Lets hope they get it done. I really like DirecTV and the channels they provide. You really cannot get a better deal out there.
When the dam breaks, they will all jump in...i.e. if DirectTv gets it, then DISH and others will quickly follow suit...or face significant loss of business. Let's just hope the dam breaks soon.
If the fans can't support them with attendance then what's wrong with making money elsewhere? BTW the Rockets were almost dead last in viewership ratings last year too.
Which is directly related to thier relevance and the quality of the team. Intended or unintended, they couldn't have picked a worse time to put the TV availability of thier product at a premium. If Rockets games were available to me I'd watch them, but they're not anymore - so I don't. And frankly, as long as the Texans are around... I'm fine with that. Get your $$$ Les.
I don't know about this. The rockets had among the lowest ratings in the entire NBA. That is why it is stupid for the rockets trying get money when their Team is not very good.
I think it is dramatic. First the Rockets organization canceled local TV coverage, and went with Fox Sports Net. This move caused families that couldn't afford the higher satellite network tier to miss the games. This new deal with Comcast isolates fans even more. Some fans might miss games for a long time. Comcast has had 2 years to work out a deal with these satellite companies. Don't forget some of these satellite and cable companies have long contracts with FSN. Having redundant sports networks, with one now being useless, is expensive. Its possible that these companies cant afford another sports network without raising rates. Considering how much the city of Houston has invested in the Toyota Center, you would think that the Rockets organization would be grateful and sacrifice a little for the people that are supporting their business. but no, the $1.2 billion that FSN offered was not good enough for the Rockets. The Rockets decided to be greedy and isolate their fans.
I always sub to NBA LP, but likely wont get CSN Houston broadcast due to this crap by Comcast. YES Network did the same thing to DirecTV, trying to get more money than it was worth back in 2010. Almost missed opening day for the Yankees, luckly they got a deal done right before the deadline. On another note, I almost got my LP BB authorized. I had a email saying I was activated, and a email would be confirmed, never received, tried contacting NBA.com through email and such, no luck.
To be fair, that's a very different scenario. For UT, you're talking two or three games a year, generally against Wyoming and New Mexico types. For the Rockets/Astros, you're talking about 98% of the games.
Entirely different. LHN is super niched and carries third tier media rights, broadcasting one game per season. Here we are talking about the tv broadcast of virtually all games played by the MLB and NBA franchises in America's 4th largest city.
The perfect time because they want interest and viewership to drop ever further? I'm not interested in a team I can't view and I can't view this team without changing providers or going to a bar, neither of which I am going to do. I'm tired of participating even a little bit in lining Les's pockets. I care(d) about the team and about winning. He cares about international money so much that he swaps superior players in Dragic and Lowry for a player that will make him more money. He cares more about money than winning and I'm not down with that kind of team. The Comcast debacle also demonstrates he cares more about money than he does about fans. And this is going to smart even if they do get the games on for the regular season. At least since the championship years I have never missed a preseason game until this year. And yeah I'm pissed about it. Call it dramatic if you want but as the expression goes, I'm not leaving this team; this team is leaving me.
The bottomline for many of us (I suspect) is that if we can't follow the team on TV then the two or three trips a year to the TC will end. Even sadder, our participation on this board that has spanned many years will diminish if not end altogether. I have always thought Les was more about money and manipulating the fans than caring about the success of the team. In recent years the players have been devalued, disrespected, and traded like garage sale items. The network fiasco creates more distrust.
This really sucks. I have Uverse but I'm not ever going back to Comcast. Only video I've seen from them this preseason is the youtube highlight vids. I'm used to watching 99% of the games.
FSN Houston has ended. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Sports_Houston Even if it hasn't, FSN Houston would not have been able to charge nearly the kind of money that it used to charge the TV providers without the Rockets rights. I very much doubt that the TV providers negotiated contracts with FSN Houston (or any network) without knowing and contractually accounting for the event that FSN Houston could lose possibly it most valuable piece of programming rights. So, the issue really isn't duplication of regional network or the cost-- the providers only have to pay for 1 regional network carrying the Rockets. The issue is negotiating a price for that regional sports network, be it CSN or FSN. CSN is likely asking for more from the providers than FSN used to. However, even if the Rockets had stayed with FSN, FSN would likely have asked for more money than it used to from the providers. The fact is that the market for NBA team's TV broadcasting rights is such that these rights have increased in price significantly over the last decade or so.
lol @ thinking that the rockets will act out of good will just because the city caved and subsidized their arena. as if buckling to a millionaire's demand for corporate welfare will miraculously make them less greedy.
I just saw that IE is coming to Xbox live. Maybe I'll try using that to stream a game or two once I get the update.
FWIW, it was almost 3 weeks into the season before Dish Network picked up FSN Houston 3 years ago. They finally agreed after the Lakers game on 11/15/09. I was hours within switching to Direct TV before they finally agreed.
That was why I subscribed to ATT instead of Dish. The Rockets were my top priority in selecting a cable provider and ATT provided Rockets coverage. But I'm not changing to a new provider every time Les decides he can make an extra buck.
Question: Was Dish the sole holdout after Direct TV, Comcast and U-Verse had already reached agreement with FSN?
With the Rockets putting together a team of largely unrecognizable players and the Astros coming off back to back franchise worst seasons, you would think they would be offering this channel at a discount right now. Take less money now and sign a shorter deal. Then when (or if) these teams get good again, re-negotiate for more $$$. Instead the greedy Rockets would rather not have their games on TV while the Texans continue to own the city. Great job Rockets and Comcast!
