I didn't want to add this into the other thread because that is more of a debate about the facts or at least the perceived facts. What I want to know is what resolution do you want to see in the comcast dispute and why? Where do you stand and why? I also don't want this thread to denigrate into arguments about Crane or Comcast. I just want to see where people stand and their motivations. I want the games on TV with both the Rockets and Astros being able to be successful. I think the means to that end is breaking up the company. I don't think a rewind to September 25th, with no one filing anything or no one leaving gets us anywhere. I also don't think Comcast buying out the Astros is any better. The Astros get about $56M in rights fees. I honestly think they could get that or better than that elsewhere.
I'm pretty sure that is what we all want. The fact the greedy owners of these teams failed to realize that no one is going to become a new fan of your sh!tty team if they cant watch them play is ludicrous. Let alone buy tickets to games. I really dont know all the ins and outs of the case but the fact this is even still an issue is ridiculous. I live in an area with no CSN I have been an Astros and Rockets fan since I was a kid. The fact I have had to watch Rockets games for 2 years in a row on the internet is the stupidest thing in the world. Considering the Rockets are an international team and now one of the most exciting best young teams in the league. Not being able to watch the Stros for 2 years in a row hasn't been that bad but in the middle of summer when there is nothing on tv I really wish I could just throw on a Stros game but that is not possible, I have to listen on the radio like its fck1n 1997 again. How stupid this idea was to not have games on networks besides CSN and not have something worked out with Direct Tv and Dish before they made CSN Houston is truly bizzare. All that being said I have a feeling I will never be able to see another Astros or Rockets game again and they will move to another city that is truly how I feel. I still love them but they have lost so many fans and so much money over this.
I wouldn't bet on that outcome if I were you. Both teams are locked into long-term leases that were drawn up to be far stronger than the leases previously entered into by pro sports franchises in an effort to curb franchise relocation. The Rockets are absolutely printing money...and there aren't any available markets for an MLB franchise that are even half as attractive as Houston is. There will be some resolution to the TV issue, and you'll be able to watch both teams again.
I know this isn't the detailed answer you're looking for, but..... I really don't care what the outcome is as long as I can watch the Rockets on TV as soon as possible. All the other details currently being yelled about in the other thread are just white noise to me.
I want what's best for the Astros and Rockets as it makes the teams stronger. I suspect this would be some kind of buyout of Comcast by DTV.
This is what I wanted to know. I want to know what others are motivated by with the situation. Or in your case what isn't going to motivate them or what isn't a concern.
Ditto this. Don't know the last time I clicked on that thread, and I'm so aggravated by the situation that I have never even bothered making an effort to learn the details of the dispute. It all just sickens me. So much time invested/wasted in my life watching the Stros and Rockets only to be shown loud and clear just how unimportant our fandom truly is to the powers that be.
I've been saying this since last year before all the bankruptcy stuff, but the model is just flawed and, IMO, not worth fixing. It seems the easiest/simplest solution is to just blow it up and let the Astros and Rockets just go and negotiate their media rights fees with FSH or whomever else they want.
I want the Rockets to go back to FSN asap so I can watch the games. That is the ONLY thing that matters to me.
I wasn't really being serious but it is just frustrating that two sports teams dont give a flying fck about there fans in there home state. We are going to go into 2014 without having watched these teams for 3 years almost, that is r****ded. I just kind of meant they might as well move because they obviously aren't interested in having any one in this state watch there games.
My gut feeling is that the Judge will appoint a trustee who will negotiate carriage agreements for the Network and or Comcast or Rockets buy out Crane.
If the judge doesn't think that a trustee can negotiate carriage agreements at a rate that will turn a profit, he won't. My feeling is that the judge will do something nobody expects. If the judge becomes convinced that there is no hope of profitable operations, he could rule the RSN insolvent with no hope of successful reorganization and force it to liquidate. Not terribly likely, but I can see the possibility of it happening.
I believe the rockets buy out both the Astros and Comcast shares of the network and sell them to another party such as DirecTv or AT&T. That way the Astros get some money back plus comcast gets money back The Rockets take the immediate loss but get larger portion of money from TV deal and the Rockets, and Astros have a TV deal with the RSN under a new name.
I live outside the Houston area and get League Pass, so the Rockets not being televised doesn't really affect me. If I lived in Houston I would take any deal that put the Rockets on TV as soon as possible, with little care of what happened to the Astros. However, since I don't have to worry about seeing the Rockets, I would like the Astros to come out of this with a good deal that gives them some stability, so this new ownership group (which I am hugely skeptical of) doesn't have an excuse to not field a competitive team. I don't think they are going to come out of this with a good deal, but we're talking pie in the sky here. It just saddens me how far they've fallen from being a model professional sports franchise to an embarrassment to the city in less than a decade...and that's even before the CSN mess came to light. ugh.
It's starting to become out of sight out of mind for me again this year with the Rox. I've gone to three games, but I've even started to forget when they're playing and I rarely follow them on my phone any longer. This is what this mess is causing for many fans.
i want to see the station broken up and all these guys sign broadcasting arrangements with no ownership stakes in the networks. i just don't like that the teams put themselves at risk of losing money they don't need to
Personally, I could care less what happens to the Stros as long as I can watch the Rockets. As far as I am concerned I blame Jim Crane for this whole mess. He had a chance to get a carriage deal with DTV which would have started the ball rolling for other carriers signing carriage deals and turned it down. I live in the Beaumont area and have no way of getting Comcast so his actions have kept me from watching the Rockets!!!!
My ideal scenario: I don't know how we get there, but it involves both teams making heaps of money and me being able to watch every single minute/inning of their games.
