David Barron Houston Chronicle Lawsuit/RSN updates -- Attorneys for the Rockets, Astros and Fox Sports Net met Monday with mediator Alvin Zimmerman in an effort to settle their broadcast rights dispute. No word from either side on progress, if any. Meanwhile, Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson announced the formation Wednesday of C-SET, Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television, which will launch in October as a regional sports network similar to the proposed Houston Regional Sports Network that the Rockets and Astros hope to launch in 2005. C-SET will be carried on Time Warner Cable's digital basic package, which is available to about 600,000 of the company's 1.6 million subscribers in the Carolinas at an additional cost of $7 per month per subscriber. The Rockets and Astros, of course, will be watching C-SET's progress intently. Time Warner is the largest cable company in Houston, with an estimated 700,000 subscribers. If local trends match those in the Carolinas, that would mean 300,000 to 350,000 or so have digital basic cable. FSN, by contrast, is available to all 700,000 Time Warner subscribers in Houston. Although team officials have not said so publicly, they hope to work a similar deal with Time Warner if a judge allows the Astros to begin showing games on the Houston RSN in 2006.
No, it'd just be a side-by-side broadcast (both stations would air their own broadcast). The national feed will never get blacked out. The only variable is that we have the option for Round 1 games of doing a side-by-side with ESPN or TNT. ABC games will be ABC games exclusively. Tim
Okay so does this mean that every game in the first round is not guaranteed to be on TNT, ESPN, or ABC? ... If this is the case, will people who have league pass in other cities be able to watch the games still. I feel like I should know this, but it HAS been so long since the Rox were in the playoffs I have forgotten how it works
Doesnt LP pickup whoever is broadcasting the games? so it shouldnt matter who is showing it as long as someone is showing it for LP to broadcast.. If the games arent on nat tv(abc,tnt,espn) they will be on knws...which means you get to see Bill and Calvin...lucky you.. I dont like how that article talks about the Carolina channel...I read it to mean that to recieve it you have to pay 7 more bucks a month...ugh...I hope that it gets included with the basic package around here without any extra charges...my bill is already thru the roof....I guess I would have to make the wife choose which movie channels to get rid of...She's the only one that watches the damn things anyway....Ill take Rockets anyday over Starz or Cinemax.
So, all that the Rockets got out of PPV games in '97 was $1.73 million? Was that to pay for Chucky Brown's contract?
If I understand correctly, the C-SET channel plan will exclude dish owners, analog cable subscribers, digital cable subscribers who don't want to pay the extra $7, and people with plain old antennae. That sounds like a huge part of the viewing market! Doesn't sound like a very good plan to me. -- droxford
I will be EXTREMELY upset if the Rockets can't make a deal with the dish companies. I pay enough as it is for all the home games I go to, I don't want to be forced to have cable to watch road games. It's not that I hate cable, but I'm in a 2 year dish contract, and I can't justify paying $30-40 a month just to add one channel, even if it is the only one I watch. I have faith in Tim that he'll find a way to make the Rockets games available to the largest amount of households, but I am still concerned about this issue. B
A sound business move, don't want to piss off the fans that are just now getting back on the bandwagon. All of this will change of course once the building is perpetually sold out and a waiting list exists. Purely a supply versus demand decision. DD
I've often wondered why they don't do two braodcasts: 1st broadcast: costs extra, but delivers a digital signal (cable and sattellite), no commercials or promotions, extra rockets insider stuff, maybe even freebies (rocekts towel or something), etc. 2nd broadcast: no extra cost, analog picture only (lesser quality), commercials, no extra insider stuff, no freebies. Accomplishments: A) cover the entire market B) attract viewers who don't want to pay extra C) attract viewers who want a better feed and are willing to pay for it D) analog signal brings in revenue from ads E) digital signal brings in revenue from service fee Sounds like a win-win to me. (Hey Tim - got any openings in the marketing dept.?) -- droxford
