DirecTV Sports Pack [Archive]

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JCUnited

27 Oct 2008, 12:00 AM

I think this was answered on BS once before, but can anybody help me out.

I've got DirecTV. I know FSC is on the Sports Pack. Is the Sports Pack like Setanta where you cannot cancel it for 30 days without a fee, or can you cancel it anytime?

I want to see the MLS playoffs in their entirety, but don't normally have FSC and don't wish to get it for the next 30 days.

Thanks for any help.

Real Corona

27 Oct 2008, 09:41 AM

JCUnited

27 Oct 2008, 11:37 AM

Real Corona

27 Oct 2008, 12:22 PM

No, there is a "penalty" fee for canceling Setanta under 30 days.

Last year, I put Setanta on my package for the English Promotional Playoffs. When the two weeks was done, I went to cancel it, and a box came up on the website telling me I would have to pay a "early cancellation fee" that was in addition to the normal monthly fee.

Unless that has changed since May.

Well maybe you have to keep it more than 30 days, because I have had it more than 30 days and when I cancelled it for the summer, there was no penalty. So in short, sorry, can't help you.

ElJefe

27 Oct 2008, 07:48 PM

I'm that you can add and remove the Sports Pack, like most DirecTV programming packages, at any time without penalty.

Setanta is an exception (along with Playboy, or so I'm told) in that you have to keep it for 30 days or get charged a fee.

JCUnited

27 Oct 2008, 08:01 PM

Thanks, El Jefe!

Crammers

29 Oct 2008, 10:39 PM

Wish they offered FSC on it's own without all the crap that comes with it.

Kryptonite

30 Oct 2008, 09:56 AM

Wish they offered FSC on it's own without all the crap that comes with it.

That's the way TV networks do business. You want the popular channel? Well then, you have to pay for the little brothers as well.

Besides, there's probably somebody out there saying "I wish I could get ______ without that crappy soccer channel. Who watches soccer anyway?" If it was just FSC by itself, there probably wouldn't be any FSC, or else the monthly fee would be $10 a month.

My cousin is an out-of-market baseball fan with DirecTV. He'll watch the pre-game and post-game shows on his RSN of choice, then flip over to Extra Innings for the actual game. By buying the sports pack, he's "subscribing" to FSC, even if he doesn't watch it.

Real Corona

30 Oct 2008, 11:44 AM

That's the way TV networks do business. You want the popular channel? Well then, you have to pay for the little brothers as well.

Besides, there's probably somebody out there saying "I wish I could get ______ without that crappy soccer channel. Who watches soccer anyway?" If it was just FSC by itself, there probably wouldn't be any FSC, or else the monthly fee would be $10 a month.

My cousin is an out-of-market baseball fan with DirecTV. He'll watch the pre-game and post-game shows on his RSN of choice, then flip over to Extra Innings for the actual game. By buying the sports pack, he's "subscribing" to FSC, even if he doesn't watch it.

I'm not sure about baseball, but my center ice package and the sports pack allow me to watch all the hockey games on the RSN channel or the Center Ice channel.

Kryptonite

30 Oct 2008, 03:15 PM

I'm not sure about baseball, but my center ice package and the sports pack allow me to watch all the hockey games on the RSN channel or the Center Ice channel.

Interesting. I assume you're talking about watching a live game on either NHL Center Ice or a channel like CSN Chicago or FSN Ohio. I do know that many times, the games are rebroadcast, and these rebroadcasts are not blacked out on the out-of-market RSNs.

Take me for example. Suppose I move to DC. If I want to watch a live Columbus NHL game, then I have to buy Center Ice...but if I want anything beyond the actual game, then I have to watch pregame and postgame on FSN Ohio via Sports Pack. (Now, I may be watching the NHL game on the opponent's broadcast, but that's a different point.)

You're saying I can watch the live game coverage just by merely buying the Sports Pack?

Now, if i'm a Columbus fan living in Columbus with Center Ice and Sports Pack, then I have to watch my local team on the local channel, but that's still a whole other point.

Ok, I just saw your location. Are you in the USA? Perhaps things are different in other countries??

Real Corona

30 Oct 2008, 03:21 PM

Interesting. I assume you're talking about watching a live game on either NHL Center Ice or a channel like CSN Chicago or FSN Ohio. I do know that many times, the games are rebroadcast, and these rebroadcasts are not blacked out on the out-of-market RSNs.

Take me for example. Suppose I move to DC. If I want to watch a live Columbus NHL game, then I have to buy Center Ice...but if I want anything beyond the actual game, then I have to watch pregame and postgame on FSN Ohio via Sports Pack. (Now, I may be watching the NHL game on the opponent's broadcast, but that's a different point.)

You're saying I can watch the live game coverage just by merely buying the Sports Pack?

Now, if i'm a Columbus fan living in Columbus with Center Ice and Sports Pack, then I have to watch my local team on the local channel, but that's still a whole other point.

Ok, I just saw your location. Are you in the USA? Perhaps things are different in other countries??

No no no, you misunderstood. I purchased the Center Ice package. So I get all the games on channels 770-790 or whatever. They usually switch on some time before the game and switch off after, sometimes cutting off the pregame or postgame show. But, I also pay for the sportspack. So I get all the out of market RSNs. What happens is that say that Avalanche are playing against Minnesota. The Avs feed shows up on channel 770, and the Wild channel on 771 usually. But if I want, I can switch it to Altitude sports, or FSN North, and watch the same game, but only because I already paid for center ice.

So what that means is if you like the pre and post game shows, which I don't always watch, you don't have to change the channel. But if you don't have center ice, they will black out the game.

Kryptonite

30 Oct 2008, 04:01 PM

No no no, you misunderstood. I purchased the Center Ice package. So I get all the games on channels 770-790 or whatever. They usually switch on some time before the game and switch off after, sometimes cutting off the pregame or postgame show. But, I also pay for the sportspack. So I get all the out of market RSNs. What happens is that say that Avalanche are playing against Minnesota. The Avs feed shows up on channel 770, and the Wild channel on 771 usually. But if I want, I can switch it to Altitude sports, or FSN North, and watch the same game, but only because I already paid for center ice.

So what that means is if you like the pre and post game shows, which I don't always watch, you don't have to change the channel. But if you don't have center ice, they will black out the game.

"Only because I already paid for Center Ice." There's the key statement. That does make sense though. If you've paid for the sports pack (and get the channels), then pay for Center Ice (and get the games), it would be insane for them to black out a live game and force a switch of channels.

That would almost be similar to a channel like NBC-HD blocking out programming not in HD, and making us watch on the original SD channel. (Ok, maybe not, but you get the point.)

Either baseball is different (it could be), or as of August 2007, my cousin didn't know what he was doing.

Real Corona

30 Oct 2008, 06:44 PM

"Only because I already paid for Center Ice." There's the key statement. That does make sense though. If you've paid for the sports pack (and get the channels), then pay for Center Ice (and get the games), it would be insane for them to black out a live game and force a switch of channels.

That would almost be similar to a channel like NBC-HD blocking out programming not in HD, and making us watch on the original SD channel. (Ok, maybe not, but you get the point.)

Either baseball is different (it could be), or as of August 2007, my cousin didn't know what he was doing.

Yeah, I mean it's not a huge deal, but I just thought it was odd that he would be flipping channels when he could probably just use the RSN. The only difference is with hockey, sometimes Directv leaves TSN or RDS on for some time after the game, which is nice because there is no other way to watch it.

Kryptonite

31 Oct 2008, 06:44 AM

Yeah, I mean it's not a huge deal, but I just thought it was odd that he would be flipping channels when he could probably just use the RSN. The only difference is with hockey, sometimes Directv leaves TSN or RDS on for some time after the game, which is nice because there is no other way to watch it.
That is one good "side benefit" of satellite companies...They've been known to keep those channels on for a little bit after the game. Digital cable (aka iNDEMAND) usually turns off the game feeds immediately at one of these occurences:

a) The announcers say "We'll be right back after this break" following the final whistle
b) They go to the post-game announcer near the locker room

That is one thing I don't like about that situation...what's the big deal with not giving us a little bit of post-game coverage? Isn't there usually some sort of "official transition" between the post-game interviews on the field and the "official" post-game show? Why not cut it off at that transition?

iNDEMAND seems to be a little "trigger-happy" when it comes to cutting things off.

Real Corona

31 Oct 2008, 09:32 AM

That is one good "side benefit" of satellite companies...They've been known to keep those channels on for a little bit after the game. Digital cable (aka iNDEMAND) usually turns off the game feeds immediately at one of these occurences:

a) The announcers say "We'll be right back after this break" following the final whistle
b) They go to the post-game announcer near the locker room

That is one thing I don't like about that situation...what's the big deal with not giving us a little bit of post-game coverage? Isn't there usually some sort of "official transition" between the post-game interviews on the field and the "official" post-game show? Why not cut it off at that transition?

iNDEMAND seems to be a little "trigger-happy" when it comes to cutting things off.

One of my many complaints about cable, and by proxy indemand, centered on this issue. Last year during a Colorado game, Colorado was losing by one goal with about 10 seconds left to play and the game cut off. They literally cut the game off with 10 seconds to go and said "Good Night" on the screen. Well I was angry, but not as angry as when I saw later that the Avs scored a tying goal off the faceoff but won the game in the shootout!

MasterShake29

31 Oct 2008, 04:11 PM

Can anyone explain why NHL Network isn't part of the DirecTV Sports Pack? It makes no sense to me.

Craig P

31 Oct 2008, 04:57 PM

Probably because it's part of a regular package? I have Total Choice Plus and the sports pack, and the last time I looked, I got the NHL network.

Kryptonite

31 Oct 2008, 05:17 PM

Probably because it's part of a regular package? I have Total Choice Plus and the sports pack, and the last time I looked, I got the NHL network.

http://www.directv.com/see/pdf/chnllineup.pdf?footernavtype=-1

Choice XTra, according to that PDF.

MasterShake29

31 Oct 2008, 07:41 PM

Yeah, it's Choice Xtra. I don't see why it shouldn't be in the sports pack seeing as it's, you know, a network from a sports league.

Kryptonite

31 Oct 2008, 08:20 PM

Yeah, it's Choice Xtra. I don't see why it shouldn't be in the sports pack seeing as it's, you know, a network from a sports league.
Isn't NBATV in the sports pack?