Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

[BB_Cubs]

If you're a Directv subscriber and a hockey fan whose tired of missing good hockey games on Versus its time to get vocal. This has gone on too long and with the NHL playoffs coming soon, one would hope the execs at Directv and Comcast (with the NHL's encouragement) would be working to get a deal done. Not much has been said or printed about the subject lately so the time for us to sit back and wait is over. So what to do?? I say we get vocal and send our views off to Directv, Comcast, the NHL and any other media outlet that's relevant. Here are some contacts if you want to be heard:

Directv e-mail: Versus@directv.com

NHL Fan Feedback: http://www.nhl.com/ice/feedback.htm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php#/note.php?note_id=165192180669&comments (or search Versus on Directv)

The Hockey News - Letters to the Editor: http://thehockeynews.com/listings/51-Letters-to-the-Editor.html


Other Related Links:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=57131

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/pu...-hyperbole-of-the-Versus-Direc?urn=nhl,187145

If you know of other relevant sites to contact or post on please share them here.

Here is the e-mail I sent to Directv tonight:

As a huge hockey fan, long time Directv subscriber and NHL center ice subscriber, my patience to this Versus situation is running out. Directv claims that Versus' owners are demanding increased fees but from everything I've read, it appears that because Directv wants to re-tier Versus and squeeze more money of its subscribers, it is Directv who should get the blame here. Honestly, I don't care who is to blame. I just want NHL hockey back on Directv and on Versus. The NHL playoffs will be here before you know it and there is no way I'm going to miss them because of greed. I pay Directv $135 a month for programming plus the extra for NHL Center Ice and the MLB package. Is that not enough to give me Versus?? And by the way, since you are not paying Comcast for Versus, shouldn't you be giving me a credit from the money you are saving?

Please fix this mess. If not, I'll be switching to Dish Network.

 

[moose97]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

Please fix this mess. If not, I'll be switching to Dish Network.

There's your answer. Enough people do that and DirecTV will listen - just don't count on it (plus, you'll just ***** that Dish doesn't have MLB Network or the MLB Extra Innings Package)...

 

[allnightwong]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

It's all crap. Just greed, pure greed.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

Hm. With Comcast I have Vs with my standard digital package, and for something like $8/mo, I have the NHL/NFL/MLB/bouncyball networks, all FoxSports, CSTV, Big10 Network, and I believe ESPNU.

Just sayin'.

 

[wolverine318]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

however, with my directv, i have all of that minus versus mad: ) and pay much less and have better picture quality and less outage than when I had comcrap. Plus I have NFL Sunday Ticket. I also have a much better HD-DVR with multiroom viewing coming later this year.

With that said, I am dropping D* for att uverse when my d* contract ends in August....

 

[The Rube]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

however, with my directv, i have all of that minus versus mad: ) and pay much less and have better picture quality and less outage than when I had comcrap. Plus I have NFL Sunday Ticket. I also have a much better HD-DVR with multiroom viewing coming later this year.

With that said, I am dropping D* for att uverse when my d* contract ends in August....

I question the "NFL ticket, but much cheaper." Doesn't the NFL ticket cost $100+ (and I think that is wayyyyyy on the lowside?)

And I've only had one outage in the past 3 years I've lived in my current place, and maybe 2 in the last 10 years I've had Comcast. And those only had to do with internet.

 

[mcfarljd]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

I question the "NFL ticket, but much cheaper." Doesn't the NFL ticket cost $100+ (and I think that is wayyyyyy on the lowside?)

And I've only had one outage in the past 3 years I've lived in my current place, and maybe 2 in the last 10 years I've had Comcast. And those only had to do with internet.

Not necessarily, depends how smart you are about it. I signed up for Direct and it came WITH 2 of the premium movie tiers (we picked HBO/Show), also with a free season of NFL Ticket.

The thing they don't tell you about NFL ticket is that it is an auto renewal, so you call them up when the second season rolls around, tell them that you don't need it because you have season tickets to your closest available market (Cincinnati Bengals perhaps...), so it will be of little to no use. They wind up marking down the package to ~$50, and you get to watch any game you want for the whole season.

 

[mcfarljd]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

But I do agree, this Versus/Outdoor Life Network/DirectTV scenario is shenanigans. It was bad enough when ESPN dropped coverage, now you are forced to depend upon your local FSN network and hoping that they have a game on every now and then. Nothing can be as bad though as when the Canucks were in the what, triple OT playoff game 4 years ago and Time Warner cut their VS coverage and switched to an infomercial. That was before the heyday of justin.tv, so nowhere to catch the finish.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

Historically DirecTV has easily been the most fan-friendly of the various providers. For everyone's sake, it's nice to hear that the competitors are closing the gap. It's also extremely unfortunate that when DirecTV decided to make a stand, it was hockey that took the hit.

But looking ahead, it's still my opinion that DirecTV has the greatest commitment to sports programming. Frankly, I doubt that the sports packages that Comcast and others offer would be available if DirecTV hadn't led the way.

Does that mean DirecTV has an entitlement to my business in perpetuity? Of course not. If there's a much better deal out there, I'll consider it. And if hockey continues to be singled out, I'll definitely consider a change. But for now, the Versus/DirecTV tug-of-war is just a routine battle in world of Pay TV. Let's not forget that the Cable vs. Big Ten Network nonsense dragged on for years, with programming being interrupted for a little over a year.

 

[BB_Cubs]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

I miss the days of NHL hockey on ESPN/ESPN2. That's where the NHL belongs. Its funny how "the smartest guys in the room" can make such dumb decisions.

 

[candycanes99]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

I question the "NFL ticket, but much cheaper." Doesn't the NFL ticket cost $100+ (and I think that is wayyyyyy on the lowside?)

And I've only had one outage in the past 3 years I've lived in my current place, and maybe 2 in the last 10 years I've had Comcast. And those only had to do with internet.

I'm fortunate enough to live where my fav NFL team plays, so I can watch them live anyway, and the new RedZone channel this year was amazing, skips from game to game live when they get interesting. I imagine Sunday Ticket is slightly more fun because you can stick with a game when you want of course, but they did a really nice job with that channel and it's included with Comcast's digital sports tier.

I miss the days of NHL hockey on ESPN/ESPN2. That's where the NHL belongs. Its funny how "the smartest guys in the room" can make such dumb decisions.

Seriously. Poor Gary Thorne is so out of practice that when he does have an opportunity to do a hockey game he doesn't know a thing about the players (or their names). I think that Comcast buying NBC Universal might mean even more hockey games on network TV down the road, since they own VS/Flyers.

As far as the DirecTV/Versus debate, as I understood it there was bickering on both sides, but finally DTV had enough of the negotiations and decided it wasn't worth their time/money. Really customer complains will be all that get it changed because Comcast would of course hope that people change to their service and thus won't back down from their demands it seems.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

The standard price for Sunday Ticket is $300 for the season, $400 for the Super Fan option. You can spread the payments out over 5 months. In addition to being able to watch any game, you also get the SuperCuts version where they just have the game action. There is a 4-minute version and a 30-minute version of each Sunday game. Those are available for download starting on Tuesday.

The NHL isn't the only league to take it on the chin. College football is also aired on Versus, most notably TCU games.

What are the odds Dish Network runs into this problem with Versus when their contract runs out?

 

[boblav1]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

Seriously. Poor Gary Thorne is so out of practice that when he does have an opportunity to do a hockey game he doesn't know a thing about the players (or their names). I think that Comcast buying NBC Universal might mean even more hockey games on network TV down the road, since they own VS/Flyers.

I really enjoyed listening to Gary Thorne doing hockey games. I always felt he was one of the better hockey announcers. Isn't he the voice of Baltimore Orioles baseball now?

 

[Snively65]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

We get Versus as channel 65 in a lounge TV at work (Waltham, Mass.), but the signal is really lousy (lots of flipping, etc., besides the bad camera angles, etc.); I think that our provider might be Comcast, but not sure. This poor reception does not sound typical based on the comments in this thread, but thought I would ask before exploring further (i.e., maybe we are not paying for Versus, which could explain the degraded signal?).

 

[Dmann]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

FYI, I wrote to them after I saw this thread and have received 2 responses from 2 different people already. I don't think we'll ever get enough college hockey coverage, but who knows, id enough of us complain, they might do something about the "squeaky wheel"

 

[thebrain]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

We get Versus as channel 65 in a lounge TV at work (Waltham, Mass.), but the signal is really lousy (lots of flipping, etc., besides the bad camera angles, etc.); I think that our provider might be Comcast, but not sure. This poor reception does not sound typical based on the comments in this thread, but thought I would ask before exploring further (i.e., maybe we are not paying for Versus, which could explain the degraded signal?).

How many times is the cable split in your building? You may need an amp.

I just wonder what Comcast will do when they take over NBC...

 

[joecct]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

Who owns the Philadelphia Flyers?

And we wonder why the NHL has not stepped in?

 

[SkimeySalamander]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

While we are on this discussion, and sending E-Mails to corporations.

Can someone find a contact address at ESPN and FSN to start showing more college hockey games. I know, FSN already does as much as they can, but this could at least get them to never consider dropping college hockey. And I know ESPN might never ever show college hockey games outside of the frozen four, but again, this might make them think twice about it...maybe cover them in post game shows, and definitely not be hesitant towards showing college hockey highlights on ESPN's top 10 plays of the week/day.

What are your thoughts?

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

While we are on this discussion, and sending E-Mails to corporations.

Can someone find a contact address at ESPN and FSN to start showing more college hockey games. I know, FSN already does as much as they can, but this could at least get them to never consider dropping college hockey. And I know ESPN might never ever show college hockey games outside of the frozen four, but again, this might make them think twice about it...maybe cover them in post game shows, and definitely not be hesitant towards showing college hockey highlights on ESPN's top 10 plays of the week/day.

What are your thoughts?

You already occasionally see the odd play on ESPNs top-10 plays. Does seeing the odd cricket play make anyone around here want to watch cricket? I don't know how many times this discussion has been had, but ESPN will show college hockey (or NHL hockey for that matter) as soon as it can make them the kind of $$$ anything else they show does. The cost of decent hockey production versus how many eyeballs are tuned to the average non-Frozen Four game are what will always keep ESPN from being a player in NCAA hockey. They show the Frozen Four because they have to. Its the deal they've made to get so many plum football and men's basketball games to show nearly 7 days a week.

As for the Versus versus DirecTV debate, trust me, the only thing that will get DirecTVs attention -- or any other satellite or cable provider -- is a mass exodus of their customers to something else. Only a large bleedoff of their customers to something that carries Versus will work. And since DirecTV knows there are, for some unknown reason, 1000s of times the people who want to shell out $3 or $400 a year to watch NFL games than there are who need/want Versus for their hockey fix, until either Versus decides to blink, or the NHL gets involved in a big way (and even that probably isn't enough to make DirecTV quake in their loafers) this ain't getting solved.

 

[thebrain]

Re: Versus on Directv - Enough is Enough!!!

While we are on this discussion, and sending E-Mails to corporations.

Can someone find a contact address at ESPN and FSN to start showing more college hockey games. I know, FSN already does as much as they can, but this could at least get them to never consider dropping college hockey. And I know ESPN might never ever show college hockey games outside of the frozen four, but again, this might make them think twice about it...maybe cover them in post game shows, and definitely not be hesitant towards showing college hockey highlights on ESPN's top 10 plays of the week/day.

What are your thoughts?

Show them money