And I wish you weren't such a jerk. Oh well. Life isn't perfect. How bout those BYU Cougars! LOL Go Bruins!
But its wasn't just ATT, it was EVERY cable provider. Nobody wanted to deal with Comcast on this. As I always say, when everybody says your crazy and your the only one that doesn't think your crazy, guess what? Your crazy! In this case, it is clear that Comcast was crazy. I don't understand why employees of comcast keep coming in here trying to defend the indefensible. "Wait nobody wants to make a deal with me, MAYBE I SHOULD LOWER MY ASKING PRICE"! Also, the fact that they called it comcast sports network shows the intent to try to f**k the other providers. Why would ATT have a channel that advertises for the competition. Tell the execs to stop being so clever.
Yes, even as bad as the longhorns are, their network is on every major provider because they understand business, unlike comcast.
And there's the rub. csn wanted a rsn fee in the range of $3.40. At the time, only 3 rsn fees were higher than that. So, csn wanted to charge the 4th highest rsn fee in the 10th largest (Houston) tv market. Also, csn wanted the fee charged to the base subscription, while the carriers wanted to charge it to their sports packages. So who's playing hard ball here. csn may have based it's model after NY, Boston, La,...; but wound up trying to operate it like Portland.
The bottom line of this discussion to me, is that Comcast was the media partner. The Rockets and Astros didn't invent that $3.40 in their heads...and they weren't charged initially with going out and bringing in deals. Comcast brought back 1 deal for the Rockets and Astros to consider...and the bankruptcy judge said later that they were right to reject it because it would have caused the partnership to bleed cash like crazy. All of the parties did stuff that was dumb...but if you ask me who is most at fault, I'd say it's Comcast.
It's estimated that the Dodgers will get a carriage fee of $5 / month. $3.40 for a market as large as Houston for the Astros AND the Rockets does not seem unreasonable. It basically came down to subscriber reaction. AT&T was able to play hard ball because not enough subscribers cared. If AT&T had signed up, I'm sure Dish and DirectTV probably would have too. But with only one competitor, Comcast, carrying the games, there was less of a reason for Dish and Direct TV to break ranks, and for them as well, it comes down to subscriber demand. If enough subscribers demand the games or are willing to leave then they will pay the carriage fee. Too many of you fans simply paid your AT&T bill and whined about it while doing nothing. Actions speak louder than whining. You did nothing, nothing happened. Your fault.
I suppose. Comcast loses the most money because CSN goes bankrupt. If they were dumb then maybe they were because of one thing, not enough subscribers were willing to move or complain loud enough. Maybe Houstonians don't care about the Astros and Rockets enough. It's clear it was bad timing as few people care about the Astros anymore. Had this deal been offered while Clemens and Pettitte were playing for the Stros and they were winning, I have no doubt a deal would have been done. I don't think the fee CSN asked for was unreasonable. But market demand was certainly bad timing. Buy low, sell high. AT&T used customers as leverage, and AT&T customers paid the price of not seeing the games. You can call them the good guy if you so choose. I think it was just business. I don't think comcast was the bad guy, I think the fee asked for was reasonable. AT&T played hard ball, and CSN goes bankrupt. Sports fans suffer. In some sense, it's like Republicans blame Democrats, and Democrats blame Republicans. You can pick a side if you like. Meanwhile, deficits increase, companies shift headquarters out of the US to avoid oppressive corporate taxes and federal government grows and grows. Burger King considers inversion to Canada. Dems howl, that such a move is unpatriotic. Too many democrats and republicans do nothing while unemployment will increase due to government spending and regulation and more taxes. I don't blame Congress. I blame voters. I don't blame Comcast or AT&T they simply respond to consumers. If you were not happy with AT&T and did nothing, I blame you. It isn't Comcasts or AT&T's fault you did nothing and were not happy. It's your fault you were unhappy and did nothing but whine (more like wimper).
I never once called AT&T a good guy in what I wrote. Not sure where you got that. I never even referenced them. I was talking about events that happened long before AT&T was ever mentioned as a potential partner. You can blame me all you want, but it's completely misplaced blame. Any one consumer isn't going to move the needle on a deal like this. These guys got into a bad business deal under terrible constructs. The veto rights over one another is tragically stupid....creating a situation where each team practically owned the other's media rights. That's amazing to me that they took that step. It was poorly planned and even more poorly executed.
Stop acting as if Comcast is available to everyone the same as Dish or Direct. I'd have changed if ghey ass comcast was even available to me. That's the case for a lot of people that cared and couldn't change. So to combat the issue, I streamed the games and was a season ticket holder.
How is comcast not available to everyone? Do you choose where you live or are you under house arrest? Does Houston central lockup not have comcast? More and more people should probably drop AT&T and comcast. Cable tv is too damn expensive for the hassle they give. Cut the chord. Streaming is the future.
Collectively, people like you are to blame. Just like collectively the American voter is to blame for Obama and Congress ruining the country, high unemployment, wealth leaving the nation, debt for future generations, government take over of health care, death panels, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria,....
Aside from the Ghostbusters reference, this is among the most ridiculous claims I've ever read on these message boards. And that's saying a lot. Neither I nor any other consumer of this product is responsible for the poorly formed and poorly executed approach of CSNHouston. Best of luck to you.
I see you conveniently failed to acknowledge the portion about "Obama and Congress ruining the country, high unemployment, wealth leaving the nation, debt for future generations, government take over of health care, death panels, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria." Suspicious, very suspicious.
Aside from not having balls, my Aunt would make a great uncle. Aside from losing a game or two, the Rockets would have beaten Portland. Aside from the patient dying the operation was a success. It's nice how you want to take zero blame, that consumers have no blame for what companies offer as products, parents have no blame for bad schools, voters have no blame for their government. Lack of personal responsibility. It's always someone else's fault. It's McDonalds fault you are obese, it's the public school's fault you are stupid and have no job skills, it's Congresses fault or Bush's fault for everything, just keep blaming everyone else for all your misfortune. Maybe one day, people will look at the real problem, the man in the mirror. You got what you deserved, nothing more, nothing less. Best of luck to you.
That $5 fee is for the near future. At the time csn started up in Houston, the fee for the Lakers was in the $3.70 range. That's $3.40 for the 10th largest tv market in a state with the 2nd lowest cost of living vs $3.70 for the 2nd largest tv market in a state with the 4th highest cost of living. That definitely wasn't a good deal then & even at $5 isn't a good deal now. But, but, but you get to watch the Rockets and the Lastros. That's like saying a pizza price is a good deal because you get pizza and anchovies. I apologize for that there. I meant not disrespect to the anchovy community. As for "whining", seems like your view of whining is anyone with an opinion different from yours. Yes, I complained to Directv several times; but that didn't help. I probably would have been more successful if comcast was available in my area though. I'm happy that you have the opportunity to watch the Rockets on comcast. However, for you (that had to do nothing to continue watching the Rockets) to lambast those that don't have the comcast option or the funds to get that option, seems a little asinine.
Satire. Irony. Your chains may be invisible to you, but you still act like you are in prison. Held hostage by AT&T.
Did the Lakers make the playoffs? That's like a pizza box with no pizza. The Lakers share a basketball market with the Clippers. The Clippers are a better team and more interesting than the Lakers. And yes, McLane, MLB and Crane have ruined the Astros as a brand. And they are an insult to anchovy pizzas everywhere. You're making me hungry for an early lunch.
