySports Extra ($12.99 monthly): MySports subscribers can add this Mini-Pack of additional sports channels including MotorTrend, NFL Red Zone and Willow TV. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DirecTV: Streamers can choose from new content Genre Packs
