Angels Blackouts

videonex

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Dec 13, 2011
103
0
Los Angeles
I can't seem to get a straight answer about why select Angels games are blacked out by Dish on Fox Sports West in the Los Angeles market. Today is one of those games. Dish simply puts up a slide telling us that the game is unavailable today and apologizes for the inconvenience. The team has a contract with FSW to televise the game. Dish has a contract to carry FSW. Why are some of the games not carried? There is no alternate programming in it's place. It's not a local blackout as DirecTv, the cable companies and Fios all have it. It's Dish and apparently U-Verse that are not carrying the games for some STUPID FINANCIAL reason. But I don't get why. It makes no sense. Agreed the Angels aren't playing worth crap right now, but that's not the issue. Fox is paying the Angels to carry the games. Fox and Dish have an agreement to carry the network with the games, why are some games just not carried when the network is carrying them? DIRT??????????
 
Sounds like one of those situations where the team went from OTA games tor cable only and Fox wants the providers to pay a couple extra pennies to pick up those games and Dish refuses.

Last year that happened to the Twins too. They use to have 25 games on local TV and FSN North picked those up instead. FS North asked for a few extra pennies and DIrectv and Comcast picked them up but the Twins held out for a few weeks before agreeing

So thats probably why you are blacked out
 
BINGO... found it...and I was right

April 12, 2012
MISSING ANGELS GAMES?
If you're an AT&T U-verse or Dish customer, unfortunately, you won't receive all Angels telecasts this season. FOX Sports West this year has increased its TV schedule and will show approximately 150 Angels games in 2012. The additional games have been made available to local TV providers. Most distributors have decided to carry all the games, but a few have not, including AT&T U-verse and Dish. If you aren't receiving all Angels telecasts, we encourage you to contact your local TV provider to request that they carry the full-schedule of games.
 
Blackouts are controlled by the team and the league. You can go to Dish's site and check out the blackout rules. You can go the sport's sites (MLB) to see if the game is supposed to be blacked out or not.
This has nothing to do with out of market blackouts. This is his local team in his local market on his local RSN, so blackout rules do not apply in this case. This is a cast of Dish simply not carrying the game.
 
The select Angles games that were to air on KCOP, 13 have now been moved to air at the Fox Sports West or Prime. Fox Sports Regional claims that the addition of these games has resulted in additional costs. Fox Sports Regional is demanding that if MVPD's want to air these additional games, they have to pay for them in addition to and beyond the original agreement. In effect, Fox Sports Regional's tactic is to change the terms of the contract (agreement) that both parties had signed.

It is disingenuous to suggest that the additional cost is just "a few pennies." Such a phrase with obvious omissions would call into question one's objectivity or fairness when making a statement on a forum for Dish when that individual's provider is DirecTV. It is more accurate to state that it may be several cents PER multiplied by ALL TOTAL SUBSCRIBERS of the MVPD. In other words multiply, say 5 cents (or another value) X Dish's 14 million subs (lets' hope Fox isn't demanding per Dish VIEWERS that are at about 34 million), as one example, including those who do not either have in their package nor watch the Fox Sports Regionals, which can result in additional costs to you, the subscriber Now you can see why both AT&T and Dish feel this tactic of changing the agreement in mid-contract is offensive, while the additional costs adds salt to the wound.

However, the fact that both KCOP, 13 and Fox Sports Regional channels are both owned by FOX, this claim of "additional cost" is nothing more than financial legerdemain. There is, in fact, NO REAL COST to move the games from one FOX channel to another FOX channel, it results in NO LOSS or ADDITIONAL cost to the Fox mother company. It is a game of musical chairs in which Fox owns all the chairs and music, and they run the game of musical chairs itself. The hubris of this tactic by FOX (owner of both KCOP and Fox) with no justification just to squeeze MILLIONS from all the MVPD's at no REAL cost to Fox or else they can't air select Angels games only hurts the consumer. Now, if Fox Regionals want to increase what it charges MVPD's when the current contracts run-out and up for renewal, that would be proper and correct and any MVPD can "pass" at their own peril, if they wish.

This similar to what the old VS. channel did to MVPD's when it got NHL games, but wanted all the MVPD's to pay extra before they would be allowed to air them even though it was an attempt to renegotiate agreements during mid-contract. Some MVPD's paid, and some did not. So it goes.

Obviously, those who chose to pay did so because they thought it might hurt more--especially DirecTV, the Sport king MVPD--NOT to air those games. However, don't think for a moment that those who paid aren't FUMING MAD!!! They are, but they made a business decision. Dish is NOT the sport haven and Charlie Ergan has said the relatively few people on his service watch the Fox Sports Regionals, and he was prepared to no longer carry ANY Fox Sport Regionals if the last contract negotiations didn't lead to a fair deal. "I know what people are watching," he said, (as all the other MVPD's and TiVo know what you're watching, as well) "and very few are watching Fox Sports Regionals [on Dish]." He did admit that other channels that carry sports, such as ESPN, TNT, and local channels, do have high viewership on Dish during their sports offerings.

This seems to be a case where Fox is in the wrong on this one and we begrudgingly have to admit the MVPD's are right on this one.
 
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Ultimately the issue belongs to the Angels and very specifically Arte Moreno. That is exactly what I told him in the letter I sent that will be in the Angels front office Tuesday. I put it on him to fix it. I'll report on reply.
 
It is disingenuous to suggest that the additional cost is just "a few pennies." Such a phrase with obvious omissions would call into question one's objectivity or fairness when making a statement on a forum for Dish when that individual's provider is DirecTV.

The fact I have Directv has nothing to do with it. Fox has done this in the past with the Stars (FS SW), the Blues (FS Midwest) and the Twins (FS North) along with the Angels (FS West) and in all 4 of those cases other providers picked up the games with really no issues...Dish dragged their feet pissing off people. Read the threads here (do a search). Looks like the only providers who havent picked up the Angels ones are U-Verse and Dish.

The whole "oh Dish is holding out from providers to save me money" is bogus. Charlie used the whole "people arent watching the RSN's" as a cop out to "I'm too cheap to pay for it and as long as I got people in 2 year agreements I can keep pulling channels"
 
Iceberg said:
The fact I have Directv has nothing to do with it. Fox has done this in the past with the Stars (FS SW), the Blues (FS Midwest) and the Twins (FS North) along with the Angels (FS West) and in all 4 of those cases other providers picked up the games with really no issues...Dish dragged their feet pissing off people. Read the threads here (do a search). Looks like the only providers who havent picked up the Angels ones are U-Verse and Dish.

The whole "oh Dish is holding out from providers to save me money" is bogus. Charlie used the whole "people arent watching the RSN's" as a cop out to "I'm too cheap to pay for it and as long as I got people in 2 year agreements I can keep pulling channels"

You sure do spend a lot of time in the Dish thread to be a Directv customer....just saying
 
Plain and simple, FOX was charged more to carry MLB, and God forbid they be expected to offset the cost on their own end, so they switch the channel carrying the games and claim price went up. Why don't these stupid networks just charge more in advertising? Simple advertisers would tell them to screw. We can't because we are at the mercy of limited to no a la carte.
 
The pay-tv providers need to do a better job with contracts. Just because you add content shouldn't mean that you can bust a contract and demand more money. What happens if the hockey team you carry doesn't make the playoffs and you don't have those first round games? Does the channel refund money to the pay-tv provider?
 
Still, I put the blame on the Angels in this situation. I'd rather they cry "Breach" and lock Fox out of the stadium and have no TV than have this happening. If I'm Arte Moreno, my fans have a right to see the games I've sold the rights to Fox to show. Anything less is a breach by Fox.
 
I would be upset too if they were blocking Rangers games. They can block Stars games all they want; they have STUNK for nearly a decade now. :D