US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > Comcast Sports Nets

reply to telcodad

Re: Comcast Sports Nets

Deals to carry TWC's SportsNet RSN are being closed now:

Charter, FiOS Suit Up For Lakers Sports Nets
RSN Slated to Launch Oct. 31 on MSO's Systems; Telco Timing Yet to be Released
By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News - October 26, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/cable-opera···s/140015

AT&T U-Verse Signs TWC SportsNet Deal
Third Carriage Deal for RSN in Two Days
By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News - October 27, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/telco-tv/at···l/140035

Still neither satellite company or comcast have the channels yet

Cox reached an agreement to carry TWC's SportsNet earlier this week (»www.latimes.com/entertainment/en···51.story), but other distributors are still at the negotiating table:

DirecTV still not carrying Lakers; CEO blasts sports channels
By Joe Flint, The Los Angeles Times - November 7, 2012
»www.latimes.com/entertainment/en···23.story

reply to mikedz4

Geez, so Comcast doesn't count as a "Major" MSO? I guess they only have a small number of customers in the SoCal region.

Dish Network remains last major SportsNet holdout, following DirecTV deal
DirecTV subscribers have missed 7 Lakers games
By Steve Donohue, FierceCable - November 16, 2012
»www.fiercecable.com/story/dish-n···12-11-16

reply to telcodad
Don't know if any Lakers fans with Comcast service can "exploit this situation" as described in this article, but it may be worth a try:

Making the Lakers TV mess work for you
Showdowns with regional sports providers are here to stay, so figure out how to exploit such situations.
By Chris Erskine, The Los Angeles Times - November 15, 2012
»www.latimes.com/sports/basketbal···l.column

From the article:

So let Dish Network make its noble last stand — the NBA season doesn't really start till Christmas Day anyway.
:
Till then, what's in it for you and me?

To keep me from jumping, Dish offered three months of its multisport Red Zone package, plus a choice of Cinemax or Starz for three months.

Note that Dish won't necessarily call you with these compensation offers. You have to reach out. And if you do, it's pure street ball.

Before DirecTV reached its agreement Thursday, it was doing handsprings to keep customers. A friend bargained for the NFL package that gives him all Sunday games, plus approximately $25 off his monthly bill for six months.

Point is, these showdowns with regional sports providers are here to stay. So don't just sit back and mutter over these stupid disputes. Exploit them.

An article on the Philadelphia Inquirer's site yesterday about the soaring prices for sports programming rights:

About half of cable-TV bills go to sports
By Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer - November 19, 2012
»articles.philly.com/2012-11-19/n···e-sports

[Make sure to click through all 5 pages of the article.]

reply to The Q

From ComcastTeds
11-26-2012 1:29 PM

Unfortunately, I don't have an update or timetable to provide. The conversations and discussions for carriage of this network are still ongoing. Thanks for your continued patience.

I believe that Comcast usually isn't mentioned in a lot of the local news articles on this topic as we have very few customers in this area of southern California compared to Charter, Cox, Time Warner and Brighthouse.

reply to telcodad
Sports TV Class Action Against Comcast, DirecTV, MLB & NHL Still In Play
By Dominic Patten, Deadline.com - December 5, 2012
»www.deadline.com/2012/12/comcast···ackouts/

Major League Baseball, the NHL, Comcast and DirecTV failed today in their team effort to get an antitrust class action suit against them dismissed in a New York District Court. “Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that the NHL and MLB have used their monopoly power to restrict the broadcast of television programming in a manner that harms competition,” said the ruling (»www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-con···1450.pdf) from U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin on Wednesday. The ruling means the class action instigated in the spring can go forward. The various plaintiffs claim that the leagues, regional sports networks and the cable and satellite companies have created monopolies over the airing of games on TV and online by dividing up territories and instating blackouts.

where is the lawsuit against directv and the nfl? The NFL Sunday Ticket is ONLY on DirecTV!!

That needs to be changed. People in apartments or who don't want or can't get directv are locked out of sunday ticket. There is something wrong that directv is the only provider that has sunday ticket.
I suggest people write the nfl, and the fcc about this setup.

reply to telcodad
NCTA's Powell: Escalating Sports Costs Could Invite Government Scrutiny
Says operators and programmers need to be careful not to blow up the model
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable - December 7, 2012
»www.broadcastingcable.com/articl···tiny.php

at least offer people who have cable the option to order it online or their cell phones at a reduced rate. Maybe $200 or $250?

reply to telcodad
Well, it looks like this is how DirecTV has decided how to handle the additional cost of carrying TWC's SportsNet:

DirecTV adds local sports surcharge for some new subscribers
By Joe Flint, The Los Angeles Times - December 10, 2012
»www.latimes.com/entertainment/en···76.story

Satellite broadcaster DirecTV has quietly added a surcharge to some customers for sports channels separately on several of its most popular programming packages.

New DirecTV subscribers who live in areas where there are more than one regional sports network (Los Angeles has four -- News Corp.'s Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West and Time Warner Cable's SportsNet and Deportes) and want those channels are being asked to pay a monthly surcharge of $3. That fee is on top of whatever portion of the costs of the channels DirecTV passes on to its customers.

reply to Mgsports
It would be nice if Comcast would Launch a Sports Net for the Denver / Ft. Collins market. We currently only have Comcast Entertainment Television (a regional arm of "The Comcast Network") that shows movies, what is coming up on PPV & history of the Denver Metro Area, tours of local utility's (water, power, sewage, ect). And it Carries the Emergency Alert System.

I have the comcast network which is 24/7 infomercials.
Would be nice if they took over root sports here.

reply to telcodad
FYI - There is news today that DirecTV is considering dropping its exclusive contract with the NFL for the Sunday Ticket package when it next expires in 2015:

DirecTV floats possibility of sharing NFL Sunday Ticket rights with cable operators
By Steve Donohue, FierceCable - March 7, 2013
»www.fiercecable.com/story/direct···13-03-07