IIRC, in that radio ad, he says something like "they (Satellite/Uverse) took away your access . . . " and I'm like "BS". The Rockets used to play on FSN. Uverse didn't pull the Rockets off that network. The Rockets/Astros/CSN did. They pulled them off a channel everybody had, put them on a channel nobody had, and are now trying to pin the blame for access being lost on the providers and not the people who actually made that decision. What a crock of ****. Note to SR 610, I change the channel every time that ad comes on. I listened to it once and I can't stand to listen to it again.
The ad is completely disingenuous. Terrible. Awful. I heard it for the first time this morning and got peeved in the car. I can not believe they phrase this discussion like this.
And while watching khou news at five, the commercial just came on. Are they feeling the heat? Didn't know they had a tv version also.
I think so. April 2 has always been the only true "deadline" for the CSN Houston side, given the ownership breakdown, and that's in one week. I could be wrong and overly optimistic, but my guess is that they're going to try like hell to agree to something early next week, and this week is their last true leverage opportunity to try and squeeze providers for a few extra cents (per subscriber). Thus, the new ad rollout.
Post on their Facebook page: Your new commercial is a lie. If they're feeling pressure, it's time to ramp it up even higher if possible. Maybe we'll actually get to see the last handful of games this season. www.facebook.com/csnhouston See how quickly they delete them!
Aren't there repercussions for false advertising? I mean, can't the other TV providers sue them for this (defamation)?
Well **** CSN Houston and **** that expensive ass rip-off called League Pass. Vipbox.tv or Rockets Radio all the way yo
So...essentially they completely miscalculated the value of their channel to a TV lineup....they forgot to calculate in that the previous tv home is still contractually being carried. When it becomes an issue, CSN spins it by saying they are working toward an agreement. Then they tried "I want my CSN." Then they claimed that nobody is willing to tak to them. Now, they try to make people forget that the teams left FSN by claiming that the providers somehow got together to make the decision that Houdton sports are not welcome on their service. It's almost like the Three Stooges are running this channel.
That has always been the M.O. of cable companies - assume the customers are stupid, and then treat them accordingly. That commercial that ends with 'dude, it's not your remote, it's your tv provider!' is so stupid, on so many levels, it indicates a complete disconnect between the company and its customer base. It is insulting to the intelligence of anyone who see/hears it, even small children are smarter than the mentality the company assumes its watchers possess. Each subsequent step along the way only serves to insult the viewers even more. They seriously think we are all stupid. And it is precisely because they clearly think the viewers are mental midgets, I see very little hope of this being resolved any time soon. CSN, you are pathetic. Stop trying to win public opinion, and just GET THE FREAKING DEAL DONE, LOWER YOUR STUPID PRICE IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES, JUST GET IT DONE AND NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE AGAIN.
Sigh....every morning, it's the same routine for me. Get to work, open up Clutchfans, check this thread to make sure there's nothing new to report, then leave the GARM for the rest of the day (since I have no input whatsoever, having only seen 3 games this year). Thanks a lot, CSN Houston (which isn't available in Houston). And I've seen those commercials too. Insulting.
Yep. I feel sad that I can't even discuss the team intelligently whatsoever. I refuse to be one of "those" fans that acts like they know everything about the team when they don't watch.
Matt Hutchings also did an interview on 610. Kind of long, but here it is http://houston.cbslocal.com/?podcas...=true&config_file=config.xml&dcid=CBS.HOUSTON
If anybody wanted to write up a cliff notes version, I'd read it, but I don't think I could put up with listening to that guy talk and whatever BS he spewed.
We're in day to day conversations. Daily. Was jet-setting across the country, and have had several meetings. We're negotiating, trying to get a deal done. They want to get a deal done. They want it at a certain rate, we value it at a certain rate, and we are trying to find a common ground. Is price the real issue for all the various carriers? We are in a 5-state region, so we are talking with carriers other than just in Houston. Houston is very important to us, it is a major priority to us. There are a lot of dynamics, obviously people don't understand all the dynamics. Bottom line there is economics involved, and other components such as our carriage requirements, we want to be on the basic tier, but the providers want to put it on a higher tier, or even make it a la carte, and we don't want that. We're having good conversations, everybody loves the channel, but they want to do what is right for their customers, and we want to do what is right for our side, and we are just in negotiations. Does ANYONE else in the country charge a premium for a RSN? He believes no other RSN in the country is on a different tier, nothing equivalent to our network which is on a non-basic tier. All we are asking is to be carried like all the other RSN's in the country. They all have them all across the country, we just want to be treated the same as everyone else, we think we are asking for fair market value. Lots of the little carriers have stepped up and paid the asking price, we are just asking the big providers to do the same. Things have been civil down here, as opposed to New York, but the amount of time is unprecendented, and none of the other RSNs have been put on premium, so do you think the carriers are using Houston as a guinea pig of sorts, to test the idea of pushing costs onto the customers for these RSN? We want to stay civil, but yeah, we keep asking why are they holding out/ Our coverage, our channel, it's all great, lots of spring training for the Astros, good coverage of soccer and Texans, and of course the Rockets, lots of post-game coverage and other stuff such as high school and college, and we have a ton of great content. In our view, it's a good value proposition for the carriers. Everybody wins in terms of coverage for the fans, and so we deserve to be on the carriers equal to our peers across the country, so we want to be treated the same as everybody else is. (my input - clearly, CSN has ZERO intention of lowering their price by even a penny in all this crap) After the break. We are trying to get the job done. Lots of angry texts from listeners. Are you guys aware of the anger from the fans? Are you aware of how upset people are? Absolutely we are. People are angry, and we hear it. I grew up here, I moved back here to help launch this channel. These are my teams too, I am a fan too, I talk to lots of people, average people even, and they all want the channel, I explain it, but people just say 'get the deal done'. I just try to get people to understand - we are here in Houston, what we are doing is try to bring everybody the best RSN that has ever been here, and that costs a lot of $, it's a great channel, we have proven how great it is, we are doing a great job, now we are just trying to get the deal done. So now we are just stuck trying to convince the big mean people in suits from out of town that people in Houston WANT the channel, because he says the carriers claim there is no demand for the channel. He claims carriers say there is nothing 'different' from what they are already carrying. Goes back to the price not being lowered after the teams being off their networks. Customers are demanding it, but they are claiming they are just looking for the best deal for their customers. We just want to be treated the same as everyone else. We know how unhappy the fans are. They want to watch, we know how much they want to see it. We pay attention, we listen, but we want you to understand, we are trying to get the deal done, so please get online and beg and email your carriers and let them know you want the channel. What is the difference between moving the channel and having to renegotiate an existing channel? They still need to get the deal done. Talks about FSSW, talks about teams gtetting into the RSN business, and so teams all over the country have expanded into the RSN business,and so he thinks we have more content now because CSN is more special. Keeps emphasizing how great our channel is, obviously it's a good value. All this BS, it just sounds like CSN is never going to budge, and sounds to me like we can settle in for a years-long siege. The guy just keeps going on and on about how great the channel is, so obviously whatever price they are asking for is clearly fair. Where has the resistance been from the carriers? Price? Or has it been one part of the ownership (ie BASEBALL) who has not been willing to negotiate? In other words, has Crane scuttled negotiations? Not true. Ownership is unified, 100% supportive of this, to get the best agreement for long term success. Yes, obviously, we have spent a lot, it costs a lot, so we are going to grab every penny, screw the fans (I added that part lol). When the right deal is there, we will do the deal. Until we get the best deal, there won't be a deal. So far, only one team has been adversely affected. It will look fishy if this gets settled by the start of baseball season, and Rockets fans are going to be extremely angry if that happens. So where exactly is the disconnect? Then he goes on about New York, and of course San Diego, and Portland, so this has happened in several places. He won't answer the question, because he is being asked who is really refusing to make a deal. So he is just talking about the Rockets having tried their best to help a deal get made, and so that once baseball happens and soccer happens, many many more people will be complaining, it would make sense for a deal to get done after that, at least he claims it would not look fishy. If a deal gets done next week, poor poor Rockets fans. We continue to work hard. But the more that is at risk, the more complaints that are heard, he thinks it will become unbearable for the carriers, and that will force a deal to get done. (which is the sorriest sack of crap attitude I have heard) When do you think a deal will get done? Best guess? I wish I could give you an answer. The only answer I will give is, we want a deal done as fast as possible, we have been working on this for over a year, sending out our proposals, but the carriers wanted to see it first, would it be a realy neato channel (TOTAL BS), so they were waiting to see it first, and we just waited on them, and they waited on us, so nobody was really interested in making a deal before the season. But if and when a deal gets done, it can happen very fast, within a couple days it can be in their systems. Just have to get the business deal done and people can start watching. Thanks so much for talking with us. Goes on to sound really sympathetic, but please go to our website and complain to your carriers. We want to be factual and fair, we want to be on all those carriers, so let your carrier know that you want the channel, demand it, so we can get the high price we are asking for, clearly it's a good value. The end.. ok now I feel filthy, I need to go retch. You're welcome...
