FARK.com: (1723139) Dish Network responds to OLN's yanking of NHL games by yanking OLN

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		Dish Network responds to OLN's yanking of NHL games by yanking OLN (stocks.wired.com)		101
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18189 clicks; posted to Main » on 21 Oct 2005 at 10:22 AM | Favorite | share:

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mathmatix		2005-10-21 09:48:29 AM

well they seemed like the lil kid in the room of adults when it came to coverage of an actual sport.

/personally dont care hockey turned me against it

tnpir		2005-10-21 09:48:32 AM

Of all the meaningless pissing matches going on right now, this is truly pathetic.

strangeguitar		2005-10-21 10:03:20 AM

I've only recently acquited OLN on my cable system (Comcast), and the shows were horrible. One thing that was sorta sneaky was the banter back and forth on the huntiung shows. they slipped alot of "Lord" and "Jesus" talk as they were slaughtering the featured animal.
Hockey was a bizarre programming choice.

Transcriptman		2005-10-21 10:25:14 AM

Great news for OUTD (outdoor channel)!

damitjim		2005-10-21 10:26:11 AM

I'm guessing some big wig at Dish Network is a hockey fan.

mekkab		2005-10-21 10:28:31 AM

It sounds like Comcast started this pissing match and Dish network said "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

Err, "screw you guys, get out of my house."

strangeguitar: Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammo!

br4dh4x0r		2005-10-21 10:28:52 AM

Now how am I supposed to watch two inbred rednecks hunt at 4am?

Oh right. Look out my window.

:(

88WVU93		2005-10-21 10:31:38 AM

I like what they are doing with their hockey coverage. The closer camera angles are different but not too bad. I am all for networks covering sports that are not named Fox or ESPN.

strangeguitar		2005-10-21 10:37:46 AM

mekkab, HA!
\nice

OregonVet		2005-10-21 10:42:18 AM

I can't wait until DirectTV loses their exclusive contract with the NFL. Although I almost never want to see a game not on local TV....

Shadowspawn		2005-10-21 10:44:43 AM

people stream it.

C1ofUnknown		2005-10-21 10:44:59 AM

First, they refuse to even carry YES, then they drop OLN with hockey. Meaning when I'm home from college, I can't watch the Yankees or hockey depending on the time of the year, but can someone tell me how hockey is considered "Outdoor Life"?

syberpud		2005-10-21 10:46:58 AM

2005-10-21 10:03:20 AM strangeguitar

I've only recently acquited OLN on my cable system (Comcast), and the shows were horrible.

OLN is certainly strange. A few years ago it was a mix of redneck outdoor activities (hunting, fishing) and yuppie outdoor activities (sailing, cycling, and "adventure racing"). Then realizing the redneck pays more (I assume), the switched over to "all bull riding, all the time".

I used to watch OLN for the cycling (being a rider myself), but the cut coverage down to only the races Lance Armstrong will win. Then they brought in Survivor re-runs (who in the hell watches that?), and I stopped caring.

When the NHL starting playing, I thought OLN would be cool again. I was wrong - their production values suck. Reminds me of local coverage in the 90's. So I still really don't care.

InflatableJesus		2005-10-21 10:51:43 AM

Is is just me or are cable channels getting more and more random, straying from their supposed "theme"?

Outdoor Life Network is showing hockey games (or was anyway).
The Discovery Channel is showing Monster Garage.
The Learning Channel is showing decorating shows.
Somehow, The Nashville Network morphed into Spike TV, and now Country Music Television is showing reruns of Dukes of Hazzard.
VH-1 is now the "I Love the '80s" network.
Networks like ESPN and Court TV are showing movies, and I once saw a farkin' Scrabble tournament on ESPN2.

Don't even get me started on Music Television.

MBA_Honey		2005-10-21 10:51:47 AM

Isn't OLN a Canadian Channel? Seems like they show a lot of motorX races that are in Canada. That might anwswer the question as to why OLN is carrying hockey this season.

jodaro55		2005-10-21 10:53:09 AM

OregonVet:
NFL coverage on DirecTV is done by local programming. They show the coverage that would be shown if you were in that region.

MBA_Honey		2005-10-21 10:54:17 AM

Okay apparently it's in CT, but they do a lot of coverage of Canadian sports eh.

Fishflinger		2005-10-21 10:54:25 AM

Dish Network to keep it up.
Don't let the networks or Comcast make the rules.

theexpobill		2005-10-21 10:55:44 AM

C1?

cant answer that one, but what does Mike Emerick do when da' Devils are playing mon/tues but not on OLN?
/missed les Bruins/Habs cuz our cable offers OLN at an extra cost?!?

mrdctaylor		2005-10-21 10:56:38 AM

I like the fact that Charlie Ergen (CEO of Dish/Echostar) doesn't take shiat from networks. If you RTFA, you'll see that OLN does carry hockey, but they were blackmailing Dish by refusing to SHOW the hockey games unless Dish put them on their cheaper package (i.e. their Top 120) instead of where they currently are (Dish's Top 180). They were trying to threaten Dish into putting them into more homes, and Dish said: "Fine, you won't be in any homes if you are going to play that way."

Charlie Ergen doesn't take crap. Good for him.

/Dish customer for 5+ years.

ulfrikr		2005-10-21 10:56:46 AM

This pisses me off. Hockey is not an "Outdoor" sport anymore, being played primarily in indoor arenas, rather than on frozen ponds.
I watched OLN for the hunting and fishing shows. I am -not- an "inbred redneck" nor am I a god-botherer.
Most of the time, I chose shows playing on OUTD, but it was nice to have some variety and choice in OLN.
I hope it comes back after a brief "negotiation" like the Comcast situation a while back.

Rnar		2005-10-21 10:56:48 AM

Someone really needs to make a television service in which channels can subscribed to 'a la carte'. I'm so tired of having a ton of channels I'll never watch because I want the other ones. "I'll take Discovery, Food Network, Cartoon Network, and Comedy Central. No I don't want your fifty channels of white noise and infomercials. Thanks."

/Course it'll never happen.
//That's cause cable companies are horribly greedy bastiches.
///We hates them.
////Course I still have cable.

mrdctaylor		2005-10-21 10:58:28 AM

Dish would love to offer channels a la carte, but I believe there are federal regulations against it. I could be wrong, but I believe I've heard that they are trying to get these laws changed.

KayakDude		2005-10-21 11:00:49 AM

syberpud

OLN is certainly strange. A few years ago it was a mix of redneck outdoor activities (hunting, fishing) and yuppie outdoor activities (sailing, cycling, and "adventure racing"). Then realizing the redneck pays more (I assume), the switched over to "all bull riding, all the time".

I used to watch OLN for the cycling (being a rider myself), but the cut coverage down to only the races Lance Armstrong will win. Then they brought in Survivor re-runs (who in the hell watches that?), and I stopped caring.

You nailed it man!
I started watching OLN for "Le Tour de France" and I always wondered how come this channel could mix that with hunting, bullriding and BarBQ competitions?!!

/rider too
//maybe rider wannabe is more appropriate

JackStraw22		2005-10-21 11:01:37 AM

Rnar: //That's cause cable companies are horribly greedy bastiches.

While I agree that the cable companies are greedy, I think the channels themselves would be more opposed to an a la carte type service. Most of them require the cable companies to carry 3 or 4 channels to get 1. (see ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, at least when they first started)

Glock17		2005-10-21 11:03:23 AM

If Echostar and Charlie Ergern continue to screw with subscribers I'm going to switch to Direct TV.

I upgraded the package to get the hockey games and now they pull it.

Diogenes		2005-10-21 11:03:52 AM

Rnar: Even if providers, of whatever sort, offer a la carte, they still screw you in the pricing.

I just moved and couldn't take my Bellsouth services with me and had to choose Sprint. They offer their phone services a la carte, but it's more expensive than choosing one of their bundles.

LesserEvil		2005-10-21 11:04:18 AM

The idiot in the NHL front office who thought it was a GOOD IDEA to give OLN the TV contract needs to be put in front of a goal, naked, while the top 5 shooters from each team (yes, including all those damn expansion teams) get three slapshots apiece.

...then each of the teams' "tough guys" get to take a whack at earning 5 minutes in the penalty box with the guy.

ChrisPC		2005-10-21 11:05:16 AM

It's easy to get the two confused. OLN is a bit more upscale, and is actually from the Northeast, not the South. They have quite a bit of Canadian sports.

The Outdoor Channel has horrible production values. It's usually some redneck out in the woods with a cheap camera. There's also a cheesy show about gold prospecting. Ironically, they're coming out with an HD channel!

joycem10		2005-10-21 11:05:46 AM

As a Dish 'top 120' subscriber im kinda torn. Id like to see OLN leverage its way onto the cheaper cable package, but not if its going to cost me an additional amount a month. Plus I can watch my Pens on FSN and UPN. Of course they suck and I wouldnt mind seeing some national action for a change.

OLN's production values are roughly equivalent to a high school football game on local cable access. The sets look to have bee designed and built by a drunken McKenzie brother.

quiefNpea		2005-10-21 11:05:48 AM

strangeguitar: they slipped alot of "Lord" and "Jesus" talk

OLN- Our Lord Network
OLN- Outer Limit Nutwork

Crappy picture quality. Boring animal and fishing shows. Even the Tour DeFrance was boring (not knocking the actual event..just the lack of excrement) Um. Excitement.

/Crappy local commercials. Comcast blows. I'm cancelling it right n

Diogenes		2005-10-21 11:06:42 AM

Glock17: I suspect much the same goes on with DirecTV. It's a crap shoot - you might get lucky and avoid being personally affected according to your tastes, programming choices.

Euell Gibbons		2005-10-21 11:07:08 AM

Oughta be a good episode of Charlie Chat coming up!

KyngNothing		2005-10-21 11:10:21 AM

I didn't pay for OLN, because, honestly, most of the 60channels you have to pay for to get it are utter shiat...

//hockey isn't really back for me...

Quadraton		2005-10-21 11:12:41 AM

MBA_Honey:

It's an American company, with a Canadian affiliate partnered through TSN (The Sports Network).

/and a partridge in a pear tree

dletter		2005-10-21 11:13:24 AM

OLN is trying to position itself as, if not a full fledged competator of ESPN, at least a viable alternative. OLN originally meaning "Outdoor Life Network" will basically mean as much as ESPN meaning "Entertainment and Sports Network" (although considering their coverage of poker and original movies, they might want to remind people they have general "entertainment" in their original name).

Getting the NHL was the first step, but, they are trying to get the new NFL 8-week Thursday/Saturday night game package, and the MLB package that is up next year. Also NASCAR has some races up for grabs they might go after.

I think OLN/Comcast is making a mistake here thinking they can use the NHL in this manner though. They should have just let the NHL games play on the various systems, even if they are on the highest tier. If they get the NFL games, then they could play this hardball game, and Cablevision and Dish would have folded like a deck of cards. "Nobody" (when I say that, I know their are hockey fans, I just mean, not enough to make a company care) cares about the NHL, so, Dish can play this hardball game with Comcast. If people couldn't get a national NFL game though, then they'd hear about it.

British		2005-10-21 11:14:29 AM

InflatableJesus

It's worse. G4 has a show about car drifting and "the man show". Neither are about video games or tech. SpikeTV on the other hand has video game awards. Please explain this to me.

G4 has become the laughing stock of cable channels. The GOLF channel makes fun of them in the playground.

dletter		2005-10-21 11:14:57 AM

The other thing is though, at this point, soon the NHL will have to get involved, even though for now they've sat back like "What can I do?". If this is still going on with Cablevision and Dish Network when the playoffs start, and especially the first 2 games of the Cup Finals on OLN, the NHL will look utterly stupid.

KyngNothing		2005-10-21 11:17:57 AM

JackStraw22: (see ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, at least when they first started)

I hate those bastards... putting decent college games on ESPNU so local companies can't air them, just to blackmail providers into carrying ESPNU

irinotecan		2005-10-21 11:20:25 AM

InflatableJesus:
Is is just me or are cable channels getting more and more random, straying from their supposed "theme"?

And the Travel channel is showing poker tournaments. I really think it's all a part of the "Blanding of America(TM)".

/Stopped watching TV
//My mom is addicted to watching poker on the Travel Channel
///Hockey on a channel about fishing and hunting??? I mean, come on....

KayakDude		2005-10-21 11:20:25 AM

Cable is going to die in a few years...

The future is "Download shows on demand"

I am talking legal stuff "a la Itunes"

Channels as we know them will cease to exist.

xy1ia		2005-10-21 11:20:50 AM

I used to work for Dish. During that Viacom shutdown too. In my (not so humble) opinion, Dish can go straight to hell. They treat their employees like cattle without brains.

tattered666		2005-10-21 11:21:45 AM

i watch OLN for 2 shows....Hockey and they are the ONLY channel that televises Quad Motorcross racing....NOT ONE OTHER STATION CARRIES QUAD RACING**!

/ride my quad every single day for least 3hrs a day

**except espn during the outdoor games where they had quad races along with lumberjack games

WRX_Smokescreen		2005-10-21 11:24:05 AM

OLN has horrible coverage of hockey games, horrid resolution, and is an overall lousy channel.
They can't compete in MA with other sports channels like ESPN, FSN, and especially NESN...

Hell, OLN can't even hold a match to "The Ocho."

So_it_goes		2005-10-21 11:29:17 AM

Glock17		2005-10-21 11:34:13 AM

I was a top 120 subscriber who upgraded to 180 to get the hockey. I can't watch my Flyers on Comcast SportsNet because Comcast is another bully asshat corporation that refuses to allow their sports to be shown on anything except their own cable company. So even getting the Center Ice Package is useless because I can get eveyone except the Flyers. My only hope now is to watch them when they play the Rangers or the Islanders on MSG or Yes.

I'm really considering switching to DirectTV. I've been a Dish subscriber for 5 years and can't upgrade to a DVR unless I pay a few hundred dollars. I can get one for free if I switch to DTV.

As a Dish 'top 120' subscriber im kinda torn. Id like to see OLN leverage its way onto the cheaper cable package, but not if its going to cost me an additional amount a month. Plus I can watch my Pens on FSN and UPN. Of course they suck and I wouldnt mind seeing some national action for a change.

OrsaBianca		2005-10-21 11:34:31 AM

mrdctaylor

Charlie Ergen doesn't take crap. Good for him.

/Dish customer for 5+ years.

I completely agree. I've been a Dish customer for 7 years and I don't have any complaints. I like that they stand up to the networks for the sake of the subscribers, because Lord knows we don't have a voice.

Glock17

If Echostar and Charlie Ergern continue to screw with subscribers I'm going to switch to Direct TV.

That's not going to solve your problem either, as a matter of fact, with this season, it would be worse. I was on vacation during the 1st 2 games of the season. We were 3 hours from DC and DirecTV blacked out the 2 Caps games that were on Comcast SportsNet while we were there - including the season opener. People online were furious. Dish didn't black out those same Comcast games where I live - 45 minutes from DC.

raul04		2005-10-21 11:38:50 AM

I could care less about the OLN i care even less for hockey so it's ok that OLN carries that useless sport

nyihockey		2005-10-21 11:40:51 AM

MBA_Honey: Okay apparently it's in CT, but they do a lot of coverage of Canadian sports eh.

We have a different OLN up here. I don't think its all that different, but we don't get the hockey games at least.

vento		2005-10-21 11:41:55 AM

...if a tree falls in a forest...

/Only watches OLN for "Le Tour"
//Could watch Bob Roll all day long

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