The battle between DirecTV and VERSUScontinues, even as ratings for the NHL are up on the network
President of the Versus network Jamie Davis said on the NHL Live radio show that ratings are up 30 percent. But, Davis wasn’t on the show to talk about a ratings boost, he was on to talk about a dispute between Versus and DirecTV.
Davis claimed that DirecTV was insisting on a clause to take Versus away from 6 million existing subscribers, then offer the Versus network for an additional fee. DirecTV accused Versus of asking for a 20 percent increase.
"We have an offer to them on the table which is for not one extra penny than what they were paying before, and we're not asking for any extra money or extra distribution," Davis said. "We just wanted to continue on a status-quo deal with no strings attached and they have rejected that."
Davis’s claim that Versus didn’t want more money may contradict a statement by Comcast, who owns Versus. Comcast said in a statement, “Versus offered DirecTV a fair and reasonable offer to carry the network at the market price. We hope DirecTV will make the right decision for their customers and put Versus back on the air."
That’s not what DirecTV says. A statement released by DirecTV after dropping Versus said “Comcast, which owns Versus, has forced us to take down the channel because we will not submit to their unfair and outrageous demands.”
Davis implied in his interview that the two sides could still come to an agreement. "The two sides are talking, that's good news," he said. "If there was no dialogue, that would be really, really bad."
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NESN earned a 3.9 HH rating in the Boston DMA for Saturday’s Bruins – Hurricanes game, the network’s highest rated Bruins season opening broadcast in 25 years of covering the team. NESN’s 3.9 rating was also the highest average household rating recorded in the Boston DMA during the game’s 7:00 PM to10:00 PM window, besting all other broadcast and cable networks.
“Bruins fans have picked up right where they left off after a record setting 2008-2009 season,” said Sean McGrail , NESN President and CEO. “We are delighted to start the season with another strong rating, demonstrating that Bruins fans are excited that hockey is back in season here in Boston .”
NESN’s Bruins pre-game show WB Mason Bruins Faceoff LIVE also reached a major benchmark on Saturday. The season-opening edition generated a 1.1 HH rating in Boston and was seen in 28,000 homes, more than any Bruins pre-game show during the 2008-2009 season.
The network’s previous high rating for a season opening broadcast came on January 23, 1995 when the network earned a 3.8 rating for its first broadcast of that lockout shortened season.
Source: NESN
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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
A new National Hockey League (NHL) season begins on Thursday 1st October live at midnight on ESPN America and for the first time in the UK in high definition on new channel ESPN HD when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This is the first of over 300 live and as-live NHL games to feature on ESPN’s UK television channels during the 2009/10 season, including the four-game CompuWare NHL Premiere games in Stockholm and Helsinki. ESPN America, ESPN and ESPN HD will show the best of the regular season, play-offs and Stanley Cup Final games, as part of their most comprehensive coverage of the world’s premier ice hockey league in the UK ever. In addition, over 1,000 games a season – around 40 games a week – will be available to watch online via subscription at ESPN360.com, either live or on-demand.
This season’s CompuWare NHL Premiere games in Europe come from Stockholm with Detroit Red Wings facing St Louis Blues and Helsinki with Chicago Blackhawks against Florida Panthers. ESPN America will broadcast live double headers on both Friday 2nd October and Saturday 3rd October from 5pm. After the games end in Europe, the NHL heads back to North America where every team will aim to make it to the play-offs and a chance of winning the championship.
Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh Penguins lifted the Stanley Cup for the third time in their history after a tense series that ended 4-3 against the Detroit Red Wings and both those teams are expected to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. With at least seven games a week shown on ESPN America, ESPN, ESPN HD and ESPN360.com throughout the season, there will be more than enough NHL to satisfy even the most hungry hockey fans. The live action will be accompanied by nightly coverage with NHL On The Fly on ESPN America, the NHL Network’s signature show bringing fans NHL highlights from all the games that night insuring viewers will always be up-to-date on all the latest action from around the league.
Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN, Vice President, TV Channels Europe, Middle East and Africa commented: “We are very proud to broadcast the NHL Premiere games live from the Globe Arena in Sweden and Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, the home country of several high profile NHL players. With a big expat community in the UK, we know that fans will also appreciate our authentic coverage for the 300 other games which come directly from the arenas in the US and Canada. We also hope that once sports fans see the quality of our programming from the NHL and other North-American leagues, they will regularly tune into ESPN America, ESPN (HD) and ESPN360.com.”
Select Read More to see ESPN's NHL schedule in the US and International channels such as Sky and Virgin Media
The Washington Capitals will have all of their 82 regular-season games televised during the 2009-10 season, the team announced today in conjunction with its broadcast partner, Comcast SportsNet. Comcast SportsNet will televise 75 games, with 49 games available in high definition.
Coverage plans include 62 games on Comcast SportsNet and 12 games on CSN+. Comcast SportsNet will open its coverage with Washington’s first home game of the year on Saturday, Oct. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Verizon Center at 7 p.m. The game will be complimented by extensive pre- and postgame coverage on the network.
Joe Beninati and former Capital Craig Laughlin return to provide play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, on the local broadcasts, with Al Koken reporting rinkside. Lisa Hillary will also join the broadcast as a reporter.
CSN+ is widely carried by cable and satellite carriers throughout the Comcast SportsNet viewing area. The channel position for CSN+ varies by provider, but all channels are listed on www.csnwashington.com. One game will be carried on The Comcast Network, which is also available to cable and satellite providers in the area.
Versus will broadcast seven games nationally, including Washington’s season opening game on Thursday, Oct. 1 against the Boston Bruins. Versus will also broadcast on Oct. 6 and Oct. 27 vs. Philadelphia, Nov. 17 at N.Y. Rangers, March 8 vs. Dallas and April 5 vs. Boston. On April 6 when Washington plays at Pittsburgh, Versus will broadcast nationally, while CSN will broadcast locally.
DirecTV is threatening to drop VERSUS from the channel line-up on Sept 1 (Tues) when their contract exprires.
VERSUS, who has the exclusive cable rights to the National Hockey League, as well as the IndyCar Series and collegiate sports featuring teams from conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League, is in danger of being dropped by satcaster DirecTV, the largest satellite television provider in the US, when their contract expires this coming Tuesday, Sept. 1. The channel is looking for an increase in rate fees, while DirecTV is looking to keep rates where they currently are. DirecTV has been running a ticker on VERSUS letting viewers know of the provider's intent to drop VERSUS should a deal not be brokered by the deadline.
“Since our last deal with DirecTV, VERSUS has added many marquee properties and has become the fastest growing sports cable network in the country,” VERSUS said in a statement. “Despite this tremendous momentum, we are offering DirecTV the ability to carry VERSUS the same way it does today at the market price for the network. We continue to talk and are hopeful that we will reach an agreement.”
VERSUS is owned by Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider.
Reached for comment, DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer noted that efforts continue to reach a deal before the Tuesday deadline, but made it clear, a rate increase is not favored.
“We are continuing to try and negotiate a fair deal, but we intend to hold the line on our programming costs and protect our customers against unwarranted price increases that may result from Comcast’s demands that we believe are discriminatory and unrealistic given current market realities.”
VERSUS enters the 2009/10 NHL regular season claiming that they are seeing double-digit ratings and viewership growth last year. VERSUS reports that the network saw a 27-percent growth in viewership for the playoffs overall after seeing viewership jump more than 20-percent during the regular season as compared to the year prior. Games 3 and 4 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final were the highest-rated and most-watched telecasts in network history. VERSUS also noted that those games were the most watched Final round on cable since 2002. Additionally, VERSUS aired the highest-rated Conference Semifinal and Conference Final rounds on cable in more than a decade.
DirecTV counters that those ratings are not as significant as they seem.
“Versus' overall ratings are poor and have not increased nearly enough to justify what we're paying now, let alone the significant fee hike Comcast is demanding,” said Mercer. “And ratings increases, such as they are, off a low base are not necessarily that meaningful.”
DirecTV cites Nielsen Media Research data showing VERSUS is only averaging 3,000 more viewers at any given time in 2008-2009 compared to 2006-2007, when they rebranded from Outdoor Life Network (OLN). For DirecTV’s selection of channels, DTV claims VERUS ranked 61st among 74 English ad supported cable nets in the DirecTV universe.
For fans of the NHL, they may not see a need to panic, should negotiations not yield a new agreement for carriage of VERUS on DirecTV by Tuesday. The first scheduled game for the network is opening night on Oct 1 with the Capitals visiting the Bruins. All told, VERSUS has a slate of 54 regular season games, as well as Stanley Cup playoff games, and Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The real pain inflicted for sports fans may be those that are interested in college football games carried on VERSUS. The network has confirmed several Mountain West and Ivy League conference games including Texas at Wyoming on Sept. 12 (3:30 PM ET), Florida State at BYU on Sept. 19 (7:00 PM ET), and Cornell at Yale on Sept 26 (12:00 PM).
As to whether a deal will be brokered in time, sources indicate that tensions are high in the negotiations. But, as one close to the activity said, they believed a deal would be reached by the 11th hour. “VERSUS has made considerable in-roads over the last year,” the source said. “But, at the end of the day, VERSUS needs to continue to grow their footprint, and cannot do so without DirecTV.”
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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).
CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA has announced a 76-game regular season broadcast schedule for the 2009-10 season, headlined by 25 all-Canadian matchups.
CBC’s 57th regular season makes its debut Thursday, Oct. 1, with an Original Six matchup between the Montreal Canadiens at the Toronto Maple Leafs, at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Calgary Flames hosting the Vancouver Canucks, at 10 p.m. The action continues on Saturday, Oct. 3, as Scotiabank Hockey Tonight makes its regular season debut, at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by four more big matchups: Toronto at Washington, Montreal at Buffalo and Ottawa at NY Rangers, at 7 p.m. ET (distribution TBD), with Calgary taking on Edmonton, at 10 p.m. ET.
The 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins make their first of four appearances on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA when they face-off against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. ET, followed by a Western Conference matchup, at 10 p.m. ET, between Montreal and Edmonton.
Other highlights from CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA 2009-10 broadcast schedule include: the Scotiabank Hockey Tonight pre-game show with host Ron MacLean, Saturday night doubleheaders all season long and marquee games, including the 2009Hall of Fame Game, on Nov. 7, the Canadiens 100th AnniversaryGame versus the Bruins, the NHL Winter Classic from Fenway Park and the 10th annual TIM HORTONS HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA from Stratford, Ont. The season culminates with the 2010Stanley Cup Playoffs and exclusive coverage of the 2010Stanley Cup Final. Additional games may be added to CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast schedule closer to the start of the season.
Viewers of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA regular season coverage will again be able to watch the CBC game of their choice with live and on-demand online video streaming of all games, including Scotiabank Hockey Tonight and CBC’sHockey Night in Canada I-Desk—all available at CBCSports.ca.
Hockey fans can visit CBCSports.ca 24 hours a day, seven days a weekfor live and on-demand video streaming of all games as well as comprehensive NHL coverage, including weekly columns and insider Twitter updates from CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA personalities, breaking news, in-depth reports, broadcast schedules and more.
Complete broadcast details for the upcoming season of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA will be available in the coming weeks.
Select Read More to see the 2009 CBC HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast schedule
The National Hockey League and NBC Sports today announced an extension through the 2010-11 season of their successful revenue-sharing partnership -- one that has achieved viewership milestones, programming and production innovations, awards and critical acclaim. The joint announcement was made by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Ken Schanzer, President, NBC Sports.
"The NHL/NBC partnership has been terrific. Our association has led to such technical innovations as the 'Inside the Glass' reporting and to such programming advancements as the extremely popular Winter Classic," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final was broadcast television's most-watched hockey game in 36 years, which makes clear the NHL and NBC are building an audience, are building momentum and are perfectly positioned to continue growing the game."
Schanzer said: "We're thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with the NHL and build on all the positive momentum on and off the ice. Together, we have attained viewership milestones not seen in more than three decades. And the Winter Classic, in just two years, has become one of the highlights of the sports calendar. We strongly believe this is a league that is poised for continued growth."
NBC Sports' 2010 NHL coverage begins on New Year's Day with the third annual NHL Winter Classic. They will also continue to broadcast games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs and up to five Stanley Cup Final games.
The revenue-sharing partnership between NBC and the NHL was announced in May 2004, launched in January 2006 and previously extended in 2007 and 2008.
Source: National Hockey League, NBC Sports
Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
A new National Hockey League (NHL) season begins on Thursday 1st October live at midnight on ESPN America and for the first time in the UK in high definition on new channel ESPN HD when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.
