Thread: A Hockey Lockout To Hockey Blackout

A Hockey Lockout To Hockey Blackout
Steve Zipay
Newsday
August 23, 2005

Just when you thought hockey was back, troubling news has surfaced
for fans on Long Island and around the metro area.

Cablevision has 3 million subscribers, and if any of them were
thinking of spending $4.95 a month for the digital sports tier that
carries OLN, the channel that is replacing ESPN and ESPN2 for the
NHL's national cable telecasts this season, they can forget it. The
puck stops here.

Up to 78 regular-season games, including as many as eight Rangers,
eight Devils and eight Islanders games, as well as a slate of
Stanley Cup playoff games and Games 1 and 2 of the Finals, won't be
available to you on OLN, we've learned.

Why? Because OLN is on expanded basic digital service in 90 percent
of its U.S. distribution of 64 million homes, but not in Cablevision
households on Long Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Westchester and
northern New Jersey.

So, in the latest twist in the wacky world of cable, even if you're
willing to pay to watch the NHL here, you can't buy it.

"In markets where OLN is offered on a digital sports tier, which
includes Cablevision, we are required through our contracts to black
out the games," an OLN spokesperson confirmed yesterday. "There will
be alternative programming in that time slot. We are working with
our affiliates on the situation. We believe OLN should be included
on expanded basic, not a sport tier."

Bull-riding rather than Rangers, perhaps?

It's all about leverage: OLN wants Cablevision to make the channel
available to all potential viewers and charge Cablevision a broad-
based fee. Viewers, again, are the pawns.

Not only will the Rangers-Flyers season opener Oct. 5 - an OLN
exclusive - be unavailable to Cablevision subscribers, the rest of
OLN's NHL schedule, primarily on Monday and Tuesday nights, will go
unseen in one of the NHL's largest markets.

Anytime OLN chooses to air a Rangers, Devils or Islanders game here,
Cablevision subscribers will be totally shut out. The conflict
affects only Cablevision subscribers, not Time Warner customers in
Manhattan and Queens or DirecTV and DISH Network subscribers who
receive OLN as part of a general programming package.


http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spzip234394749aug23,0,7220593.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists

thanks for posting.

Originally Posted by Lucky

A Hockey Lockout To Hockey Blackout

Anytime OLN chooses to air a Rangers, Devils or Islanders game here,
Cablevision subscribers will be totally shut out. The conflict
affects only Cablevision subscribers, not Time Warner customers in
Manhattan and Queens or DirecTV and DISH Network subscribers who
receive OLN as part of a general programming package.


http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spzip234394749aug23,0,7220593.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists

Doesn't MSG and FSN NY televise Rangers, Islanders, & Devil games. Since these two networks are Regional Sports Network to Cablevision even if OLN blacks them out, you still be able to see these games on MSG or FSN NY. Is this correct or wrong?

grrrrrrreat so even though they own the rangers, they would be able to watch the season opener

Originally Posted by Sean Mota

Doesn't MSG and FSN NY televise Rangers, Islanders, & Devil games. Since these two networks are Regional Sports Network to Cablevision even if OLN blacks them out, you still be able to see these games on MSG or FSN NY. Is this correct or wrong?

i hope so, will we be able to get them. does anyone know for sure?

From what I've read, the answer is no. If OLN decides do broadcast a game nationally, a local broadcast will be blacked out.
But the problems seems to be, that for some weird contract reason, even OLN will be blacked out on Cablevision for the local teams.

That is the correct. The new OLN Hockey package is very complex. There are days when OLN has exclusivity and the games will be blocked out on the local RSN's. Oh well, I will have to order OLN from Dish Network.

Another article on this subject :

CABLEVISION GETS NHL FREEZE-OUT

By ANDREW MARCHAND

AS of now, Cablevision customers will not be able to watch the
Rangers' season opener against the Flyers on Oct. 5 because of the
NHL's new agreement with the Outdoor Life Network to be the league's
national cable carrier.

While the three sides plan on further discussing the issue, the
NHL's board agreed to terms that black out OLN's exclusive game
coverage on Cablevision. No other New York cable or satellite
provider is affected.

This means, unless something changes, Cablevision subscribers — even
ones with OLN — will be unable to watch Rangers, Devils or Islanders
games when they are on the NHL's new national partner.

Cablevision's OLN subscribers also will be prevented from viewing
the 78 national regular-season games plus Stanley Cup playoff games
and the first two games of the Finals.

Why? Why else? Money.

On 90 percent of the country's cable systems, OLN is on basic cable,
according to the network.

But Cablevision's 3 million homes are offered OLN as part of the
sport tier package, which costs $4.95 per month.

In an effort to force Cablevision to move OLN to basic, the NHL
agreed to allow its games to be pawns. In choosing to allow the
blackouts, it has made it impossible for 3 million viewers to see
some of its games.

"We are committed to the NHL. We hope to resolve this issue in the
near term," an OLN spokesperson said, while confirming the
Cablevision blackout.

After canceling a season, the NHL's attitude seems to want fans to
trust it.

"We drop the puck on Oct. 5," an NHL spokesman said. "Fans shouldn't
be overly concerned at this point."

Rangers, Islanders and Devils fans will still be able to see the
majority of their team's games on MSG and FSNY. But OLN figures to
take the most attractive matchups. Each team can be on OLN eight
times during the regular season.

"Cablevision carries two regional sports networks, MSG Network and
FSN New York, that are home to our three local hockey teams and
feature hundreds of games, and we have every intention of delivering
the games that will appear on OLN to our customers as well," a
Cablevision spokesman said.

The NHL decided to go with OLN over ESPN for reportedly $65 million
this year and $70 million next year. ESPN chose not to match the
offer.

While the deal has put OLN on the map — it is now making overtures
for major-league baseball (a spokesperson declined comment) — it is
unlikely that the new agreement will increase NHL viewership, which
has lagged behind the other three major sports.


http://www.nypost.com/sports/27301.htm

Although I could really care less about the NHL after this latest strike/lockout/whatever you want to call it, I have always found blackouts insulting at best. Why can't they figure this all out in ALL sports and just stop this garbage. It's NOT going to make any more people go to their games. It's just not gonna happen. Just put it on TV and stop with this insanity already...

The Rickster