http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2013/01/astros_blocked_csn_deal.php If they couldn't just keep to sucking on the field.
Any chance of me ever supporting the Astros just went up in smoke. Down with this garbage organization and their cursed sports atmosphere over this city.
Astros jealous that they are the most irrelevant sports franchise in town and have been for a long time
Apparently Comcast feels the deal is fair market value and that's why it signed on to carry CSN Houston. LOL
I was on the verge of switching allegiances after the move to the AL, but now I'm done. If I root for an AL team, it will be the Rangers...but from now on I am a Cardinal fan. Lick scrote, Crane. ****ing bigot.
I don't see the problem here. The Astros are the largest stakeholders in the network and of course they will look out for their own interests and negotiate based on that. I would hope the Rockets didn't expect otherwise when agreeing to partner with them.
The "problem" is the Rockets are the ones taking the PR Hit. Rockets are actually losing $$$ every day the network airs right now. The perception is that the Rockets are keeping games from the fans to gouge them for more $$$ when they were in fact prepared to make a deal before the 1st regular season game this year. The Astros are in fact "Devalue-ing" the network every day they hold out.
They're going to milk every last cent out of this TV deal because they know their attendance is going to blow chunks for the next 2-3 years minimum.
That's certainly true - but did the Rockets expect otherwise when they signed on as a minority partner? Why would they expect the largest owner to negotiate down before they have to? There is no benefit at all for the Astros to take a lower price now on a long-term contract if they believe they can get more in 6 months.
oh, then that makes everything okay. good job, astros. let me go on out and get my season tickets EDIT: did the rockets expect otherwise? yeah, they are losing money (according to Jackson who would certainly know better than i would) on every game. I'm sure they said to themselves, "well, let's do this deal and lose television money and anger 40% of our local fan base because we know that the Stros are going to hold out through 90% of the NBA season." I sincerely doubt that they thought the Astros would hold out, especially considering that many of the Astros fans are also Rockets fans.
I guessed this before, because it's really the only thing that made logical sense. Unless they're willing to let this become a Portland, and I don't think that happens, the theoretical "peak" leverage for CSN happens when both sports are on at the same time. And as we all know, deals like this usually don't happen until both sides (CSN/providers) feel like they've squeezed every bit of leverage they have. That said, I think the Astros are misreading the situation. The true overlap (doubt that many watch the spring training games) lasts all of about 3 weeks in April, and after that, the audience (in theory) would go back to being the same it is now. Perhaps even less, considering the Astros will suck and the Rockets are competitive. Maybe they can squeeze a tiny bit more, but I don't think it's enough to offset the terrible PR they're going to get from this. Dynamo fans are about to be very involved, too.
Rockets cut a deal when McClane was the owner. I would assume there was a certain working relationship and amount of trust between the two parties. The Rockets are pissed that the Astros are essentially devaluing their own brand by sucking so terribly and not attempting to put a competitive product on the field which will also hurt their ability to sell the network. Essentially Rockets are doing all the leg work, driving the value of the network positively by putting a good product out, and the Astros are negating that effort by snuffing out a deal and fielding an unwatchable team.
I guess, as an Austin resident who wouldn't have been able to watch the Rockets games anyway, it doesn't piss me off as much. I just hope they come to an agreement with Time Warner before the season starts...but I don't really see much hope in that anyway. TW doesn't have much of a stake in greater Houston. If I remember correctly, it's really only the Beaumont area...I could be wrong though. However, the Astros will lose a majority of tv's in greater Austin and greater San Antonio. That will hurt if they want to have any hope of keeping the fans in Central Texans that might be on the fence between them and the Rangers.
At the end of the day, if you're the CEO of the Astros, you have an obligation to do the best for your organization. And that's what they are doing - if they are right that they can get a better deal in April than October, though as The Cat pointed out, that might not be true. The Astros are the majority owners, presumably, because they invested more into the network. Part of what that gets them is controlling power to make decisions best for them. As a minority owner, the Rockets knew going in that the network would favor the needs of the Astros. That was the trade-off of investing less up-front into the system.
No, they are the majority owner because they will have more televised games. They didn't invest less up-front into the system. We are talking about local fans, the same fans who buy tickets and merchandise, who give you the television ratings that allows the networks to charge more for advertising, basically your target market, who you are screwing over in the name of making a buck...in addition to changing leagues and dumping all relevant payroll in an effort to increase operating profit. As a FAN, I am saying, "screw the astros". This isn't traditional business, which is why most owners don't have a pro sports team as their sole income stream...it should be important to an owner to not purposely piss off the fans (assuming there is a crossover of Rox/Stros fans) in the name of making a few bucks. Your investment pays off when you sell the team, not so much in the year to year profits/losses. It isn't as if the Astros are planning on using the money to make major roster upgrades (and yes, I realize the ineffectiveness of MLB free agents making a real impact...see the later years of the Drayton Astros). Did you take the same stance when Bud moved the Oilers? I guess the Browns fans should have been cool with Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore as it was his duty to maximize revenues for the team.
I'm continuing to get angrier about his situation.... what sense does it make to destroy your fan base? Ugh...
They signed the deal with CSN in late September, Jim crane had agreed to buy the team early in the year, but wasn't officially approved until much later, so i assume they would have also talked to Crane not just Mcclane. (I assume you were blaming this on Crane)