So Let Me Get This Straight

[Katy Lied]

Two years ago, Comcast, who owns the mtn, was in a negotiation war with Direct TV over the fees to air the mtn on Direct TV. Comcast attempted to pit mtn viewers against Direct TV in an attempt to get more money out of Direct TV. They did this right at the start of football season, when BYU (and MWC) fans would put the most pressure on Direct TV. It took BYU and Utah jointly hiring that high priced LA Attorney to finally press the parties for a resolution. I gather Comcast didnt get the price they wanted.

Now, Comcast, who also owns Versus, transfers part of the mtn programming (some MWC games) from the mtn to Versus, and wants an increase in fees from Direct TV for Versus. They didnt get what they wanted for the mtn, so lets move some of the games to another channel and charge more for that channel.

I smell end run.

The MWC should add a rider that should MWC games not be available to homes on a nationwide basis, the MWC reserves the right to air/stream the game on a nonprofit channel (BYU-TV) as long as they do not make a profit.

This would end the shenanigans with Comcast trying to use its viewers (and basically, we're talking BYU fans) as a rented mule in its negotiations with Direct TV.

Sheesh, why couldnt Comcast have made its bums rush for increased fees smack dab during the Tour De France? Spread the misery.

[il Padrino Ute]

Yep, Comcast is Satan's cable company.

[Mormon Red Death]

Two years ago, Comcast, who owns the mtn, was in a negotiation war with Direct TV over the fees to air the mtn on Direct TV. Comcast attempted to pit mtn viewers against Direct TV in an attempt to get more money out of Direct TV. They did this right at the start of football season, when BYU (and MWC) fans would put the most pressure on Direct TV. It took BYU and Utah jointly hiring that high priced LA Attorney to finally press the parties for a resolution. I gather Comcast didnt get the price they wanted.

Now, Comcast, who also owns Versus, transfers part of the mtn programming (some MWC games) from the mtn to Versus, and wants an increase in fees from Direct TV for Versus. They didnt get what they wanted for the mtn, so lets move some of the games to another channel and charge more for that channel.

I smell end run.

The MWC should add a rider that should MWC games not be available to homes on a nationwide basis, the MWC reserves the right to air/stream the game on a nonprofit channel (BYU-TV) as long as they do not make a profit.

This would end the shenanigans with Comcast trying to use its viewers (and basically, we're talking BYU fans) as a rented mule in its negotiations with Direct TV.

Sheesh, why couldnt Comcast have made its bums rush for increased fees smack dab during the Tour De France? Spread the misery.

Where there is smoke there is fire. the conference needs to get away from comcast. Hell comcast doenst even put the mtn on its sports tier outside of the footprint and they own the damn station.

[beefytee]

Sheesh, why couldnt Comcast have made its bums rush for increased fees smack dab during the Tour De France? Spread the misery.

Don't forget the NHL season is coming up and most nationwide broadcasts being exclusive to Versus.

[il Padrino Ute]

Don't forget the NHL season is coming up and most nationwide broadcasts being exclusive to Versus.

I don't watch much NHL - though I want to, but I need to understand the sport more to enjoy it, but I digress.

Anyway, how big of an issue would you say this is? Is it going to really tick off NHL fans if it doesn't get resolved soon?

[beefytee]

I don't watch much NHL - though I want to, but I need to understand the sport more to enjoy it, but I digress.

Anyway, how big of an issue would you say this is? Is it going to really tick off NHL fans if it doesn't get resolved soon?

Well they do offer the NHL package (NHL Center Ice), so die hard fans can still get any hockey fix that they may have.

I think the NHL itself should be the most ticked. They lose the casual fan (i.e. someone who likes hockey but isn't willing to pay an arm and a leg for the special package), and like the MWC they need the exposure.

[Sizzle]

Yep, Comcast is Satan's cable company.

I can agree with that.

[Coach McGuirk]

"It's a shame," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "It's very unfortunate."

"It is unfortunate with the contract that negotiations couldn't be reached for the benefit of the subscribers, the fans. And it is too bad," Mendenhall said. "The [MWC's TV] contract in general, from beginning to end, has been less than desired."

Mendenhall said he won't say anything to the league office now because he's in the middle of the season and he has a football program to run, but plans on "making my voice heard" at coaches meetings with commissioner Craig Thompson after athletic directors such as BYU's Tom Holmoe get a chance first.
"I just think [the MWC TV contract] has been less than ideal, in terms of exposure," Mendenhall said.

[il Padrino Ute]

Well they do offer the NHL package (NHL Center Ice), so die hard fans can still get any hockey fix that they may have.

I think the NHL itself should be the most ticked. They lose the casual fan (i.e. someone who likes hockey but isn't willing to pay an arm and a leg for the special package), and like the MWC they need the exposure.

That makes a lot of sense that the NHL should be ticked about it as it certainly won't help me in my pursuit of wanting to be a hockey fan.

Comcast sucks.

[Solon]

It also shows the weakness of the MWC. I have comcast basic cable and now get the Big-10 network after a similar uproar. It's worse than the Oxygen channel.

[statman]

I don't watch much NHL - though I want to, but I need to understand the sport more to enjoy it, but I digress.

Anyway, how big of an issue would you say this is? Is it going to really tick off NHL fans if it doesn't get resolved soon?

I've always known that NHL in person is a COMPLETELY different experience as NHL on TV. But last winter I realized that NFL on HD is much much more enjoyable than NHL on regular TV. With High Def, you can actually follow the puck when the camera cuts out to a wider view...

[statman]

"It's a shame," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "It's very unfortunate."

"It is unfortunate with the contract that negotiations couldn't be reached for the benefit of the subscribers, the fans. And it is too bad," Mendenhall said. "The [MWC's TV] contract in general, from beginning to end, has been less than desired."

Mendenhall said he won't say anything to the league office now because he's in the middle of the season and he has a football program to run, but plans on "making my voice heard" at coaches meetings with commissioner Craig Thompson after athletic directors such as BYU's Tom Holmoe get a chance first.
"I just think [the MWC TV contract] has been less than ideal, in terms of exposure," Mendenhall said.

He also admitted that he had no idea that the FSU game wasn't going to be on DTV prior to the reporter asking him about it. But he also said that he got much more feedback from around the country when the games were on ESPN...

[BlueHair]

Two years ago, Comcast, who owns the mtn, was in a negotiation war with Direct TV over the fees to air the mtn on Direct TV. Comcast attempted to pit mtn viewers against Direct TV in an attempt to get more money out of Direct TV. They did this right at the start of football season, when BYU (and MWC) fans would put the most pressure on Direct TV. It took BYU and Utah jointly hiring that high priced LA Attorney to finally press the parties for a resolution. I gather Comcast didnt get the price they wanted.

Now, Comcast, who also owns Versus, transfers part of the mtn programming (some MWC games) from the mtn to Versus, and wants an increase in fees from Direct TV for Versus. They didnt get what they wanted for the mtn, so lets move some of the games to another channel and charge more for that channel.

I smell end run.

The MWC should add a rider that should MWC games not be available to homes on a nationwide basis, the MWC reserves the right to air/stream the game on a nonprofit channel (BYU-TV) as long as they do not make a profit.

This would end the shenanigans with Comcast trying to use its viewers (and basically, we're talking BYU fans) as a rented mule in its negotiations with Direct TV.

Sheesh, why couldnt Comcast have made its bums rush for increased fees smack dab during the Tour De France? Spread the misery.

David Locke had the president of Comcast on his radio show today. He said the dispute had nothing to do with price. They are not raising the price. The conflict is about distribution. DirectTv wants to move Versus to their upper tier packages. This would reduce exposure from 14 million subscribers to about 6 million. Up until September 1st, Versus was included in cheapest package. Versus says it charges 28 cents per subscriber which is the same as they charge to Comcast and Dish.

[falafel]

David Locke had the president of Comcast on his radio show today. He said the dispute had nothing to do with price. They are not raising the price. The conflict is about distribution. DirectTv wants to move Versus to their upper tier packages. This would reduce exposure from 14 million subscribers to about 6 million. Up until September 1st, Versus was included in cheapest package. Versus says it charges 28 cents per subscriber which is the same as they charge to Comcast and Dish.

So it is about money. They're cutting VS advertising market by more than half!

[BlueHair]

So it is about money. They're cutting VS advertising market by more than half!

Yes, but Versus isn't trying to raise the price. It is fighting to keep it's market share.