As it stands right now DirecTV subscribers in the U.S. will not be able to watch NHL games aside from games carried on their regional FSN network. DirecTV and Versus, the NHL's primary carrier of games are at an impasse that recently saw DirectTV blackout Versus from their cable offering.
DirecTV posted a statement on their website concerning why the negotiations between the Comcast owned Versus network and itself have faltered. BTW - Comcast and DirecTV are direct competitors which adds another wrinkle to the situation.
The deal that just expired was well above market value and beyond what other significant distributors were paying. To add insult to injury Comcast demanded we carry Versus at a 20 percent premium in a new deal, thereby forcing us to take down the channel. We're not happy about this, but we hope you understand that we must hold the line on programming costs in order to protect our customers from unwarranted price increases in this difficult economic climate.
We have successfully negotiated hundreds of carriage deals, but sometimes you need to stand up to a bully and there is a strong possibility that if Comcast makes these same demands to other distributors, they will also be forced to drop Versus resulting in significantly reduced exposure and availability of the sports you like to watch on Versus. Maybe that's what Comcast wants; other than greed it's the only other explanation.
There's still time before the start of the NHL season in October for a deal to be reached between the feuding sides but judging by the comments offered up a resolution doesn't seem eminent. While DirecTV isn't the only carrier of Versus, the fledgling network can ill afford to deplete it's already smaller viewer base of about 75 million homes. Without DirecTV Versus would lose 14 million subscribers.
This dispute certainly adds to the argument that the NHL would be far better off by getting themselves back in partnership with ESPN.
DirecTV posted a statement on their website concerning why the negotiations between the Comcast owned Versus network and itself have faltered. BTW - Comcast and DirecTV are direct competitors which adds another wrinkle to the situation.
The deal that just expired was well above market value and beyond what other significant distributors were paying. To add insult to injury Comcast demanded we carry Versus at a 20 percent premium in a new deal, thereby forcing us to take down the channel. We're not happy about this, but we hope you understand that we must hold the line on programming costs in order to protect our customers from unwarranted price increases in this difficult economic climate.
We have successfully negotiated hundreds of carriage deals, but sometimes you need to stand up to a bully and there is a strong possibility that if Comcast makes these same demands to other distributors, they will also be forced to drop Versus resulting in significantly reduced exposure and availability of the sports you like to watch on Versus. Maybe that's what Comcast wants; other than greed it's the only other explanation.
There's still time before the start of the NHL season in October for a deal to be reached between the feuding sides but judging by the comments offered up a resolution doesn't seem eminent. While DirecTV isn't the only carrier of Versus, the fledgling network can ill afford to deplete it's already smaller viewer base of about 75 million homes. Without DirecTV Versus would lose 14 million subscribers.
This dispute certainly adds to the argument that the NHL would be far better off by getting themselves back in partnership with ESPN.
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