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OLN vs. Everyone

N

network

Guest
I noticed yesterday that OLN is no longer available on DISH. From the language on the channel, it states that OLN is not providing providers like DISH network their programming until these companies pretty much get their subscribers to pay more money.

First, I noticed OLN not providing the NHL games, instead offering "alternate" programming. Now OLN is pulling this crap.

ATTENTION OLN: you're nothing on the spectrum. You're one of how many channels??!! Exactly!

Who do you think you are? ESPN?! No one watches your channel. If people paid ala carte, you'd be off-the-air. Just because you have NHL, who's fan base continues to drop because the league continues to piss them off, doesn't mean you can hold your programming that nobody watches hostage. If I was any of the other sports networks, I'd be laughing at you. You paid all the money for NHL and now, you refuse to show it. Way to go, morons!
 
Is anybody outside of Comcast able to see the NHL games? (I have Comcast here in New Britain, CT and get OLN on channel 25.) We also get NESN (New England Sports Network) for the Boston Bruins and the occasional feed from MSG Network during the New York Rangers games (not sure about the Buffalo Sabres).
 
Makes you wonder if OLN was owned by something other than a rapidly growing cable television outlet, this problem might not exist with a dish company.....
 
Re: Comcast (OLN) vs. Everyone

> Makes you wonder if OLN was owned by something other than a
> rapidly growing cable television outlet, this problem might
> not exist with a dish company.....
>
Comcast pulls this crap in the Philly area. They won't let DirecTv or Dish Network carry Comcast SprotsNet Philly. Comcast said they'd be willing to talk to DirecTv if DirecTv would be willing to share the NFL Sunday Ticket.

The FCC wondered if NewsCorp would pull this stuff when they bought DirecTv. The FCC should be keeping its eye on Comcast keeping its programming from competition. Is Comcast going to withhold its programming from Verizon too?
 
Simple answer: Its Comcast.
They are an awful company used to getting their own way because they are a monopoly in way too many places. Its one of those companies that you are glad to see bad things happen to.<P ID="signature">______________
WCBS = We're Crazy Buffoons and Schmucks
<a href=http://chuck.spotteddogs.org/tv/>Spotted Dog TV Talk - for all your non-news TV Talk</a></P>
 
Re: Comcast (OLN) vs. Everyone

> Is Comcast going to withhold its programming from Verizon too?

If a cable or satellite company's not owned by Comcast, everyone is fair game.
 
Re: Cablevision

Cablevision is just as bad. They held out on carrying the YES Network and deprived most of New York from watching Yankees games for over a year. This was partly because of cost but more because the Yankees left MSG which is owned by Cablevision. Then they began airing half of Mets games on MSG and half on FSNY, just to get people to have to pay more to get both of these networks. They went even further by airing some Knicks and Rangers games on the Metro Channels which they would not market to the satellite companies.


> > Is Comcast going to withhold its programming from Verizon
> too?
>
> If a cable or satellite company's not owned by Comcast,
> everyone is fair game.
>
 
MSG does not show Buffalo Sabres games (I think that's what you were asking).


> Is anybody outside of Comcast able to see the NHL games? (I
> have Comcast here in New Britain, CT and get OLN on channel
> 25.) We also get NESN (New England Sports Network) for the
> Boston Bruins and the occasional feed from MSG Network
> during the New York Rangers games (not sure about the
> Buffalo Sabres).
>
 
Re: Cablevision

I am surprized the NHL is not up in arms about this. Wouldn't cuttinng off a large portion of the audience from seeing the games be a breach of contract? If I were the NHL, I'd be looking for a way to get out of this deal and put my games on a network where the most people can see them and one that doesn't pull this kind of childish stunt. The NHL has enough problems getting viewers. The last thing they need is some greedy cable company pulling this stunt.
 
Re: Cablevision

I was surprised the NHL agreed to put their games on OLN to beging with, knowing that OLN does not have anywhere near the coverage of the larger networks like ESPN.


> I am surprized the NHL is not up in arms about this.
> Wouldn't cuttinng off a large portion of the audience from
> seeing the games be a breach of contract? If I were the
> NHL, I'd be looking for a way to get out of this deal and
> put my games on a network where the most people can see them
> and one that doesn't pull this kind of childish stunt. The
> NHL has enough problems getting viewers. The last thing
> they need is some greedy cable company pulling this stunt.
>
 
Re: Comcast (OLN) vs. Everyone

> >
> Comcast pulls this crap in the Philly area. They won't let
> DirecTv or Dish Network carry Comcast SprotsNet Philly.
> Comcast said they'd be willing to talk to DirecTv if DirecTv
> would be willing to share the NFL Sunday Ticket.
>
But DirecTV doesn't share Sunday Ticket, so they have an advantage on that front. Sounds to me more like DirecTV wants to have their cake and eat it too.
 
> MSG does not show Buffalo Sabres games (I think that's what
> you were asking).
>
They do in the Buffalo market, taking over from Empire Sports after they folded in the Adelphia scandal.
 
Re: Cablevision

> I was surprised the NHL agreed to put their games on OLN to
> beging with, knowing that OLN does not have anywhere near
> the coverage of the larger networks like ESPN.
>

Two problems : First, as everyone mentioned before - no coverage
outside of Comcash. Non Comcash companies either don't carry OLN
or carry it on more expensive digital tier like RCN here in Boston.
It smells like the SportsChannel fiasco NHL had few years
ago. They'll be going back to ESPN in 2-3 years.

Second, people won't pay extra to get digital tier just because
NHL is back. NHL product sucks now - the new rule changes made
the game so much more boring. They took all the violence and physical
play out of the sports. That was their biggest selling point. Now
they don't have that anymore so why bother pay more to get NHL?!.
I tried to watch a Bruins game on NESN a few nights ago and it was
so painfully boring I had to change the channel after 5 minutes.
Hello NHL, this is not Europe. It's North America, we like our hockey
violent and physical. Thanks for your time.

Randy
 
Re: Cablevision

I find it interesting that DISH Network pulled the plug on Comcast owned OLN,HOWEVER they still air other comcast owned nets...


when they did this to Viacom, the whole Viacom owned networks also were unplugged from Dish Network
 
Re: Cablevision

> I find it interesting that DISH Network pulled the plug on
> Comcast owned OLN,HOWEVER they still air other comcast owned
> nets...
>
>
> when they did this to Viacom, the whole Viacom owned
> networks also were unplugged from Dish Network
>

My understanding of the whole issue is that Comcast themselves did the pulling of the plug on OLN because both the DISH Network and Cablevision have the network on a high tier, not accessible to everyone. I know OLN on Cablevision is somewhere in the 400 channel. And while the issue is basically about what OLN is doing, it is not affecting other Comcast O&O's

TS
 
Re: Cablevision

> Two problems : First, as everyone mentioned before - no
> coverage
> outside of Comcash. Non Comcash companies either don't carry
> OLN
> or carry it on more expensive digital tier like RCN here in
> Boston.

Here in Tampa bay, Bright House (owned by Newhouse, originally Time Warner) had OLN in analog basic (ch.70 in Pinellas) the last couple of years.
 
MSG/Buffalo Sabres (Was: Re: OLN vs. Everyone)

Although MSG shows Buffalo Sabres' games "in upstate New York", I suspect they are seen only in the Buffalo and Rochester markets. I would think that Syracuse, Utica, Albany, and northern New York State get the New York Rangers.
 
The NHL And OLN

ESPN dropped the NHL this past Summer.

The network probably believed that the interest in the league had waned significantly thanks to the lockout that cancelled the entire 2004/2005 season. And most of the programming that replaced the NHL either got the same number of viewers, or even more viewers, than the NHL.

OLN was the only national cable network that had any interest in the league.

Were it not for OLN, the NHL would not have a national cable-TV deal and it's only national-TV exposure in the U.S. would have been six weekend-afternoon games, six early-round playoff games on weekend-afternoons, and games three through seven of the Stanley Cup Finals (although it might have been amended to include the entire Finals) on NBC. The NBC/NHL deal does not have any upfront rights fees. NBC will take-in the first "X" number of dollars for production and promotion costs and the NHL would get the rest, which probably would not be much.

The league will make some money out of the NBC deal, but I'd be surprised if it's more than a million dollars, or slightly more than $30,000 per team.
 
The NFL is considering selling a package of a handful of late-season games (on Thursday and/or Saturday nights) to a national cable network.

OLN is said to be agressively pursuing this package.

If OLN does land the Thursday/Saturday NFL late-season cable package, the entire dynamics of OLN's relationships with cable and satellite operators will change.

OLN's getting a few late-season NFL games would likely be the way that the disputes with some cable and satellite operators would end. Were some cable/satellite companies to play "hardball" with OLN were it to get the NFL Thursday/Saturday package, and not show those games, it would create complaints so loud it would make the disputes over the NHL seem like a whisper in comparison.
 
NHL vs Comcast: Judge Alex Presiding

> I find it interesting that DISH Network pulled the plug on
> Comcast owned OLN,HOWEVER they still air other comcast owned
> nets...

Nope, that accusation is not correct. Comcast is the one who pulled the plug because DISH is refusing to "surrender" to the demands of Comcast JUST FOR OLN because Comcast wants more $$ for OLN.

> when they did this to Viacom, the whole Viacom owned
> networks also were unplugged from Dish Network

It was my understanding that Viacom withheld programming from DISH because of a money issue. Viacom wanted DISH to carry some new Nicklelodeon channel and charge more for some of the other channels. DISH didn't think this new NICK channel was worth it (gee, how many different NICK channels are there now?!! I can't necessarily blame them). This in turn would've raised the rates for DISH customers and DISH is very much against raising their rates because of this.

Unlike say....oh, I dunno....CABLE COMPANIES who don't hesistate raising their rates.

No one will care about OLN and Comcast will soon realize that, if they haven't already. I agree with another poster who said that the NHL should really look into whether there is some sort of breach of contract on the part of Comcast because of this. I don't doubt that if the NHL tried, they could get out of this or maybe get a refund of what they paid OLN.

I wouldn't doubt that OLN gave the NHL some rough figures for the amount of households they broadcast to. Well, by Comcast cutting off a large chunk of those households, the lawyers for the NHL could certainly make some valid arguments against pulling their product off of OLN -- OR taking it to court and getting an injunction that Comcast make NHL games available IMMEDIATELY while they deal with this in court.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Now between Comcast and DISH and other cable nets. But between NHL and Comcast.
 
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