Versus Removed Sept 1 from DirecTV

[mbarry55]

As someone who hasnt even had Direct a month yet, and is a huge hockey fan, what would my options be? If I got NHL Center Ice would there be any conflicts, as far as blackouts etc go?

I will be seriously mad if they do not reach an agreement. I don't care WHO is to blame, I want my NHL.

[Jimbo]

As someone who hasnt even had Direct a month yet, and is a huge hockey fan, what would my options be? If I got NHL Center Ice would there be any conflicts, as far as blackouts etc go?

I will be seriously mad if they do not reach an agreement. I don't care WHO is to blame, I want my NHL.

Your options would be the same as they are with VS...
Your RSN or the Centre Ice package.

Personally, I would not miss VS, whenever my team (Red Wings) was on VS it was blacked out anyways.
I always ended up watching on my RSN.

[Fl_Gulfer]

But I will miss my Wings... since I don't care about center ice anymore. It was worth it when it first started, but it's not worth what they charge for it now days.

[espaeth]

But I will miss my Wings... since I don't care about center ice anymore. It was worth it when it first started, but it's not worth what they charge for it now days.

Everything is relative.

2 lower level tickets at the Joe for a single game: $160 (not including facility charges and ticketmaster fees)

Center Ice: $159 for every game played in the league that is not nationally broadcasted for the entire season.

Best. Deal. Ever.

[skottey]

Should I switch to DISH or cable?
No. There's no need to consider switching providers. We're working to continue negotiations and provide uninterrupted service for our customers. DIRECTV has the best variety of exclusive and premium content available anywhere and we have similar programming on other channels (see above).

Best premium content? They certainly don't mean "premium" channels. I will take it to mean sports. But why don't they just come out and say we have Sunday Ticket, don't switch.

Outside of sports, what does DirecTV actually offer that you cannot get anywhere else (packaged the same way like Sunday ticket, with all out of market NFL games)?

How dare they say "premium" when they mean "Sunday Ticket and RSNs."

I am an average sports fan and I get my fill with local stations and local RSNs. I don't have to miss any NFL games of my team or many hockey games at all with my local team. Sure, if you are a "displaced" fan or such a large fan that you cannot live without every possibly football game on Sunday, you have to have DirecTV (or find a bar playing your game with sound). So they should call it what it is. Declaring best "premium" variety is at the very least deceptive.

The best "premium" sports are on DirecTV.

The best "premium" channels (movies) are on FIOS, not DirecTV.

The best "premium" anything else is elsewhere.

The only exclusive to DirecTV stuff that I watch is "Trailer Park Boys" on the 101 and if I really wanted, I can watch every episode online or buy the DVD set of the entire series.

DirecTV really needs to stop patting itself on the back.

[Tampa8]

As someone who hasnt even had Direct a month yet, and is a huge hockey fan, what would my options be? If I got NHL Center Ice would there be any conflicts, as far as blackouts etc go?

I will be seriously mad if they do not reach an agreement. I don't care WHO is to blame, I want my NHL.

VS is hoping that is the sentiment of viewers. No one can blame you for thinking that way because if NESN were to be dropped, well lets just say it wouldn't be pretty.......

But the other side of the coin is, Direct and Dish have to determine how much they can raise rates, without losing customers, or how much they can absorb when providers want to raise rates. Classic example is Dish and YES. Dish determined they would not meet the YES carriage price, and thus not carry YES because they would need to raise rates for everyone based on how much and how YES wants to be carried. This, even though you wouldn't get YES (or at least Major League Games from YES) unless you were in the YES coverage area. So I have to guess, they determined as best they could how many subscribers would leave in the area served by YES, remembering not everyone cares about sports, or may not care about watching the Yankees, and that we are talking about a small area compared to Dish covering the whole US. Add to that, how many actual subscribers they have in that area, and they decided they would lose less customers by NOT carrying YES.
In the opposite direction, Direct has apparently determined (And I think correctly) VS needs them more than Direct needs VS, and eventually VS will lower their cost to Direct.
In the long run we all win if costs are kept down. If Dish or Direct go too far and misread the customer, and lose programming really wanted by the viewer, they will suffer for that also.

[mbarry55]

My problem is that I am out of market for the Red Wings, so my options are either Vs or NHL Center Ice. I might get Center ice regardless.

[jcrandall]

You guys are forgetting that the Monday/Tuesday night games on VS are often exclusive. VS can claim up to 8 games most for any team. Last year VS had exclusive rights to 8 Wings games.

Also, some games in the playoffs are exclusive in rounds 1-2, all games in rounds 3, and the first two games in the Stanley Cup.

This is much bigger than missing a few games, and NHL-CI / NHL Net / RSNs do NOT fill the gap.

[sum_random_dork]

You guys are forgetting that the Monday/Tuesday night games on VS are often exclusive. VS can claim up to 8 games most for any team. Last year VS had exclusive rights to 8 Wings games.

Also, some games in the playoffs are exclusive in rounds 1-2, all games in rounds 3, and the first two games in the Stanley Cup.

This is much bigger than missing a few games, and NHL-CI / NHL Net / RSNs do NOT fill the gap.

Plus, the college football games...those of us on the West Coast have 2 different Confs with games on Vs (Pac 10 and The Mtn). I don't watch much hockey at all (some Sharks games). But I do enjoy my college football.....Plus, I am/was looking forward to checking out the new UFL league that is on Vs this fall. We have a loacal team in the SF/Sacramento area The CA Redwoods (bad name I know).

[skottey]

But the other side of the coin is

In the opposite direction, Direct has apparently determined (And I think correctly) VS needs them more than Direct needs VS, and eventually VS will lower their cost to Direct.
In the long run we all win if costs are kept down. If Dish or Direct go too far and misread the customer, and lose programming really wanted by the viewer, they will suffer for that also.

Let's make it a three sided coin here.....

Yet another way to look at it. DirecTV has been bragging about adding subscribers and their financial gains as of late. I am assuming that Versus is profitable too but that DirecTV has a larger margin of profitability than Versus. What is DirecTV doing with their thicker profit margin? They certainly aren't adding non-sporting HD programming (I'm still waiting for HBO/MAX HD channels promised long ago) They are building a nice little nest egg for themselves.

But Versus, in the last few years since re-branding as Versus has come a LONG way and they are a respectable channel in my opinion. What would Versus do with more money? Sit on the profits like fat cats the way DirecTV does or use it to build up their programming? We'd all like them to add more/better NHL games (hockey fans I mean) and they could certainly add more programming in other sports.

Also, for this to happen, this does NOT mean DirecTV has to raise rates. They are making money. So they'd be making a little less money. God knows they aren't serious about adding programming. Versus is serious about adding programming. I'd like to see DirecTV give Versus a little more money and see more hockey games with the next contract deal between Versus and the NHL. They are going to need more money to do it.

DirecTV does waste money in other ways. As a subscriber to both FIOS (for the HD premiums mainly) and DirecTV, I recently moved and had to give up FIOS until it is available in my new neighborhood in January. DirecTV gave me a movers deal, which is the Sunday Ticket and all the premiums for a good price. But what they didn't do was allow me to add equipment without renewing my contract for 2 years. I just wanted to add receivers and was willing to pay for it. But instead I am stuck with my two HD-DVRs because I don't want to renew my contract and I get Sunday Ticket free, which I won't use. I watch the Bucs and that is it, and I get them anyway. So I took the movers package promoting Sunday Ticket because it gave me all the premiums for less than I was paying with Choice Extra before. I would have done the same deal for just the added premiums at that price but I get Sunday ticket. And then later I find out they want an extra $20/mo for the Sunday Ticket if I want it in HD. If I signed up based on Sunday Ticket, I'd be irate. Of course having HD DVRs and HD extra everything I would want my games in HD. Who with an HD DVR and Sunday Ticket settles for SD games? I cannot watch a football game in SD. Foolishness. My point is, they have all these overkill, silly promotions, but they are not putting their money back into new channels like HBO2 in HD (as promised).

I think Versus could certainly put that extra money to good use. And DirecTV would not have to raise their rates.