As anticipated, the launch of ESPN Deportes as a full-time service will be delayed until early 2004 to allow Disney/ESPN more time to come to terms with cable operators and possibly DISH Network. The only major pay TV provider that has signed to carry ESPN Deportes so far is DirecTV Para Todos. Don't know at this point whether UEFA Champions League or La Liga will be on ESPN Deportes. Contract negotiations are still taking place between ESPN International and the market agencies in charge of those products: Team Marketing AG of Switzerland for UEFA Champions League, and Media Pro for La Liga.
what do you think the chances are of this making it onto Cox Cable (digital) in San Diego? not to get too specific with my questions or anything...
COX already carries ESPN Deportes on its Spanish-language digital package in San Diego Chances are good that COX will offer ESPN Deportes in San Diego when the channel goes full time in 2004. COX has also signed with Disney/ESPN to carry ESPN HD nationwide.
I guess this means ESPN2 will carry the games untill ESPN Deportes goes full time. At least I will get to see some games next year because I doubt Comcast will pick up this channel
And what do you think about Cox carrying it in other parts of the country? I live in the Washington DC metro area (Northern Virginia). Here Cox carries both Fox Sports World and Fox Sports Espanol, but doesn't Galavision, so I won't be able to see the Confed Cup.
Disney/ESPN and Time Warner Cable will have to do the deal at the corporate level. So far the only deals that are done at the corporate level appear to be with DirecTV Para Todos and COX. Charter should be the next big MSO to get on board. Comcast, Time Warner, Cablevision, and DISH Network are the 4 big MSO holdouts. Comcast and DISH Network now have the reputation of being the toughest negotiators in the business when it comes to standing up against big programming providers such as Disney and FOX.
One would hope that UEFA CL will air on ESPN2 (US) on Match Days 1-6 (the minimum one game per match day) so that ESPN can promote ESPN Deportes as "La Nueva Casa da la Liga de Campeones UEFA" in 2004, starting with the Round of 16. That of course depends on ESPN Int'l retaining US TV rights to UEFA CL, which is not guaranteed at this point.
Go around Comcast and get DirecTV or DISH if you want the digital soccer channels. This isn't 1995. This is 2003.
well put....we had dish network then we changed it cause there were no River games direct tv we have now.... now they have the same owner but the nessage is loud and clear.
Yeah, get Directv/Dish in Philly such that you can watch 6 Real Madrid x Panathinaikos, Feyenoord x Arsenal, Bayern Munich x Lazio, etc. every match day, but you can't watch the Flyers, 76ers or Phillies. How many soccer fans in Philly do you think will make that trade? or willing to subscribe to BOTH cable (for the local NBA, NHL and MLB teams) and DBS (for CL)? This can be 2025, but this kind "screw your competition" strategy can happen in any era...
What's really annoying is the practice of some cable providers such as Charter, dividing up even a particular city into small zones and doing the programing differently for each zone. Here in Pasadena you can get both Fox Sports World and Fox Sports World Espanol as a regular part of the expanded sports package (4.95 I think) but in other parts you can't. My area only gets the Espanol version while most of the rest of town gets both. They say, there just isn't demand for soccer in my part of town. And I know some will say, get a dish but in this area many can't because of hills and mountains we can't move.
The problem that rangers00 is referring to is the fact that most 76ers, Flyers, and Phillies games are on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which Comcast keeps off of DirecTV and DISH by exploiting a loophole in the current law. By making that channel cable-only, they essentially force people in Philadelphia who want to see all those teams' games to get their cable TV service. As a result, very few minidish systems are sold in Philly.
doesn't comcast digital cable have FSW? if not, move to university city or certain other places in the area and get time warner, they have everything. but i agree, it's stupid. the penn dorms can't get csn/cn8 because they're not on satellites. and the university's supposed to sell philly to graduates?
I live in B'ham,AL and they do that here. I used to live in one suburb where I got FSW and that's it. Now I live in another and get FSW,FSWE,Telemundo & Univision which is funny because there is definitely more Spanish speakers where I used to live. I just hope Charter picks up ESPN Deportes across the board cos I can't imagine not being able to see UCL.