I'd complain to Comcast and VS about their heavy handed, overpriced channel before I'd complain to D*!
NHL Asks Fans To Complain to DirecTV
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So you want to have to pay for the $13 Sports Pack to get Versus then?
Because that's the point of contention -- DirecTV wants Versus in the Sports Pack, Versus wants it in the standard channel packages.
Just for myself, if that would get Vs back on DTV, I'd pay for the SportsPack if it wasn't included in the Premier pkg. I've been thinking about dropping bacl to Choice+ for awhile since I don't watch much of the premium movie channels anymore but since Sportspack is included with Premier, it's not much of a price difference for me to switch to +.
I understand some member's concerns for DTV holding the line on costs to customers but just imo, I think that this Comtast/DTV conflict goes much deeper than what info we've been seeing on the 'net.
if charlie agreed to it,it cant be too unreasonable?
makes you wonder exactly who is the premiere sat provider now,these squabbles never used to see the light of day,and the apparent policy of no new HD channels cant be justified by their sunday ticket exclusivity.
that giant sucking sound you hear will be subs going elsewhere to see VS. and REDZONE on equipment that actually changes the channel when you press your remote.
True out of market football fans will never even consider switching to an inferior form of coverage. The sole purpose why I even got D* in the first place was so that I could see my teams games & I am sure there are many out there like me. Why would I want to give that up for the Redzone channel? That's like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit but never letting him have it.
I agree 100%,displaced fans will justifiably pay to see their team,I would.but a fair percentage of ST subs are fantasy geeks(im one),or NFL fanatics(guilty).
"ESPN offered a 40 game revenue-sharing only deal to the NHL, Versus offered $70 million up front and 54 games of coverage -- gee, which one would you choose?"
The NHL jumped at the quick money, picking cash in hand from a less visible network rather than going with a network that would have provided virtually year round promotion of the sport on a widely viewed network.
Someone else mentioned ESPN airing the World Poker Tour (who watches that!?). When ESPN made their offer, part of the reason behind the offer they made was that their poker shows were getting basically the same ratings as their NHL telecasts.
The poker shows cost FAR less to produce than a hockey game, yet were getting the same type of ratings - which one would you choose?
The NHL jumped at the quick money, picking cash in hand from a less visible network rather than going with a network that would have provided virtually year round promotion of the sport on a widely viewed network.
Someone else mentioned ESPN airing the World Poker Tour (who watches that!?). When ESPN made their offer, part of the reason behind the offer they made was that their poker shows were getting basically the same ratings as their NHL telecasts.
The poker shows cost FAR less to produce than a hockey game, yet were getting the same type of ratings - which one would you choose?
Personally? I would go with the network people watch. If I had not seen a commercial saying D* canned Vs. I would have never known. I came here (SG) to get the skinny, now I know.
ESPN already backed their horses -- they shifted the NHL off to ESPN2 so they could give priority to basketball and football and ESPN. It was overwhelming clear to pretty much everyone associated with hockey that ESPN wanted out of covering hockey. Again, the ratings for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Versus were bigger than when ESPN was covering the playoffs prior to 2004 on both ESPN and ESPN2. More viewers = better, just to level set here.
No -- they signed the deal with World Poker Tour because no team in any league is typically playing games at 1am. With ESPN News now a running channel, running endless loops of SportCenter repeats is an even bigger waste of airtime.
Look at ESPN's coverage schedule of what games they are airing this upcoming season. Tell us all how it would even be remotely possible to squeeze in even 40 NHL games in the same timeslots that Versus is airing them this year.
ESPN definitely was giving priority to basketball and football because they were (and still are) higher rating (thus higher revenue generating) telecasts.
I'll take your word regarding the ratings on Versus vs. ESPN, but my main point was that I think in the long run, the NHL would have benefited from the greater exposure an ESPN can provide. For what the NHL was asking, ESPN could not justify paying that much with the hope of such a little return on their investment.
Now, all history aside, bottom line is that the NHL is on Versus and DirecTV needs to get Versus back on!
goober22 said:
DirecTV has had OLN/Versus in the Total Choice package from the beginning of the NHL contract. That is the package everyone must have.deathmetal said:
Dish Network had their dispute with the network the first year it had NHL coverage. By the time Dish Network signed a contract, it was very late in the NHL season, and Dish Network had placment for the channel in a higher tier.
Now DirecTV wants to move the channel to a higher tier (we don't know if it is Choice Plus or Sports Pack) and Comcast doesn't want that, since it will remove six million from their subscriber count.
DirecTV only wants the same offer as was given to Dish Network; the ability to place the channel on a higher tier.
Total Choice and TC+ are no longer current channel package offerings.
Versus is already only in the Choice Xtra package of the new plans. (and Choice Premier, obviously, since that just adds the premiums)
According to this article: Bettman draws comparisons between Penguins, Coyotes - Craig Custance - NHL - Sporting News Bettman offered to mediate the disupte and DirecTV wasn't interested.
This is just a money grab by DirecTV...anyone can see that they want to push it into the sports pack.
This is just a money grab by DirecTV...anyone can see that they want to push it into the sports pack.
Outside of Hockey most fans do not watch the channel. I seldom watch the channel myself. I love hockey and college football. However they offer Pac-10 and have horrible NHL announcers. Comcast is trying to force people back to cable. Dishnetwork's day will be coming. I am glad they are not caving.
No, Comcast is trying to grow the market for Versus. I mean, yeah, they'd like to grow their cable subscriber base as well but that's not what this is about. They're trying to keep Versus available to as many subscribers as possible.
Versus is far from an expensive channel; current pricing is about $0.30/mo and the D* claim of a 20% increase would mean $0.36/mo. By contrast Fox News is about $0.80/mo, TNT is about $1/mo, and ESPN is a whopping $3.50/mo.
DirecTV raised the price of every programming package by $3/mo in March citing increasing programming costs. Where did that $3/mo go that it can't cover a $0.06 increase for Versus?
Maybe I am being naive but if Comcast's side of the story is true (that D* Wants to move the Versus to the Sports pack and deprive fans of NHL Hockey), I don't think D* would feel inclined to give out free fredits/free center ice to unhappy customers.
with that said, D* May cave in because of the amount of people canceling D* In favor another provider that has playoffs
with that said, D* May cave in because of the amount of people canceling D* In favor another provider that has playoffs
The money they are doling out to the hundreds of people calling to complain will be small compared to the extra cash they will get from NHL fans if they are successful in moving Vs into the Sports Pack.
I thought Directv was just trying to move it to a comparative tier that their number 1 sat competitor has the station on?
I didn't think it was on a sports package over on Dish.
It's already only in Choice Xtra -- you can't go any higher than that in basic DirecTV programming tiers. (Obviously there is the Premier package, but that just adds the premium channels)
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That's the key point of contention -- DirecTV feels too many people are subscribed to the channel.
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