You cannot be serious....this is a bone thrown to Comcast, a last ditch effort before this matter is dismissed. The Judge is doing everything possible to have the parties reach some sort of accord.
So basically the Judge gave the Astros full operational control of this mess? Interesting. Two ways to interpret this. One is that Comcast got obliterated and went from wanting control to having none at all. The other is that the Judge is basically saying "OK, Astros, you didn't like what was on the table, then let's see what you can come up with". And if they can't make anything work, then maybe that helps Comcast. But it's interesting that this started with Comcast/Rockets trying to wrestle control from the Astros and seems to have resulted in exactly the opposite for now. But I'm not sure the Astros particularly want this either.
I'm not really sure how this is going to help. There aren't going to be any more lucrative offers on the table, especially now that this is tied up in court.
What's interesting is that this creates a conflict of interest for the Astros. They are now negotiating on behalf of CSN-H but at the same time they have been looking at opportunities to leave and do their own thing. Be interesting to see if they can actually negotiate for CSN in good faith.
Order overrides the conflict. That's the whole point. Comcast's bankruptcy just blew up in their face. I guess this is better for Comcast than a dismissal..but not much better. Isgur saw through all of it....and he's ridiculously pragmatic as Refman and I said. He basically forced a mediation outside of his courtroom all day today. And this is the best they could all end up with. Please understand...this isn't something the judge forced..aside from forcing the parties to negotiate. From their positions, this is where the parties arrived...it's an agreed order. Comcast's position, from the beginning, was utter dog crap.
If I understand correctly though, this doesn't help get the Rockets on TV anytime soon. Throwing out the bankruptcy and blowing up CSN would've been better in that regard. We might not get any deals now until the Astros season starts
(What dcp03 said) <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>While it's clear CSN carriage issues won't be solved for start of Rockets season, it seems issue will be solved by baseball opener.</p>— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrtizKicks/statuses/395363035411271680">October 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Exactly. I'm not sure what this guy gets from this temporary ruling. It's obvious the Astros and their attorneys came prepared and delivered their case with near flawless execution. I mean, damn, the judge was ready to rule in favor of the Astros before CSN even called their first witness. If anything, I don't think the Astros can do any worse in negotiating a deal with carriers or other networks than CSN did.
I would assume the judge will pull the plug if nothing is getting done and go forth with bankruptcy and/or allowing the Rockets/Astros to pull out.
well, guess its time to take up excessive drinking..... you guys can hit the beer all ya want, I'll have the Crown and Dr Pepper
It did say that there would be a weekly call with the judge, so maybe...but I could still see this taking more than a couple of months to get sorted out.
I read this as saying: you (Astros) take the lead and see if you can make this work under new business parameters of partnership structure, carrier arrangements, etc. by Nov. 15. If this cannot be made to work then the partnership would be untenable, so I assume would be dissolved and the teams would be free to market their services separately.
I really wish somebody would stick a mic in the face of someone from the Rockets, they need to comment on this. The season starts tomorrow
I don't think Crane and the Astros are getting a whole lot of time to get a deal done. I believe the judge asked him this question and not his attorneys when on the stand, so his leash seems short in negotiating with carriers.
Nov. 13th. Sorry, misread that (from post #1575). Judge said status review, but that does not mean a deadline-- misread that.
