Fans sue NHL over broadcast access

[leaffan]

It's actually worse now because of SportsnetONE which is not available in many markets or by many providers.

They put about 30 Jays games on that channel and many people couldn't watch it via MLB.tv or via TV service because it just wasn't available.

Sportsnetone is gay as hell. I remember when I had a preview of it all they showed was tennis and the odd soccer game for just really oddball stuff. They also had the longer episodes of that sports radio show with that douche bob mcgown or whatever his name is.

I just kept thinking to myself who the hell would pay for this channel.

 

[Ravin]

I personally don't even care about this argument anymore, I've adjusted back to watching streams online for free.

I will not pay for "packages of channels" or deal with blackouts ever again.

That is what I do now. There is always a streaming site, and when you are not a fan of your in market team, you have no choice but to do it. I'm not paying the what, $200 or whatever to watch 82 penguins games, and I know a bunch will be blacked out due to NBC/HNIC/TSN.

Though I must admit, we have it right in Canada in cable when it comes to playoffs. TSN and CBC, all you need for every series.

 

[leaffan]

Did you also subscribe to whatever sports/network package that carries the channels that show the games locally?

If you subscribe to a PPV package, but do not also subscribe to the cable package that carries the local teams, they are going to black you out, for the reasons I already stated.

Now, if you subscribed to Center Ice, and you also were paying for the channels that carried the Leafs, Ottawa, and and Montreal, then yes, that makes no sense and is complete bullshit.

I had to have those other channels along with center ice.

They would not allow me to have no channels but center ice and made me subscribe to all the other normal shit with it. I said fuck it and did it during a time when I had a bunch of money and didn't care.

My cable bill was upwards of $100 a month at that point and I just had to realistically say no to it with all the blackouts thrown at me.

 

[Slateman]

I'm a little confused.

How is this different than any other sport? MLB.TV and the NFL network can't show games that involve the local teams. When I lived in Hawaii, I couldn't want any of the West Coast teams on MLB.TV.

Is that not what's happening here?

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'm a little confused.

How is this different than any other sport? MLB.TV and the NFL network can't show games that involve the local teams. When I lived in Hawaii, I couldn't want any of the West Coast teams on MLB.TV.

Is that not what's happening here?

It's not.

It's exactly the same in all four sports. The lawsuit has no chance. The bottom line, is the league has the right to protect their television partners.