I think the bubble popped in the sense that what was being had for carriage fees was no longer...and that other providers used Houston as a battleground in a larger war. This isn't the only market where there's been trouble. But I COMPLETELY agree with your take that Comcast sold the Rockets and Astros a bill of goods. That they knew better than anyone what the climate was; and all these pleadings make it clear what we already knew...that it was Comcast's responsibility to bring back deals. Comcast framed an expectation that was never met. I have no question about that.
From my perspective, it's good to reaffirm that extremely rich business people can be borderline negligent in the way they conduct their business affairs, too. It provides a sense of balance and proportion to the universe. It is very egalitarian.
They may have framed an expectation based on what the market was back then but **** happens and you have to adjust.
The problem is, it is a 20 year commitment, and we are talking about market a market that swung over one or two years. Think of selling a house in a weak market. Anybody who can afford to wait for the market to change, does.
So if the rates never get that high again.... you just hold out forever??? You don't go in to a negotiation without a plan to possibly get less than your asking price.
Bingo. Just horrible timing for all concerned. The providers decided to set an example this time around.
It's only a 20 year commitment if that's what the providers will agree to. Jim Crane is an unknown to them, he could be a cheap ass who garners 0 ratings for 20 years. There was never a guarantee that providers were going to pay a huge amount of money.
While I wasn't in the room for negotiations, it seems like Crane believes Comcast did something very close to that. Furthermore, if Crane didn't believe that he could get much closer to what he wants somewhere else, he wouldn't be so hellbent on getting out of CSN-H. Perhaps he is doing all this just to spite Comcast, but I doubt it. Also, if you are DirecTV or similar, you don't negotiate a short term agreement, because you will soon be back where you are now, but disadvantaged because subscibers have the station and are losing it, as opposed to never having it at all, a situation that causes subscribers to place more blame on you, the provider.
What would they do if they walk? Fox Sports Southwest? Because it doesn't seem like building another RSN here is a good idea.
Or maybe he's just an owner in over his head with a team he probably couldn't afford in the first place. Drayton, Bud Selig and the other owners must have loved when he showed up. I wish Mark Cuban would have bought the team, but he never had interest in it and obviously a Mavs owner with a Rockets partner would have never worked.
Go crawling back to FSSW. Please take us back! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Not that I'd have a problem with that. They'll be back on TV then.
Unlikely and you'd hate it. FS Southwest and fox in General was garbage. Dallas sports and rockets games. I think the Rockets could sustain their own RSN partnered with the Dynamo. People here don't think so but there are plenty of NBA teams that dominate their RSNs without an MLB team.
Oklahoma, Utah, Tennessee, Carolina, Portland, DC, Boston, as best I can tell. All of those except Boston and Utah have NHL and/or major college (i.e. SEC/UofOregon/Big12) programming as well. Not exactly a list of major markets.
I agree FSSW sucks but I mostly watch the actual game broadcasts. The only improvement there with CSN Houston is that they have Calvin Murphy now, but hopefully they will keep him no matter what. I wouldn't mind a Rockets-centered RSN but I doubt the Rockets would go for it since it'd take a lot of capital and you'd still have no guarantee the providers would go for it, although it sounds like they had several deals that only the Astros vetoed.
Those places don't have RSNs specifically created for them and owned by the teams. They are parts of already existing networks. FS Oklahoma, for example, combines NBA, college sports, etc and is linked to larger Fox contracts. They are basically the same as FSSW. The Rockets could certainly go back to FSSW without any problem. CSN-H is different than that in that it's owned by the teams and is just dedicated to those teams.
When you're not able to see the games, why does it matter what the coverage is like? I don't need a 24 hour station covering all that is Houston sports. Rockets website and other media online can give the small niche of fans their fix. As long as FSSW can show the games, I'm all for it
