Question On RSN's and HD

[denisincalif]

My present E* subscription includes Classic Gold 250 and Turbo HD, so I get my two RSN's in HD. They are Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Prime Ticket. I am now considering adding the Multi-Sports Pack. The Dish web site makes it look like that package includes only SD versions of Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket, although many of the other RSN's are explicitly labeled HD. I am worried that if I order the Multi Sports I will lose my existing RSN's in HD. I don't trust a CSR to give me correct information.

Does anybody know what would really happen if I ordered Multi-Sports?

 

[wetz73]

You'd pay $4.99 a month and get blacked out on every channel you purchased.

 

[garys]

Not everything would be blacked out, but you would have a lot of repeated programs. You may get some out of market games should they run past their end time, but not much as far as HD.

 

[jrbdmb]

You'd pay $4.99 a month and get blacked out on every channel you purchased.

Well, not quite. All pro sports and some college sports (mainly football and basketball) are blacked out. College baseball and hockey, for example, should be in the clear. You'll also get local sports shows and endless reruns of Best Damn SS. The vast majority of this will *not* be in HD. And sports that run past their time slot (mainly happens with MLB) will be in the clear.

BTW, you will not lose any of your current HD or SD sports.

 

[DodgerKing]

My present E* subscription includes Classic Gold 250 and Turbo HD, so I get my two RSN's in HD. They are Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Prime Ticket. I am now considering adding the Multi-Sports Pack. The Dish web site makes it look like that package includes only SD versions of Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket, although many of the other RSN's are explicitly labeled HD. I am worried that if I order the Multi Sports I will lose my existing RSN's in HD. I don't trust a CSR to give me correct information.

Does anybody know what would really happen if I ordered Multi-Sports?

Question: Are FSN West HD and Prime Ticket HD full time HD channels or just game only channels? I have Direct and they both are broadcast in HD 24/7 on Direct (although not all programming is in HD).

The difference between the sports pack with the two providers (other than the fact that on Direct you can pay more by buying the individual sports packs to watch pro game in HD) is that on Direct you get pretty much every RSN in HD 24/7 (of course blackout apply depending on what additional packages you purchase), while in Dish the HD RSNs are game only. Since all of the pro games will be blacked out, there is seldom anything to see on them.

 

[denisincalif]

Well, not quite. All pro sports and some college sports (mainly football and basketball) are blacked out. College baseball and hockey, for example, should be in the clear. You'll also get local sports shows and endless reruns of Best Damn SS. The vast majority of this will *not* be in HD. And sports that run past their time slot (mainly happens with MLB) will be in the clear.

BTW, you will not lose any of your current HD or SD sports.

Thanks! I am not worried about pro sports being blacked out (except for baseball) and I don't care about college basketball either. I should clarify---I like college basketball as a sport, but I rarely get to watch it because of the times the games are on (all day Saturday and Thursday nights). I have too many personal schedule conflicts then.

I like Fox Sports West and Fox Prime Ticket because I get to see many Dodger and Angel baseball games in HD. Between the Fox RSN's and other carriers, most Dodger and Angel games are available to me, and the percentage of HD is steadily on the rise. I also like these networks because they show some Pac 10 football, usually (but not always) in HD.

If I bought the Multi-Sports pack, I would use it for Cubs and White Sox games. My wife was born and raised in Chicago. I would also enjoy having the Big 10 network available during football season. Because of time differences and my schedule, I will likely be watching most of these things on my DVR, but that's OK---no commercials and no halftime!

I guess I will try it out for a while and see what happens.

 

[wetz73]

All Cubs, White Sox, and most of the Big 10 Network programs would be blacked out. You could catch the end of games that run past their scheduled end time, but other than that, you'll be staring at a Dish banner. If you could get those games for $5 a month, who would pay the hundreds of dollars for Extra Innings?

 

[jrbdmb]

+1 on the above. The first three hours of any out-of-market MLB game will be blacked out. You will get the end of a game if it runs over, and once in a while a rain-out makeup game will be in the clear. You will get to see the highlights on the CSN-Chicago sports shows. It may be worth $5 to you or not, try it and see.

BTW, Multi-Sport will also get you the Big Ten Network, lots of football / basketball / baseball etc., all simulcast in HD (including reruns).