Dish tennis viewers were left in the dark
By Tom Hoffarth, Staff Writer
http://www2.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3012395
Most local satellite dish owners Wednesday night may have been on the edge of their seats watching the climactic set of Andre Agassi's eventual comeback over James Blake in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, but all they were left with was trying to solve a murder on "Law & Order."
USA Network broadcasters Ted Robinson and John McEnroe informed viewers at about 9:15 p.m. (PDT) that the network would continue showing the match to those in the Pacific time zone, but those in other parts of the country needed to eventually switch over to their CBS affiliate since that network has exclusivity starting at 12:37 a.m. (EDT) this week.
Those in the West with DirecTV or the Dish Network, however, suddenly had an episode of "Law & Order" pop up on USA Network, which carries an East Coast feed to all parts of the country on those dish services.
According to USA Network spokesman Brian Walker, the network, which is owned by NBC Universal, made a request through the U.S. Tennis Association to see if CBS could allow it continue to show that match live on that national dish feed. CBS, which was its right, did not grant it.
Those with cable TV who receive the USA Network West feed were not affected and saw the conclusion live. Those with a dish had to wait three hours before KCBS-Channel 2 had the tape delay at 12:37 p.m. PDT.
"We just got caught in the middle of a contractual agreement between CBS and USA," said DirecTV spokesman Bob Marsocci.
USTA spokesman David Newman said any dispute between the networks is regrettable but "each have terms of exclusivity, which we respect. With the sheer volume of hours of tennis this tournament has, we need two networks. The problem Wednesday was the matches started late, all were marquee matchups, and all went long." Some DirecTV and Dish Network viewers were able to circumvent the problem Wednesday because they had access to a CBS East Coast feed on their systems. Viewers can petition dish companies with what's called a distant-market waiver to have over-the-air channels from the East Coast added for a extra cost to their service - a process that can take up to two months and isn't always granted. CBS and ABC allow such waivers; NBC and Fox currently do not. - Tom Hoffarth
By Tom Hoffarth, Staff Writer
http://www2.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3012395
Most local satellite dish owners Wednesday night may have been on the edge of their seats watching the climactic set of Andre Agassi's eventual comeback over James Blake in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, but all they were left with was trying to solve a murder on "Law & Order."
USA Network broadcasters Ted Robinson and John McEnroe informed viewers at about 9:15 p.m. (PDT) that the network would continue showing the match to those in the Pacific time zone, but those in other parts of the country needed to eventually switch over to their CBS affiliate since that network has exclusivity starting at 12:37 a.m. (EDT) this week.
Those in the West with DirecTV or the Dish Network, however, suddenly had an episode of "Law & Order" pop up on USA Network, which carries an East Coast feed to all parts of the country on those dish services.
According to USA Network spokesman Brian Walker, the network, which is owned by NBC Universal, made a request through the U.S. Tennis Association to see if CBS could allow it continue to show that match live on that national dish feed. CBS, which was its right, did not grant it.
Those with cable TV who receive the USA Network West feed were not affected and saw the conclusion live. Those with a dish had to wait three hours before KCBS-Channel 2 had the tape delay at 12:37 p.m. PDT.
"We just got caught in the middle of a contractual agreement between CBS and USA," said DirecTV spokesman Bob Marsocci.
USTA spokesman David Newman said any dispute between the networks is regrettable but "each have terms of exclusivity, which we respect. With the sheer volume of hours of tennis this tournament has, we need two networks. The problem Wednesday was the matches started late, all were marquee matchups, and all went long." Some DirecTV and Dish Network viewers were able to circumvent the problem Wednesday because they had access to a CBS East Coast feed on their systems. Viewers can petition dish companies with what's called a distant-market waiver to have over-the-air channels from the East Coast added for a extra cost to their service - a process that can take up to two months and isn't always granted. CBS and ABC allow such waivers; NBC and Fox currently do not. - Tom Hoffarth
