With cable cord cutting and the demise of regional sports networks, we’re all left searching for what we want and who we’re willing to pay for what. Leonard Raskin and Nestor discuss the fragmenting sports on TV model and finding the game in the future.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
game, orioles, peacock, great, watch, buy, password, money, find, tv, wife, day, tour, run, weeks, people, play, crab cake, cubs, good
SPEAKERS
Leonard Raskin, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
What about wn st Towson, Baltimore. Baltimore positive you’re positively into the summer time and doing the Maryland crab cake tour we’re gonna be at its spirits west on Thursday from two to five. Some of the old St. Joe folks and St. Agnes essential folks stop by. We’re looking forward to that’d be giving away these instant lottery scratch offs in the mirror lottery of the throwbacks as well as aware in the fun floppy half more friends window nation 866 90 days when you buy two you get two free and 0% financing for the next two years at window nation whole schedule up for the crab cake tour and it’s moving around. We’re not going to be Hollywood casino next week. Gonna do that next month. This guy is gonna come out and have a crab cake with me at some point. He has been managing money managing summer managing Beach, managing, I guess peacock and apple plus and trying to find the Oreos like all the rest of us at this point, let her ask in our defending financial champion back on from Raskind global and trying to make the summer right hey, by the way, if I if I punted on my taxes, April 15 The deadlines you know, at some point I’m gonna have to file right
Leonard Raskin 01:03
October, October. All right, yeah, the government. The government gives you a freebie to file we’ve talked about till October. They don’t give you a freebie to pay though. You gotta pay April. April 15.
Nestor Aparicio 01:16
Because I have you been through this over the weekend. I’m like, still got to do that. I think I’ve gotta move that a little higher up on the
Leonard Raskin 01:23
gotta get gotta get it on the priority list. Got to get it right there with getting Cedric Mullins healthy. Yeah. Ryan and Ryan mountcastle. And then, yeah, getting streaming. You say cut the cord. cut the cord. So you cut the cord. You save what? 80 bucks, but then you gotta buy apple plus for 14. You gotta buy peacock for 15 You gotta buy Netflix for 20 You gotta buy Disney plus you got to buy Macs. Before you know it. You’re $120 a streaming to watch one show once a month like the Orioles. But the way I looked at it was I tried to find them. This weekend. I tried to find where it was. I don’t know. It took me a while. Because I looked at maths and I looked at Fox. I looked at NBC because I heard they were on NBC. Lo and behold, NBC has got the PGA golf us.
Nestor Aparicio 02:20
Oh, I went looking for that. Strangely enough. Right?
Leonard Raskin 02:23
Right. Right. So you can’t find anything anywhere. It’s supposed to be wait till football season starts anyway. TV baby, right, right. So I hooked up on espn.com And I found out that they’re on the peacock. And then I have to go looking for the peacock and then I got to have peacock. I don’t know why I have peacock. I think because the boy subscribed us to everything so he could watch anything he wants at college. So I think we’re subscribed to everything we’ve got it all
Nestor Aparicio 02:55
so some people don’t and then then had worse not
Leonard Raskin 02:58
where you find it the way we all found it when we were 13 You’d go to that transistor radio and you put on see here’s what I do for
Nestor Aparicio 03:07
melody Newman’s not calling the game because well it’s just not she’s
Leonard Raskin 03:12
not she’s not that. Anyway, so. So then I went to my my favorite which is Sirius XM another subscription. And I popped up on the phone, Sirius XM and listen to some Scott Garceau doing the game because I have the Orioles as a favorite on the on the satellite radio and every game is on. So I know no matter what I can find it on the Sirius so I found it on the Sirius and of course, couldn’t ask for a better Father’s Day weekend. It was beautiful out. So we sat out by the pool with Scott Garceau and the other guy Brent Hollander I think it is doing the play by play live from Wrigley Field I’ve been there I’ve been to Wrigley Field that’s one of the ones I got to
Nestor Aparicio 04:06
it’s it this is a consumer issue right and you can in normal businesses that you do business with and or they earn money and you invest their money and you in a normal trust or integrity or whatever they would find some better way to do this then you know where to find them in the in the office screaming like I can’t find the game. I’ve looked everywhere. Know where
Leonard Raskin 04:31
to find them. You know where to find them? Or at least at least on the and I don’t know that I saw this at all because I watch I don’t watch every game but I have it on in the background at least while I’m doing some other work or something. At least you would have during the game and instead of at the fifth inning. I think it’s the fan duel odds of the over under for the game. They would have Hey, by the way, don’t forget tomorrow’s game is On Peacock, but I don’t think I saw that I saw the odds of Adley rutschman hitting a home run when he comes up to bat in the sevens, or something of that.
Nestor Aparicio 05:09
Don’t sit there for five days and say to you on Sunday, you will not be able to watch the game. Unless you figure this out. Now, as opposed to thinking the game being in Chicago might not start till two o’clock because that sounds reasonable. And instead they started at one o’clock one and you one are scrambling to find to
Leonard Raskin 05:28
find the peacock and then have and then once I realized it was on the peacock, then you got to go get the peacock and here’s how I justified the peacock. Because I don’t watch anything on there. I’m not gonna watch anything on there. Most of
Nestor Aparicio 05:41
you about how you got it. How lucky you were that? Yeah, we thought of you. Oh, he
Leonard Raskin 05:44
had it. He had it. I didn’t have the password. We had to find that. We had to get the password in because he had the password. He knew what it was. And here’s the thing. I don’t know what it cost. Let’s say it’s 10 bucks a month. All right. So if I want to watch the O’s, play the Cubs 120 bucks is the price of the ticket. So now I buy peacock for the whole year to watch one game. And you justify it by saying okay, that game was $120 I didn’t have to buy the nachos and dogs at the park. So I saved a lot of money didn’t have to park down. You sound
Nestor Aparicio 06:21
like you’re running PR Why don’t you say what how this really works? Leonard This is how it really works.
Leonard Raskin 06:29
95% of the people that are watching Don’t watch it. That’s how it really works.
Nestor Aparicio 06:33
I got bitten in the eye by a creature right so my eye swelled. Who’s an angel Los Angeles bug. Yeah, look like Rocky, you know, rocky to, you know, cut me MC Right, exactly. I’m gonna cut me MC moment. And my wife took pity on me brought some muffins and we made some coffee. And we were gonna watch the Orioles game which we hadn’t done because I was out she was good girl. So right so we’re gonna watch your game and she she comes to me holding the remote and my wife is prone to frustration. Check. I can’t find the effing thing. I’m like, not that this should be a shocker. And I brought this up and I want to bring this up again because this person was important to me. Did you ever attend to skip Jacks game? Oh, yeah, sure. Do you remember there was a guy in Section 210? Oh, ran up and down the section with the fireman’s hat. Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Right. Sure. And he would do skippers on a warpath Go Go skippers. His name’s Jeff amser. He is very much alive and well. He was a longtime school teacher in Howard County. Known him forever. He had a fall a couple of weeks ago. He’s got a little older up in age. But Jeff goes to Nationals games, Orioles games, but he’s an Oreo fan. He’s a like a, as big a sports fan. As I know, he was. He was a cheerleader for the team basically. Right. Right. Right. Right. And he’s a wonderful man. And he’s in the hospital. And um, we’re all trying to get him better. You know what? He’s posting things. And he posted on Sunday that like all weekend, they win. The games are on mass and too and I know this from my wife having spent 155 nights in a hospital. Yeah, the games on mass and two people forget it. We’ll get the game people nursing on don’t get the game. Right. Let’s see, I’ve met massive one. They don’t get the game at all. And then you introduce this peacock or this apple plus, I just think it’s I just think it stinks. And Jeff has not been able to watch the Orioles play in the hospital. And he’s in the hospital. And it’s sort of like he’s a lifer fan. And it’s one thing that would, dare I say be medicine for him right here. Yeah. I mean, I just think it stinks. It’s one thing for me to pitch but but to your point, you’re like, Oh, I’m going to pay $120. And, you know, talk about the popcorn I didn’t eat and the trip to Chicago that it would have taken me to go and like we came in, we looked at each other. We couldn’t find the game, we realized we didn’t have Peacock, I realized that I’m not going to sign up for peacock. You know what she did? She went for three and a half mile walk and they went for like your little nature. That’s what she did. So she did that instead of going to Oregon. And she’s like, she’s the only one.
Leonard Raskin 09:03
I get it. Like I’m with you. I think this is crazy. But for whatever reason. The world is streaming. And MLB I guess, I guess, thinks they’re gonna pick up the younger demographic by streaming instead of being on old TV. I don’t know what
Nestor Aparicio 09:21
this means rich clients that live in weird places where they don’t really get streaming. You know what I mean? Like where it’s not the stream? Sure. I mean, it’s, you know, we live in Hunter Valley and Towson downtown and we’re moving around the beltway. It didn’t take me long two summers ago to get on the political train of the crabcake tour going over the eastern shore going to Western Maryland where like, there were large stretches of places where like I had one bar
Leonard Raskin 09:45
happening, internet ain’t happening there. You’re
Nestor Aparicio 09:48
Luke Jones his house and he lives 20 minutes from here.
Leonard Raskin 09:52
It’s a bad day when you can’t watch the birds. So you got to turn on the wall. You can’t even get Sirius radio I guess if you don’t got bars well
Nestor Aparicio 10:00
I mean, you’re a great example of this Leonard, you’re a guy with you know, you have disposable income you have to home and I found
Leonard Raskin 10:05
it right. But But even still, it wasn’t easy for you. Yeah. I get it. I get
Nestor Aparicio 10:11
it. By the time a game started, did you go looking forward to one o’clock found it? 120 I mean, there’s a period where you start the midst. By the time I couldn’t find that it was the third inning like literally Yeah, well,
Leonard Raskin 10:20
here’s, I guess. Here’s how crazy I am. Of course, right. I’m up. Sunday morning, having little Father’s Day brunch. And I’ve got that part. It was Father’s Day, too. Yeah. And I flip on the guide on the Direct TV because I’m still a slave to that. Although I will be potentially getting rid of that soon. Because no more Sunday NFL ticket, which is why I kept it for all these years. You
Nestor Aparicio 10:44
see because of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, so you haven’t been a Comcast or?
Leonard Raskin 10:48
No, no, no, no, no. So I’m Direct TV guy. I pull up the guide. Sunday morning while I’m having a little brunch. And I look and I see channel 11 has bas got the Golf I said, Okay, where are the Orioles? One o’clock, two o’clock. I’m looking not on CBS not on Fox. Then I go to ESPN. Then I go to Fs one. Then I go to Mass and just going through the usual sports of
Nestor Aparicio 11:18
everything you did. And then I stereos cubs baseball. I was trying to find everything and then I finally went and I looked peacock and I’m like, Oh yeah, I found major league baseball to
Leonard Raskin 11:31
found it on ESPN that it espn.com It showed that the game was going to be on peacock. So I went to the to the we have we have a smart TV. Everything smart these days not just the phone went to the Smart TV button. Because we watch Netflix on there.
Nestor Aparicio 11:49
I have one I have a little it’s a little microphone. Right right. Be smart.
Leonard Raskin 11:53
Right and so up pop these apps across the bottom and we got the ESPN plus and the the Apple TV and and the whatever and so I go to don’t forget Hulu Hulu Yep. And I go to the peacock and it pops up and it says coming you know it was like noon Orioles cubs. One o’clock I said Okay, so I found it. And then I said click Play peacock and then it said Enter your password. Now we’re stuck because I don’t have a password the boy has all the passwords either in his phone or in his brain. So I text the boy where am I? This is how bad life is in America 2023 I’m in the family room the boys in his bedroom doing some art history homework and you text your kidney other room because I need the password. So I said give me the password for peacock because then when he texted it to me I can read it on the thing so I have it there so he texts me the password
Nestor Aparicio 12:55
back by a carrier pigeon
Leonard Raskin 12:58
right send it back with a fax with the curly paper and then i i put in the password up pops the the peacock and it says welcome and play you’re good an hour before the game I was good and ready but then by the time the game started I was sitting by the pool because it was a gorgeous day and me and the wife and the dog were outside come outside with you. I don’t have an outside television here don’t have an outside television we
Nestor Aparicio 13:24
just have to you couldn’t you’d have to bring your laptop your iPad to one Yeah, so instead I brought the password in again.
Leonard Raskin 13:30
Well I don’t know about that. So we just grabbed the we have the outside speakers and so we grabbed the Sirius radio and turned on the game and listen to it on the
Nestor Aparicio 13:41
on the car so you didn’t even watch it after you went through all after I found peacock. I did go over to your house I was one right when pika right I didn’t watch it. You wonder like if I go on the Costas like how do they you know how does the bar five go to Nacho Mama’s is it on? I?
Leonard Raskin 13:57
I don’t it’s a great question. I
Nestor Aparicio 13:59
don’t know what we’re really weird space now where these teams are struggling money and such liberty that they don’t really have to make it easy on their customer.
Leonard Raskin 14:08
Wait for the NFL season. I think we’re gonna see all kinds of crazy when when Sunday Ticket is now. I think it’s app. Is it apple plus or Amazon? I don’t know. Amazon, I just I just know it’s not
Nestor Aparicio 14:23
the Thursday was Amazon because we had to watch the Thursday night football game on my laptop.
Leonard Raskin 14:28
Right? I just know it’s not direct TV anymore. So so now I can shop cable. What is the other one? What’s the other one cable Direct TV. There’s Oh FiOS FiOS, I can shop FIOS. And now I can see which one is going to give me the best deal for the regular TV because I don’t need to keep Direct TV anymore for the football for football right that’s the reason whenever I would get a call TV
Nestor Aparicio 14:56
is out of business right hope you already got it buddy and their stock right Well that’s
Leonard Raskin 15:01
they were they G No they’re AT and T AT and T they I don’t know if they sold DirecTV or not. Att is not going out of business, I don’t think right well, that’s who that’s who owns DirecTV or at least they did. So
Nestor Aparicio 15:13
we’re talking about this and I’ve talked a lot of baseball Little Rascals here Rascon global, he will take better care of your money than the Orioles are taking care of their stakeholders at this point in regards to getting into games. I’ve done a lot of baseball this summer, because obviously it’s back and we’re interested, you’re winning. I mentioned winning this whole notion like we talked about Oakland and the franchise moving. But like the Tigers Shin part of this is a thing that sits on top of the sport like a gorilla because it’s their revenue. And they’ve been stealing revenue forever. I mean, it was sort of it was built on this cable television model where people were all going to pay into it. And like you you were paying for peacocking didn’t even know you had it till something showed up. Right? And the same thing would be true for true TV every year on March Madness weekend. Are these true TVs been going on for 10 years? I don’t know where it is. And I only find that the Terps are playing St. Bonaventure on exact March 18 Whatever. The amazing part of these Rs ends and our local buddies over at Sinclair being a big big investor in all the regional sports networks. Boy, the San Diego Padres two three weeks ago for June 1 network goes out of business and they just hand the keys back to Major League Baseball and all the Padres fans have to figure out what where am I getting the games there my wife and I you know I paid for my cable television. And this is really no different than my friend Jeff amped are in the hospital trying to get Masson one or massachu because the orals remastered too, and they’re all mad nationals remastered one it is this game of shells. The Dodgers have been doing this for 15 years with their games in LA. Like I was that sustainable letter.
Leonard Raskin 16:50
They’re doing it. They’re doing it because now let’s face it, now you’re going to subscribe to or you’re going to become what is it? You’re an Amazon Prime member so you get your stuff delivered that day or the next day. And instead of Amazon Prime delivering you your your your dog suffered chewy delivering your dog stuff, you’re gonna you’re gonna subscribe to Amazon plus plus, because now you’re gonna want football or now you’re gonna want baseball. And what’s gonna happen is look, I don’t know the number i i recall, it was significant. And I don’t know, like you said, I think it’s Amazon that paid for NFL Sunday Ticket or, or whoever it is. My goodness, the price point that you have to pay for that. And I think the way it works was YouTube, by the way $2 billion, right so YouTube pays for it. And if you are already a YouTube Red, or YouTube Plus member, if you want football, it’s a couple 100 bucks. If you’re not a member, it’s double that
Nestor Aparicio 17:58
100 bucks $100 pre sale discount, they will charge $349 for the Sunday Ticket. There you go. And 389 With redzone the cost and the primetime channels once the pre sale discount ends are 449 and 489. So
Leonard Raskin 18:16
but you also have to be a YouTube plus something subscriber to get some discount thing. It’s so where are they getting $2 billion people better buy up 2 billion, 2 billion so so the league whether it be the NFL the MLB they don’t really care as long as check clears. Yeah, and you know, I say this and we talked about we’re talking about the Orioles talking about football last two weeks ago. How I think it was terrible. I mean, it was well done. But I think it was this just me the the NHL finals were on TBS. Yeah. And that’s all fine whatever look the Friday that’s where I’m looking for hockey. The playoffs first round don’t ever
Nestor Aparicio 19:04
you don’t ever trip over though, like you used to with your cable remote right? You’re not tripping over that hockey game. If you didn’t know what was going on and you’re not vested you’re not
Leonard Raskin 19:14
you’re not a fan you’re not on TBS, you’re not falling over the NHL finals.
Nestor Aparicio 19:18
I did not watch the cup get hoisted this year for the first time in a long, long time. Because just wasn’t. It wasn’t in my space. It was Yeah, front of me.
Leonard Raskin 19:26
So I was watching and the family was miserable. Because I’m the only one in the household that really loves hockey. But I was watching they had to suffer through and and it was a it was a really good series for the first two games. Then the Knights just flattened Florida. I mean, they were just far better, bigger, stronger, faster, and they tore them to pieces. And they deserve that cup. They played a great season they played a great
Nestor Aparicio 19:54
job building a franchise. Hey,
Leonard Raskin 19:55
did Bill look the funniest thing of course were the people holding up holding up the cardboard sides we’ve waited six years for this. Look first year they fought the caps for the for the phyto in their first season. Now six years all caps people running it right. Six years later they actually hoisted the cup and they looked like a real a really good good team and they got some good talent there they could win it again and again. Who knows but but you had to find it on TBS. The the crew was good. The broadcast was good. Your friend, your friend. What’s his name? Albert. Not Marv, I think who Kenny? Yeah, Kenny did the broadcast with any old check and and Keith Jones did you know about this Keith Jones?
Nestor Aparicio 20:47
Keith Jones when Keith Jones first put his skates on down at piney orchard? Yeah, as a cap. I remember seeing him skate for the first time with a wonderful man named Tommy bright who was the owner he got me up literally Tom pick me up put me in his car. He had like a DeLorean he had some weird car that wasn’t like it was a it was a unique rare. He was a wealthy, not eccentric. Tommy bright was just a wonderful man. Yeah, but he on the Skipjacks and he picked me up in his car and we drove down and saw ketones practice for the Skipjacks.
Leonard Raskin 21:21
So he capitals. He practiced he played for the jacks played for the capitals. Then he went on to other teams, flyers and others that he got into broadcasting. It’s been broadcasting for a long time and then they’re all saying goodbye to him. And the last game of the series, and I’m saying goodbye. Where’s he? Where’s he obviously got canned. Did he get canned? No, he is the director of hockey operations for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Nestor Aparicio 21:47
No good well, he’s becoming
Leonard Raskin 21:49
so hilly, so he left the broadcast booth to run the flyers which hold on a second. Wow
Nestor Aparicio 21:56
Mike Mike Mayock did that in in with the Raiders right look, lots
Leonard Raskin 22:01
of guys look Steve Eisenerz run great hockey teams he ran Tampa Bay’s now back around and I think Detroit but but I didn’t picture Keith Jones Keith yeah as as the the manager head operations of Philly but he is so he’s times for
Nestor Aparicio 22:19
the 9192 Skip jacks and eight times for the 9293 Skipjacks. And then the team departed. So he was right. You know, he played games here.
Leonard Raskin 22:29
Then the caps and and now. So now that the Stanley Cup is over, you can go to NHL network. This is another one you got to trip over and watch the Hershey bears. Who are one game away from the AHL championship.
Nestor Aparicio 22:43
I’m on their mailing list, do bus trips, so I’ve gotten the come ons for I said to my wife last week. I’m like, Hey, if you want to go to a hockey game, her she’s still playing. I mean, right. I used to go up there for playoff games back in the day. They were
Leonard Raskin 22:55
down. They were down. Oh two. They came home to Hershey. They sold out that arena up there. The Hershey arena, and whatever it’s called. And they won three in a row. The last one one nothing in overtime. And so they are one game away from hoisting whatever it is the call. Is it the Calder cup? Yes, it is the Calder cup. Yes, there you go. See I got my minor leagues go into here. And they got they got to win one on the road. They lost two of the road. They won three at home. Now they got to win one on the road to hoist the minor league equivalent of the Stanley Cup. You
Nestor Aparicio 23:30
know the big thing they do up there’s the teddy bear thing, right? Yes, yes. Charity. That’s
Leonard Raskin 23:35
a huge
Nestor Aparicio 23:37
want to go to it. Well, my son has been to it a couple times because he was into it. I almost want to go it feels like a bucket list type of thing. And if I’m going to go to another Hershey Bears game, and I’ve been to,
Leonard Raskin 23:47
you know, yeah, I’ve been I’ve gotta go to the teddy bear game, you got to go to the
Nestor Aparicio 23:51
teddy bear game Mason letter. Rascon is here he manages money sports, the remote control around his house. And all of the accounts that the Hulu’s and the Pecos. So we turn this into a whole media segment. Anything you want to say on nothing it finances in summertime, you’re buying a beach house? Is that a good idea or bad idea?
Leonard Raskin 24:09
It depends. If you want to hang out at the beach. It’s a great question. Anytime you’re looking to buy when you say a beach house, I assume you mean a second home that you call it what you’re gonna call? Well, I’m just saying whether it’s a beach house or based home or positive on 120/4 Street, but i Wherever, wherever you’re going to buy that second home, the big thing is you got to want to be there. Because if you’re not going to rent it, and you’re going to buy it simply as a second home. It’s a consumer of your dollars and a consumer of your time. So you have to consider that your vacation spot and you’re going to use it enough to make it worth the ownership again, kind of justify the peacock. You got to make sure that you use it enough to warrant its ownership. Otherwise it’s an albatross, it just ends up costing you a lot of money. Yeah, does the value go up over time? Sure. But, but not enough to justify its ownership unless you really gonna use it or you’re going to convert it to rent if you’re going to make it a rental property, rental property, real estate is one of the greatest things anyone can invest in anywhere over the long term, you get income, you get growth of value, you get tax breaks, you get use the opportunity to use the place sometimes if you want to and for maintenance and opportunity. And over the long term, if you buy the right real estate from a rental standpoint, you make a lot of money. I tell people all the time, if you were a little kid and you played Monopoly, then you understand buying a second home at the beach, because you can buy some houses there in Atlantic City in that game and collect some rents and make some money and if you were really smart, you could buy some hotels then make some real money and then you could knock out your friends and when the game
Nestor Aparicio 25:49
is over them in like New York Avenue because they’re coming out of jail. And then when they’re
Leonard Raskin 25:54
coming out of jail, they’re gonna land on those Marvin gardens they’re gonna hit Marvin gardens and and all you need to own is the yellows and the greens, the yellows and the greens and one of boardwalk or Park Place because if you own one, nobody else can build there and hurt you. So as long as nobody else can hurt you, you win. So rental property is a great thing second homes a great thing if you’re going to use it if you’re not going to use it. It’s a vacant piece of brick and mortar I guess you know, and then it’s not a great thing.
Nestor Aparicio 26:24
Leonard Raskin is here. He’s raskin global. He’s got advice for everybody find him out of Rascon global find him in the front of Baltimore positive.com and hopefully find them out on our 25th anniversary tour. beginning August 3 Costas in August 4. Drugs city celebrating 25 years here at wn St. We’re gonna be celebrating on Thursday this week, the Maryland crabcake tour back out on the road be given away the Maryland lottery scratch offs and the 50th anniversary and our friends at window nation as well. We’re going to be at spirit’s west on Wilkins Avenue on the end here. They got a great crabcake over there and looking forward to it. I used to get the shrimp salad and kitties around the corner so the standards are high, but about three weeks since I’ve added crab cake I was afraid these couple of weeks ago for one so I’m overdue Maryland crab cake tours on the road. I am Nestor we are wn st am 1570 Towson Baltimore and we never stop talking Baltimore positive
