Raptors Announce 2010-11 Broadcast Schedule aka the TSN II Fiasco All Over Again
You know that classic quote, "those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat their mistakes in the future?"
Well it's pretty appropriate at this moment as the Toronto Raptors broadcast schedule was released about a half hour ago.
All 82 games will be broadcast in High Def and televised nationally, with TSN and TSN2 televising 47 Raptors contests across Canada, including the conference finals and select playoff games, NBA All-Star Weekend coverage, including the 60th annual All-Star Game on February 20 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and exclusive Canadian coverage of the NBA Finals.
Rogers Sportsnet and its new national sports channel Sportsnet One will be the home for 35 Raptors regular season games. It will also air at least 35 regular season contests and have the broadcast rights to 22 NBA playoff games, as well as Toronto's match-ups in England against the New Jersey Nets.
Aka, here we go again.
Just like the TSN II mess, now Raptors' fans who don't have access to this station will be up a creek without a paddle. There's probably sound economics behind their decision, but at face value, I can't for the life of me understand why the team wants to make it harder for fans to watch this team.
Especially considering what could be a rough season, and the television ratings for the club as is.
In any event, more to come on this for sure, but definitely frustrating for those without the channel who were looking forward to a full 82 game HD spread.
On a final note, back calling the action this year for the Raps will be Matt Devlin, who again will be joined by cronies Leo Rautins (on Sportsnet and Sportsnet One channels) and Jack Armstrong (TSN and TSN2.)
I'd say this wasn't a good thing, but after watching Canada's performance at the World's I'd argue it's better than having Leo coach.
over 1 year ago
Adam Francis
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No Score?
No games on the Score? That’s too bad, I prefer their coverage. Oh well, as long as continue to do Courtsurfing then it’s all good.
It is a shame that the Score’s not involved as really, if there’s one station that has catered to basketball fans more than any other, it’s The Score. They continue to do this with their online presence (Holly MacKenzie, adding The Basketball Jones etc) but it sounds like their TV coverage in this respect will be diminished. We’re trying to talk with someone at the station actually to get their take on why they’re not involved this year…stay tuned.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
they do care
I remember I saw some court cuts of DWade that were really good, but I couldn’t find them on the website. I emailed the Score, and they sent me 4 copies each of Dwade, Lebron, Kobe and Bosh’s court cuts for that year for free. They even paid the shipping.
Luckily, only 23 of those 35 are on the new channel – including one of the overseas games.
Unfortunately, 4 of the 1st 7 games are on SN1 – so if there is a delay like last year, we’ll be missing games early and often. Oh, and the last game of the year (Miami) is also on SN1.
Does anyone know...
Which if any of the cable providers have worked out a deal with Sportsnet? Last time it was Bell users that were in the clear but Rogers users weren’t. Is it a similiar situation, or have neither picked up the channel yet?
Jays Fans are going through this all right now
As of right now, only Rogers customers can get Sportsnet1, which is carrying like 1/2 of the remaining Jays games. So, the majoirty of fans are unable to get the games. Bell Customers, Shaw Customers, Cogeco Customers, Starchoice Customers, etc.
The viewership of hte first Jays game on the new channel was down 94% from the season average. Best part, Rogers owns the Jays. They are screwing themselves over by this.
Anyway, by the time the NBA season starts, it will likely be sorted all out.
There She Gooooooes!
I hope so – just hard to understand why sports teams put their fans through this sort of thing.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
Phew I'm with Rogers too
But I feel for all the other subscribers because I had to go through this with the TSN2 fiasco. I really don’t understand why a team would want to alienate themselves from a large chunk of their fanbase. They spend all this effort in trying to promote the Raptors across Canada and overseas, and then they throw in, by the way if you aren’t with Rogers, you don’t get to watch the following games…
Oh and another year of Matt calling Sonny, “Money” Weems and screwing up the commentary. My favourite was when he had absolutely no idea why a whistle was blown, so he wouldn’t say anything; it made you realize that it was alot nicer when he wasn’t talking.
My favorite Matt Devlin comment last year:
On opening night, just before tip off, he spewed this gem: “Leeeeettttt’s NBA!!”
What?!?!? Let’s NBA??? That doesn’t even make sense!!! NBA isn’t a verb! LOL
For the record
“let’s NBA” is an Internet meme-thingy
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/HiPwtMhw52c/SFLfPjQvUnI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/Jb6zQv6ABXA/s1600-h/Page2.jpg
When I heard that, thought devlin was cool for a second… But no
by axl t on Sep 1, 2010 11:08 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The good thing about the channel that shall not be named is that some folks will have the blessing of not hearing Devlin and Leo doing a broadcast.
Come on Toronto Sports Teams. If you can’t give us decent teams, can you at least give us good TV crews? Devlin and Leo are crap. Buck Martinez is crap. Joe Bowen is the best of the bunch but I’m tired of his schtick. (What the hell does a small city in Michigan have to do with the Leafs?)
Just had an online chat with a Bell Rep....Doesn't look promising
The response was “Sorry at this time we are not going to be offering that channel”. When I suggested they will lose customers (myself included), I received the curt response “I’m very sorry to hear that”. No suggestion that they are doing what they can to negotiate with Rogers, or that they will continue to pursue the matter….the response was a simple we’re sorry if you shop elsewhere.
Great. So it IS the same mess all over again. Time to talk to the Raps to get some answers on why they would go down this road again.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
That would be great if you could use your contacts there to try and get some kind of response…this is ridiculous.
+1
Let them know that if many Bell customers are going to miss 23 games and the team is going to suck, a lot of people (me included) may just sit this season out. Way to go Raptors, not only do you screw your fans 1 year, but you go back and DO THE SAME EXACT THING next season. Seriously it’s like a slap in the face of the fan base.
please just keep a Spanish player on the team
JC, Rubio, Fernandex, Garbo…. Just pick anyone andthey’ll have C+ showing most of the games live….
I really hope they keep JC… Not sure why tho…
by axl t on Sep 1, 2010 11:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Feeling for you renato – hoping they do too to ensure that you get your fix of Raps ball this season.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
the next best thing would be to have NBA streaming in HD
but NBA is trailing football in this respect
im glad i have rogers!
Rogers this year is the best to have…I have all games covered…obviously sportsnet and their new channel because its owned by rogers…and then tsn2 they got last year.
My advice…switch to rogers and u will be fine…even tho I hate them.
by Blanco on Sep 1, 2010 6:16 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
That's great if you have Rogers in your area
My choices right now are Bell and Cogeco and neither have Sportsnet one right now. Grrrrrrrrr.
Unfortunately cable is a monopoly in Canada
It’s not like you can choose Rogers over another cable company. The whole country is divided into areas and within each area there’s only one cable company allowed. If you are not in a Rogers area and have Rogers cable, you’re screwed. The only way you can see the game would be through a dubious internet feed.
that's not true
In most of GTA you can choose Bell or Rogers. I’m not sure about more rural areas, but that’s the case here.
Bell isn’t cable though, it is satellite. So for example, if you live in a building they may not let you get Bell so your choices are Rogers or nothing.
This was the case...
However Bell’s new IPTV or “Fibe” TV is now available in Toronto and its pretty cutting edge…
Cables are monopolies
In TO, yes you can get Rogers. In other parts of the GTA like Oakville and Burlington, its Cogeco….Rogers is not an option.
They should put six games on the Score
Five on CBC, and another half-dozen or so on the Raptor channel. That way we’d never know which channel to turn to and would have the maximum chance of watching something else instead.
I've been looking at the sky
And that’s another good question – what happened to the CBC? I thought they had the best HD coverage of the lot!
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
Yea they did...
I could pull CBC HD broadcasts of the Raptors games for free with a digital antenna.
so let me get this straight..
raptors TV will no longer be showing raptors games.
You can tell a franchise that cares about its fans!!
I’m sick of being jerked around by the Yahoo’s at MLSE. They are not interested in their fans, just in making money. Why would a franchise give distribution rights to effectively a regional sports channel. It’s just garbage!
what i dont understand is..
Why doesn’t raptors TV show raptor games now? I mean I really don’t feel like watching replay or game in a hour..maybe their thinking this team is gonna be crap this year and think the ratings will be garbage..I hope that’s not what their thinking hell we all know this team is gonna struggle this year but at least it’ll be a team we can all watch and see them grow together through the good and bad times this year….this situation is a damn joke
by sherwin316 on Sep 2, 2010 4:45 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I would think that showing Raptors games would be like selling their content to themselves, they don’t make any money on it except for advertising. TSN/Sportsnet pay the Raptors to broadcast games, so I assume that is a lot better from the team’s financial perspective(ie. guaranteed rights fees vs questionable advertising dollars).
BAHAHAHAHA
Unintentional comedy gold!!
http://video.sky.it/?bclid=1571609790&bctid=601323744001#video
Disgruntled in Halifax
I’m an Eastlink subscriber in Halifax. Looks like I’ll get all of 22 games this year, because Eastlink’s cable package does not include RSN, TSN2, or Sportsnet One. Not sure how I can possibly get access to Raps games here without paying a crapload more for cable or getting a satellite dish. Ironically, basketball is the only reason I got cable.
@benjibopper
I found during the TSN2 fiasco that there were a couple of sites online where you could watch the games streamed through someone’s cable box over the internet. I can’t remember the urls but I could dig a little if you were interested. The games were obviously a little choppy and some feeds were better than others, but if you really want to watch the games i found it wasn’t too bad if I streamed through my PS3 or laptop onto a big screen.
Much appreciated. I know of justintv and atdhe.net, but if you know any others it couldn’t hurt to have options, given that it’s hit or miss with online streaming.
I’m wondering if it’s worth buying an all-NBA pass thingy. Anyone tried one of those?
Gotta be careful with NBA pass – if the game is being broadcast locally (even if you don’t get the channel) it gets blacked out on NBA pass. I suspect ‘locally’ means Canada in this case. But check with someone who has it for sure – I am commenting based on hearsay.
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