Does Les Alexander have one? Because I'm not even mad at CSN. I'm mad at Les for selling them the rights without receiving assurances he wouldn't be screwing the fans. I don't have a 30 year history with CSN or Comcast or any TV channel or cable provider, because I did not care about channels and providers when I was a child; I cared about sports. Les made the best deal he could get for himself (in the short term at least) and screwed the fans in the process. If anyone deserves complaints from disenfranchised Rockets fans, it's him and him alone. And if there's any organized petition or protest, I think it should be people picketing outside every home game. That would get on the news and it would get Alexander's attention and that would matter because he absolutely has the power to influence CSN and he apparently chooses not to. Why? Because when CSN makes money, Les makes more money. And we all know what Les loves. Money to Les is like a really cool gun to ROXRAN. Want to fix this? Get 100 people with signs outside the Toyota Center every night. Were I younger man that didn't have a business to run and a problem with energy and elan in general, I would set this thing up like I did various protests in the early 90s (none to do with sports). As it stands, if someone else would organize, I would picket. I would even make up some chants. One is coming to me now, in fact. Wait for it... wait for it... "**** you, Les! **** you, Les!" That's a pretty good one.
Agree!!!! I will not spend a dime on the Rockets or Astros as long as this crap goes on. Leas and Crane should be ashamed of themselves for doing this to the fans. My brother-in law gave me and my son some game tickets as a Christmas present. While I really appreciated the gesture, I wish I would of let him know I am boycotting putting money in Les' pocket while this CSN travesty is on-going. When we go to the game, I will not spend a penny at the Toyota center.
but did he tho? i keep hearing this but dont ever see any evidence supporting this claim. from what ive seen, CSN's coverage of Houston sports blows FSNHoustons out the water.. its an upgrade in every way, shape, and form..
If your one of the 60% that can't watch Rockets games. And you own a iPhone or iPad. I can show you how to watch the games. You need 2 things. 1. Nba league pass app (you have to pay for league pass for it to work) 2.Vpn Express app. It's very simple to use. I never tested it with Apple TV but there's no reason it shouldn't work. I made a video to show that it works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAxS1Iw81Sk&sns=em I did the voice over in 1 take so I sound like a idiot. If you need any help let me know.
Of course he did. This deal, in the short term, lines his pockets quite nicely. My understanding is that the money is guaranteed whether anybody can see the channel or not. Comcast gets to use the channel to drum up new subscribers. It won't be nearly enough to offset what the teams are being paid. If they cannot reach carriage agreements, look for the contract with the teams to be reworked, as the channel will start to lose money. The teams and Comcast will be taken care of. The only interested group that isn't considered in all of this is us, the fans who pour the money into the coffers.
Been saying this from the beginning. This is ridiculous. The providers that many of you pay $100/month or more to are refusing to even legitimately sit down at the table and talk terms. How they escape scot free in all of this blows my mind. Not that the Rockets/Astros don't deserve blame too, but it's a two-way street, and the only way anything gets resolved is if there is pressure on both sides.
Because if the rumored prices for the channel are true, why would they? It would be the most expensive sports channel outside of ESPN, with not nearly as many viewers. They probably told CSN/Rockets/Astros to talk to them when their price gets lower, around CSN Chicago levels. Hardly a two way street. It's a one way with CSN driving the wrong way.
i understand that any moves that business men make, are going to be about making money, in short and long term scenarios. theres a reason les and crane are billionaires and why they stay billionaires. im just wondering if it was solely about the money and not that csn is a bigger(better) network than fsn. while i assume half the city is without the network, the irony is that csn provides a wider coverage throughout texas and surrounding areas to create a much bigger market for the astros/rockets/texans brand, all while giving the city a legitimate 24/7 houston sports network they didnt have before. they needed a new tv deal and the move to csn is about growth.. once a deal gets reached with one of the bigger providers(DTV/UVERSE) this wont be such an issue and we will be happy with the network over the previous fox sports coverage..
Color me skeptical on the rumored price. We've had a whopping ONE person report this, David Barron. He's never cited an on-record source and repeatedly uses words like "reportedly", even while citing zero actual reports. To me, this reeks of providers trying to float a number to get Rockets/Astros fans off of their cases, thereby lowering the amount of discounts they give out. I really don't see CSN Houston holding out for the same price that the Lakers got in LA ($3.40). Just doesn't pass the smell test to me. It seems a WHOLE lot more likely that providers would float an artificially high number to keep customers from being upset with them and demanding big discounts and/or switching to Comcast.
This theory just does not square with the fact that providers are giving out discounts and upgrades rather than pay the asking price for CSN. The fact that they are behaving in this manner shows that the asking price is too high.
Providers always want to pay little for channels. It is more than than just Houston. Houston is an easier market for them to draw the line than LA.
One thing I have not been able to find anywhere is where FSN is in this matter? Since the station is no longer carrying Astros or Rockets games in this region, it seems like the pro0viders should be able to get out of their contract with them, at least at the price that was originally negotiated. Does anyone know if the providers are stuck with FSN at the previously negotiated price?
Thanks a lot. Will this work as well if you want to watch it on say your windows computer? Is this basically how it works is you use other ip adress blockers and then get league pass as others have suggested. Thanks to all who are teaching me some things. Kudos for dubious who taught me to use adblockers plus for chrome to watch first row w.o. ads. My allegiance to directv is weakening as they just raised my bill to $160.00 without the internet. I guess my last complaint decrease has expired. They tend to do things like ad NFL pass without my permission and crap like that till I catch them.
All it shows is the providers believe the discounts/upgrades are more financially beneficial to them than paying the asking price for CSN. It does not speak at all to the $3.40 figure or what the asking price is relative to other regional sports networks.
Nobody has disputed the report that the price is exorbitant compared to the price of other basic cable channels. Compared to the cost of losing subscribers due to jacking up their bill for channels that draw low ratings, they have decided to give discounts. This alone shows that the asking price is too high and CSN has overestimated the value of their position. Your argument would make a lot more sense if it was a rogue provider holding out. The fact that no provider of any consequence has chosen to accept the price is pretty telling.
