Chat with League Pass, pt. ii
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 16, 2008 10:14 PM CST
8 comments
I've already shared with you part i of my odyssey with League Pass Broadband. Now it's part ii.
This time around I tried to get a friendly Turner Sports customer service rep to tell me about what regulations or policies dictate the IP address requirements for paying customers who are too far away from the arena for broadcast TV or radio but who aren't far enough to be able to watch all of the games on line they thought they paid for with the broadband service. Here's a little sample:
12:23:33natearch
ok, so can you please tell me how the nba would like me to watch my favorite team?12:24:00Jesse
On TV.12:24:28i've told you, i don't have cable; are you telling me the NBA wants me to buy additional cable service to watch their product?12:24:43to include games that are on free broadcast tv in the twin cities?12:26:16yes, no?12:26:50I have said this before if it is on TV in your area it will be Blacked out. Even if you have to pay extra to get it is still available to you to access. Those are the blackout rules set by the NBA.
12:32:58is there any point to this at all?12:33:15or should i simply take the illegal and lazy route and watch it on justin.tv?12:33:38well it is not pirated streams this is legally authorized by the NBA.12:33:42i'd really like to pay for the product. it's given away for free in the twin cities on channel 4512:33:57i'm sure you can find that regulation12:34:21how can i address this problem if i don't even know what regulates it?12:34:26where do i get that info?12:35:00This chat is becoming unproductive, Is there any thing else I can help you with?12:35:38unproductive? really. i'm trying to find information that will allow me to legally watch the NBA's product and it's unproductive to you?12:36:16the NBA: where unproductiveness happens
natearch
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We have very similar problems with Comcast not doing deals with local providers in Oregon
I can see more NBA games now in Europe than there via league pass broadband: No blackouts ;-)
by Norsktroll on Dec 17, 2008 12:33 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
whoa I can't believe he went all caps on you!
That is really insane. I was actually begrudgingly starting to like the guy – I just loved the line where he said “this chat is becoming unproductive” – I was thinking how cool it would be to say that in a café, just talking to a friend… ;) But the all caps is insane. I guess those customer service jobs must suck, but…
by plinytheelder on Dec 17, 2008 1:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
idd, the caps is like :o. You could try using “hotspotshield”, though off course it would be just as illegal (well, maybe a little less) than just watching illegal streams.
I guess these guys/girls must have that kind of questions all day long. I think the best you’ll be able to get out of it is a refund. For a league that wants to bring it’s product to as many people as possible they sure are selective about who can watch their product at what price…
Beater of the early Thabeet drum
by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 17, 2008 2:11 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
You're exactly right with the last sentence...
…you can watch but you can’t mess with cable rights.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 17, 2008 7:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I think it haw more to do with
the fact that the service provider changed from Time warner to Turner Sprots. Time warner doesn’t own and NBA team, or hold broadcast rights to nba games on cable. Turner Network does. there for Turner Networks make more money selling ad spots on tv then they do form the League pass and therefore they would prefere you to watch it on tv, thus increasing the money they can charge for ad spots and thus increasing their revenue. Time Warner does not care about the ad revenue of the broadcast games since they don’t own the broadcast rights like Turner Networks does.
So the reason you can’t watch the games leagally is because turner stands to make more money if you are forced to watch it on tv instead of over the net.
Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?
by the Real Thor on Dec 17, 2008 7:20 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I agree with the reasoning...
….but not the conclusion. They won’t lose any money if they make it available on line without restrictions. Anyone who can Google can figure out how to watch these games for free. If someone is going to watch on line, they’ll do so. I don’t think they lose any money here. They’re just pissing people off who want to watch games and are willing to pay. I’m not going to pay for this crap service ever again. No cable money, no broadband money.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 17, 2008 7:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't know...
I think a lot of people who have cable do it to get one or two things they specifically KNOW they will really enjoy. For me if I had money to burn I’d have cable and dvr mainly because I wanted to watch the NBA. if I could get a feed for $100 that worked well enough that I could attach my laptop the tv and really get the same watching experience I would likely do that instead.
The effect of that would be at least $300 bucks less spent. I realize that isn’t going to the NBA but it flows downhill (or is it uphill). Comcast pays Turner $X per subscriber based on what comcast perceives Turner brings them and Turner pays $X to the NBA based on how much added value the NBA’s content can get them from Comcast. That flow is the bread and butter of NBA broadcasting revenue and it really isn’t that shocking that they aren’t willing to crap on a few die hards so as not to screw that up.
These same principles apply to cable not allowing an a la cart pricing, but that is a discussion for a different day.
The really annoying thing in the above conversation is that Jesse was dancing around saying “We require people who want to fully follow the NBA to have a cable subscription.” That statement would have pissed you off but it is the truth.
by Pants_ on Dec 17, 2008 7:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Again...
…I agree with the reasoning but not the conclusion. A’la carte is the elephant in the digital media room and these jokers are going to cling to a business model that is rapidly becoming obsolete. Between my xbox 360 (netflix), apple tv, and high speed internet I can watch pretty much any show I want on TV without paying for cable. I’m not even talking illegal streams. I can get what I need from the content providers myself. Turner has an opportunity for a far more direct revenue flow than being part of a cable package with a’la carte NBA games. I’d write a check to Turner and the NBA if it allowed me to watch the games. So would you. I get that this is being driven by the packaged channels that no body really watches (TBN, this means you) but it’s coming one way or the other and customers really, really want it.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 17, 2008 8:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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