Versus Lack of Availability on Dish Network Lower Tiers Hits Home

[dangue]

That's all true, but you don't miss part of the Super Bowl or NFL playoff games because you don't get the NFL Network. It's an 8 game package total, so you might have to make alternate arrangements to see one game a year that your local team might play on that network (Assuming you don't get the OTA affiliates from the city the team plays in -- which simulcasts the local team when it's on NFLN). I'm not thrilled about that, but it's a little different from how much hockey you miss if you don't get Versus. And Versus is actually a tier *higher* than the NFL Network (AT250 versus AT200).

This isn't Dish's fault, this is 100% the NHL's fault for signing a contract with Versus that includes playoff games.

Dish and Versus have a contract, I wouldn't expect any changes to Versus' tier location until that contract is up. Now that Versus is part of the larger NBC/Comcast family, they'll likely have more leverage to negotiate better contract terms.

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[empiretc]

sounds like you need to start saving money for a FTA system

 

[Juan]

This isn't Dish's fault, this is 100% the NHL's fault for signing a contract with Versus that includes playoff games.

Dish and Versus have a contract, I wouldn't expect any changes to Versus' tier location until that contract is up. Now that Versus is part of the larger NBC/Comcast family, they'll likely have more leverage to negotiate better contract terms.

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not really The NHL was the reason Versus was created

 

[Yespage]

I can't see Comcast having much in the cards with Versus. They have Le Tour, NHL, some non-NASCAR auto racing. As much as hockey is the greatest sport on the planet, it just doesn't draw well in the US as a whole. The remainder of Versus' lineup isn't too impressive, so I doubt Comcast could play hardball. True hockey fans could very well go to Directv because of the lack of decent Center Ice HD, forget about caring as much about having Versus HD.

I love hockey, enjoy Le Tour, but really Versus is not a mainstream, high ratings, sports channel. If they lost Versus, the anger wouldn't be to widespread, just sport fans who are already angry about Dish's sports priority.

 

[yaz96]

I can't see Comcast having much in the cards with Versus. They have Le Tour, NHL, some non-NASCAR auto racing. As much as hockey is the greatest sport on the planet, it just doesn't draw well in the US as a whole. The remainder of Versus' lineup isn't too impressive, so I doubt Comcast could play hardball. True hockey fans could very well go to Directv because of the lack of decent Center Ice HD, forget about caring as much about having Versus HD.

I love hockey, enjoy Le Tour, but really Versus is not a mainstream, high ratings, sports channel. If they lost Versus, the anger wouldn't be to widespread, just sport fans who are already angry about Dish's sports priority.

You think NBC/Comcast is satisfied with what they have? World Cup, Olympics, Nascar, IndyCar, are just a few off the top of my head they could get the rights to easily.

 

[HanoverPretzel]

This isn't Dish's fault, this is 100% the NHL's fault for signing a contract with Versus that includes playoff games.

I do think the NHL shares some of the blame for this. They should have signed with ESPN. They were in a tough spot, though, because ESPN wanted to pay next to nothing in sports terms and put on only one game a week in the regular season (Whereas Versus pays big money and airs a bunch of games) -- plus both ESPN and Versus didn't want to split a package, each wanted to be the cable home of the NHL (apart from regional sports networks and the non-exclusive games on NHL Network, I guess). But I still think you take the exposure and availability of ESPN over the extra money and games per week Versus can offer.

So I'll definitely grant that the NHL could have made a better decision with this. However, the puck is now on Dish Network's ice. The NHL and Versus had a 10 year contract following up the several years they've already been together. It's a done deal. So, Dish needs to react to the world as it is and make the call that's best for the fans (It's customers).

 

[SpaethCo]

The number of homes penetrated by ESPN is 10 fold higher than Versus

I'm sorry, but this just isn't true.

The last annual statement from Comcast covering dates up to Dec 31, 2009 (Link) showed Versus had 54 million subscribers during the DirecTV scuffle where they couldn't count those viewers. For the same time period DirecTV had 18.5 million subscribers (Link). Since Versus is available in everything except the Family pack, I'll conservatively say 90% of DirecTV subscribers get Versus. This was resolved before the playoffs last year, so that works out to about 70.5 million subscribers for Versus after the DirecTV agreement. For the same time period, ESPN estimated they would reach 100.7 million (Link).

So Versus has 70% the distribution of ESPN, not 10% as you stated.

and the NHL has lamented for years that their sport is fantastic to watch in HD and they just need to be more exposed to the general public. Most hockey fans are stunned that the NHL passed on the opportunity offered them by ESPN.

It's amazing to me how many people think that the NHL going back to EPSN would automatically be a good thing. A brief history would show why the NHL is skeptical about ESPN:

Okay, Let’s Talk About This Like Adults: “How ESPN Nearly Destroyed the NHL on TV” or “Why the NHL Should Never Go Back to ESPN” « Puck The Media

 

[dangue]

I can't see Comcast having much in the cards with Versus. They have Le Tour, NHL, some non-NASCAR auto racing. As much as hockey is the greatest sport on the planet, it just doesn't draw well in the US as a whole. The remainder of Versus' lineup isn't too impressive, so I doubt Comcast could play hardball. True hockey fans could very well go to Directv because of the lack of decent Center Ice HD, forget about caring as much about having Versus HD.

I love hockey, enjoy Le Tour, but really Versus is not a mainstream, high ratings, sports channel. If they lost Versus, the anger wouldn't be to widespread, just sport fans who are already angry about Dish's sports priority.

It's not necessarily a matter of Versus content, it's leveraging the demand for other owned commonly owned NBC/Comcast channels to get a more favorable deal for Versus.

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[dangue]

I do think the NHL shares some of the blame for this. They should have signed with ESPN. They were in a tough spot, though, because ESPN wanted to pay next to nothing in sports terms and put on only one game a week in the regular season (Whereas Versus pays big money and airs a bunch of games) -- plus both ESPN and Versus didn't want to split a package, each wanted to be the cable home of the NHL (apart from regional sports networks and the non-exclusive games on NHL Network, I guess). But I still think you take the exposure and availability of ESPN over the extra money and games per week Versus can offer.

So I'll definitely grant that the NHL could have made a better decision with this. However, the puck is now on Dish Network's ice. The NHL and Versus had a 10 year contract following up the several years they've already been together. It's a done deal. So, Dish needs to react to the world as it is and make the call that's best for the fans (It's customers).

My critique of the NHL isn't particularly related to the regular season portion of the deal; but rather, the playoff side of things. NBA, MLB, NFL all have deals in place to have their playoffs shown on widely available channels (if not outright big four network coverage). The NHL should have sought a similar deal (even if the money was peanuts the added exposure would have been good for the sport. What better time to draw viewers in than during the playoffs?)

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[CK SatGuy]

Both DISH and the NHL need to share some of the blame. First off the NHL decide to make the deal with VS/NBC because Comcast was willing to give the league some better incentives that ESPN wasn't willing to offer. (I forgot what was the exact details) Second, it's DISH's fault for putting it only on AT250 when they should realize by now that VS is becoming increasingly popular. The good news is that Comcast is going to rename VS as "NBC Sports Network" (or something like that) to better compete with ESPN so hopefully by then, when the name of the channel gets changed, DISH will finally put it in a lower package (my guess would be AT120+)

 

[Arse69]

If I was a die hard fan such as you I'd upgrade to Top 250, then go back to current pkg
after team is eliminated.
Your cost would be prorated and it will cost you a $5 downgrade fee when you return to cheaper pkg.

 

[satjay]

If I was a die hard fan such as you I'd upgrade to Top 250, then go back to current pkg
after team is eliminated.
Your cost would be prorated and it will cost you a $5 downgrade fee when you return to cheaper pkg.

I think that many would do that for NFL network as well, I think it's a nice touch that for summer months you can drop down if you want and still have a decent package

 

[Mr Tony]

If I was a die hard fan such as you I'd upgrade to Top 250, then go back to current pkg
after team is eliminated.
Your cost would be prorated and it will cost you a $5 downgrade fee when you return to cheaper pkg.

I thought if you kept the package for 30 days there was no downgrade fee?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I thought if you kept the package for 30 days there was no downgrade fee?

I believe this is correct.

 

[bigwillieb]

I thought if you kept the package for 30 days there was no downgrade fee?

Yep that is right, if programing is changed or removed with in 30 days of the change there is a $5 programing service change fee(that is for non-adult programing and for adult it is $20.). But, after the 30 days there is no fees. Basically just keep it for 30 days and there is no fee. I say that just about every day, so I know it by heart, just like the DISHn'It Up stuff too. LOL
Here's the website with the fee showing, http://www.dishnetwork.com/SupportSection/fees

 

[Mr Tony]

so why doesnt the OP just do that? Unless he is on some weird package

 

[Tampa8]

Because he, like most of the rest of us weren't smart enough to figure that out!!

 

[Doppelbok67]

Look for your bill to increase next time its time to negotiate for Versus, because I have a feeling they're going to demand to be placed in a lower tier.

No, the bill won't increase... well, at least not because of that. If Versus demands an increase and/or to be placed in a lower tier, Dish will just simply drop the channel. Probably after that, NHL CI. Goodbye NHL. Sports just isn't a priority for Dish. Dish has already dropped GOL, MSG, MSG+, and SNY, and refuse to add any other regional sports networks or even FSC+ in HD (even though they charge $14.99 for SD!!)... don't be surprised that when STO, NESN, or the MASNs come up for negotiation, those will disappear soon too. That's just a hunch.

And... I know I'm late to the party with my comment, but I just had to rant a little, lol... :rant:

 

[HanoverPretzel]

If I was a die hard fan such as you I'd upgrade to Top 250, then go back to current pkg
after team is eliminated.
Your cost would be prorated and it will cost you a $5 downgrade fee when you return to cheaper pkg.

so why doesnt the OP just do that? Unless he is on some weird package

The thought had occurred to me. It's definitely not a possibility for these two second round games -- I just made a programming change 2-3 weeks ago, so there'd be an extra fee, and I flat out won't have the money this week (I'm on prepay, so I'd really literally have to have the money right then). If the Caps get to round 3, I haven't ruled out doing it then, but honestly I'm pretty squeezed financially and even a one-time extra $20-$25 makes a financial impact. If that wasn't the case, I'd never have left cable in the first place.

Then there's a larger issue of just feeling squeezed in general. They get you at the gas pump. They get you at the grocery store. The cost of everything is going up, and sometimes you get less back, whether it's that grocery packaging that cuts a few ounces out from the old packaging, or a standard cable/satellite package that used to get you all the hockey playoff games and now doesn't (Granted, that's partially the NHL's fault for signing with Versus). We pay more and get less so rich people can line their pockets further, whether it be the NHL owners, Dish Network, Exxon-Mobile, Comcast, or whomever. Sometimes you just get sick of it all. There's something that's just not right about all of this.

 

[SarKen]

I am not sure of the contract for this year. But, if my home team starts to be only on VS I might upgrade for a month. But, then again I am on 120+ and that would be $20. Maybe I will just go the the bar and give them my money. They have draft specials for only 2 bucks (cheap light beer), I would rather have 10 beers

As a side note take a look at the alt channels. Might get lucky... http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/252564-versus-441-a.html