Dish question

[Stoner]

OK, some of you can sleep easier -- I'm having DirecTV installed next Wednesday, hopefully in time to get the Sabres-Canes game that night.

 

How often will I get Rick and Jim and how often the dreaded out of town hacks? Does it matter where you live which feed you get? (The MSG feed on the satellite won't have Sabres games, right?)

[SDS]

How often will I get Rick and Jim... (The MSG feed on the satellite won't have Sabres games, right?)

 

an earlier thread said about 40% of the time...

[Sabremark]

It's good to see that you're letting the moths out of the wallet to purchase DirecTV. It's money well spent, especially with TiVo.

 

More often than not, we get the out of town feed, especially against Canadian teams. Sometimes we get neither feed, but the TSN feed. I can't figure out any rhyme or reason as to which feed is chosen. It doesn't matter where you live unless the Sabres play in your hometown, and the home feed will always come through.

[Rock DJ]

For the first few years after it started, you would get both feeds off the sports channels and the home town feed off center ice. Then it was just the hometown feeds, with the sports channel of the visiting team (Empire if Buff) being blocked out.

 

This year there has been no method to the madness that I can see. Best guess is that it's been going by most established... TSN battling with MSG for top spot, NESN a close third, on down the line to the lowly afterthought, MSG II or whatever you want to call it.

So honestly, i have NO clue......

 

On a side note, it's ABOUT TIME PA!!!!!!!!!! :D

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Generally speaking, you get the Sabres feed about 1/3 of the time.

 

As far as which games get what feed, here goes.

 

First, Montreal does not televise its home games in English - so you always get visitor feed for Montreal home games.

 

Second, Chicago does not televise home games at all - so you always get visitor feed.

 

Third, Philadelphia (Comcast Philadelphia, also Flyers owner) refuses to give permission to air these telecasts on satellite (Comcast Cable is a direct competitior of satellite) - so you always get opposing team feed.

 

Fourth, many teams (ex. Ottawa & Atlanta) only televise about half of their games - so you get opposing team feed.

 

This leaves the remaining providers to televise the games.

 

The NHL does not have a "Directv Contract". Instead, Directv has a contract with NHL to offer "Center Ice", then Directv makes individual agreements with the individual sports networks to show their stuff on Directv. Since some networks are cheaper than others, so they are shown more often.

 

For example, the CBC feed has one of the lowest rates. Therefore, you get the Saturday Hockey Night in Canada feed about 99% of the time.

 

Sportsnet and TSN and Leafs TV (Canada) also have low rates.

 

MSG (Buffalo feed) has one of the higher rates (about 6th highest).

 

Hope this helps.

[Taro T]

Generally speaking, you get the Sabres feed about 1/3 of the time.

 

As far as which games get what feed, here goes.

 

...

 

The NHL does not have a "Directv Contract". Instead, Directv has a contract with NHL to offer "Center Ice", then Directv makes individual agreements with the individual sports networks to show their stuff on Directv. Since some networks are cheaper than others, so they are shown more often.

 

For example, the CBC feed has one of the lowest rates. Therefore, you get the Saturday Hockey Night in Canada feed about 99% of the time.

 

Sportsnet and TSN and Leafs TV (Canada) also have low rates.

 

MSG (Buffalo feed) has one of the higher rates (about 6th highest).

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I did not know that DirecTV chooses feeds based on price, but it makes a ton of sense.

 

IIRC, Comcast picked up the regional network that broadcast the Caps games and maybe 1 or 2 more. Do you know by any chance how long those networks existing contracts with DirecTV are for? I was trying to find out if games like Philly - Caps would be blacked out to DirecTV CI in the near future.

[hopeleslyobvious]

Actually is DirecTV even making the decisions? I don't think DirecTV is the actual provider of Center Ice. I have CI and I have cable. I am pretty sure the cable company gets it from In Demand. Since the package has the same name, and we always get the same feed, I would have to imagine that DirecTV does as well.