Get on your phones and start calling because cheapie Kronke is not willing to pay for television viewing of away games this year. The word is that the man is handling the soccer frachise tighter than a ducks ass and expects to spend as little as possible. As a result no away games will be televised. This is crazy.
How good is the source of this information? Does this also mean those games won't be on the Shootout, Yahoo Platinum, etc? My knee-jerk reaction is that Kroenke maybe shouldn't have bought if he isn't committed. On the otherhand, Kroenke may be cutting ties (payments) to FSRM as he moves towards setting up his network, and the Rapids are just caught in the middle. In either case this doesn't bode well for Rapids fans.
That's what I was thinking, should this actually be true. Shootout: if the other club has a TV feed, then I think most games would be on the Shootout. But cross that bridge when you come to it.
If there is one year remaining on the FSRM contract to broadcast the Rapids I don't see how the games will not be televised. If there is a contract, FSRM should honor it. What does KSE have to pay for?
The contract is such that FSRM does have the rights for televised Rapids games while the Rapids are responsible for the lion's share of the production and broadcasting costs. The Rapids have long paid for their road games to be shown on TV. It's one of those "small" things that people have greatly underappreciated about the team, especially in light of the fact that only New England and New York have equally strong track records when it comes to away game broadcasts. Until now. Remember also it was Kroenke's decision to not shell out the bucks for the final regular season road games of 2003. The thinly-veiled excuse at the time was that there were no broadcast slots open on FSRM for a live match. This is where the only opening in the contract lies; the Rapids can move an individual broadcast to a different channel if FSRM is not able to show the game live (or within a 2-3 hour delay window). However that is a game-by-game situation, and the Rapids are still paying for the game to air. This is why most non-FSRM games in the past were on Comcast 23, normally a TV shopping network. Until they get a new contract and Kroenke's new sports network starts up, the Rapids will continue to pay for their games to be televised until they start drawing better local ratings than infomercials or reruns of fishing shows and You Gotta See It. As for the quality/source of this information, this is the first I've heard of this and I'll dig where I can... but pigtail has proven on target with information like this at least 90% of the time. My speculation at this point would be (a) that Kroenke doesn't want to give a dime to a competing network and (b) that Kroenke is trying to play hardball to get out of the FSRM contract.
I should also mention that to add some validity to pigtail's statement, the Rapids and FSRM were in (maybe still are) talks this week to discuss broadcasts for this season. And for the record, THIS BLOWS. If this turns out to be the case, even our resident Kroenke Apologist (Bonji) won't be able to put a positive spin on this one.
Shouldn't Kroenke have a little more clout with FSRM though? He owns the Avs and the Nugs, and those are by far the only things worth watching on FSRM (Sorry to offend those of you devoted Best Damn Sports Show Period fans), not only that, they pull in good numbers. The Nuggets numbers have got to be up this year, and the Avs have been the main ticket on the channel for years. If KSE really wanted to get the Rapids games on TV, I think they would be able to find a way and use their bargaining power to get a better deal for Rapids games. Of course, with Kroenke announcing a new channel that will compete with FSRM and take away their two prime sports teams, the people at FSRM may be in no mood to deal. If this is true, it bites.
I called the rapids this morning, and I suggest you do to. the number is 303-825-GOAL. I asked if the rumors about no televised road matches were true and while the guy who answered said that He had not heard anything, that negotiations could be taking place with fox sports rocky mountain because of the new tv network that Kroenke is starting up (after the rapids season is over!!!) I also said to expect lots of calls. This personally infuriates me because, living in minnesota, I can't see any rapids games at all in person, it's just not economically possible, so I do what I can for the club by buying merchendice, and I went to every home game last year until i moved here to minnesota, and subscribe to the shootout package (mls gets a portion of that so in turn do the rapids) and i get *#*#*#*# on like this. I am glad I will at least be getting the home games, and the road games broadcast by the revs and the metrostars. I wrote them an email during that stretch before the playoffs last year when 4 road matches were not televised and specifically asked about the playoffs and this year. the response was that this year and the playoffs were done deals, already set up. I wish I still had the email, it was so long ago now. it's crap like this that makes me not want to spend money on the team. I love the players, but the business end of the rapids is *#*#*#*#ed.
This is looking pretty crappy. It looks like we're pawns in a bigger game. This is what amounts to sunny optimism at the moment, as I have hopes that once this new network is created this will be put into the past. If that's so a new stadium and games on a new network will help me overlook this year. As for the fans plan B. Does this mean that we won't be able to pick up these game on the shootout or yahoo or shortwave, will they let us travel to away games?
You've just got to poke wherever you can ehh Greenie? I too agree that this sucks. I guess I didn't realize that the club had to pay for all of their broadcasts. And no, I can't put a positive spin on this one.
I find it highly suspect that nuggets and avs games are not being pulled from FSRM right now as well, and imagine the uproar if they were (especially the avs) Thanks for showing us how you really feel about soccer, Mr. Kroenke. how much do you think tickets are gonna cost for the new stadium? with these shenanigans i imagine they will be pretty high, or the stadium will be of high school football quality. really? why even buy a stake in the team if you are just going to run it into the ground?
Ok, now my true colors can come out, Greenie. Gutbomb, it is a little early to say that KSE is running the team into the ground. Understand this, the head of soccer for KSE, Charlie Wright, is a soccer fan and known for his financial prowess. He owns a portion of a MISL team. He calls the shots on soccer for the team and seems to make decisions more on their financial merrit then AEG. Don Elliman, president of KSE, does not play in the soccer pond and I bet Kroenke himself doesn't either. They bought the team as a long term asset. I don't think one season of not broadcasting away games is "running the team into the ground." You guys are like Chicken Little running around, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!"
I'm with you on this GutBomb. I haven't setup or purchased my season tickets yet and it might not come to pass that I will with crap like this. Does KSE really think there is that little interest in the team that they don't have to broadcast the away games, which are games that none of us can see unless we want to road trip. Well, I won't be getting in my car to drive to LA or SJ or paying to fly anytime soon so the broadcasts are the only way to see them away from home. I mean, it's one thing not to be able to see a home game on TV because the fans in Denver can get up and go to the freakin game (sorry you out of town fans). But to not broadcast the away games is unthinkable. I know everyone has been saying, "Give KSE a chance" when it came to the website, the mass firings and other shite. But this is just plain crap and no one can defend KSE for this type of behavior. You want to build a fan base, then you have to show the team, all the time, plain and simple. Christ, with all the money KSE makes on the Avs and this year, the Nuggets, you think they would be able to support a team that has a growing fanbase and has increased ticket sales every year for the last three years. Keep doing this shite and all that hard work that others (see AEG, Hitchcock et al) put in so KSE could swoop in and reap the benefits are gone.
I don't just mean this incident when i say running the team into the ground. Dropping the ball on the tv covereage last year Not firing the wank/counce. anyone could have done better than him. who cares if there was a mass exodus of coaches. ok those are my 2 major grievences. I guess those aren't "running the team into the ground" but it's not like i am asking them for something for free, or for something special that none of the other teams do. All the teams except for columbus i think broadcast their road games, and it was only a few columbus games (one happened to be in denver) that didn't get broadcast last year. Come on dude, suck up your pride and put it on fsrm. because that's all it seems like to me. Also, with MLS being single entity and all, and kroenke having only a 49% stake in the rapids, wouldn't MLS themselves have some clout with their 51%? perhaps not only should we bark up the Kroenke tree but also voice our concerns directly to MLS and see if we can't get make some headway there?
Maybe you're right Bonji but if we, as fans, take a season of not broadcasting road games, then what else will we take? Inflated ticket prices? Inflated concessions (can't imagine them being higher)? Crappy play? Crappy front office dealings? Bad trades? I mean, where do we as fans say enough and try and fight for the best deal for our money. Tickets aren't cheap, even if they are dropping the lowest ticket to $10, and season tickets are even more expensive. As a former and hopeful 2004 season ticket holder, I expect the team to market and show the team whenever possible. This includes in the community and by showing away games. It is the least they can do; give their core fan base (season ticket holders) a chance to follow their team at home and on the road. I'm not asking for, nor feel entitled to having home games broadcast. But I sure as hell feel I should be able to turn on a local channel and see the team play in San Jose, LA, Dallas, NE, NY, Columbus, KC, DC, and Chicago. I think KSE has shown how they view the Rapids by not updating the website, a major source of news on the team, firing a bunch of FO personnel who helped get the Rapids to where they are now in terms of season ticket sales, and now with their decision to not show the team when they are away from Denver. Maybe this is a false alarm and KSE will rethink this decision. But I'm not holding my breath.
fixed your post. That doesn't make a ton of sense does it though? Wouldn't you rather have your away games televised than the home games, especially when your lowest ticket price has been lowered to $10? g
Re: Re: No T.V of away games MLS Kick, which was known as the MLS Shootout Package last year picks the games up from fox sports or other channels. the games must be broadcast on one of those channels for Direct Kick to pick it up. And I think the only thing people are talking about here is road games. Home games are no issue. You go, or you see them on Direct Kick because EVERY OTHER TEAM IN THE LEAGUE BROADCASTS AWAY GAMES. i need to chill.
Then you must be like the people that saw Noah building the Ark and thought "what an idiot." Whereas nothing was truly happening in Chicken Little's case, the roof of the Rapids is definitely falling apart in chunks. To date, KSE has effectively become an MLS slumlord. Their attitude is clearly that they shouldn't be bothered to maintain anything nor show respect to their tenants (fans) when a new building is right around the corner, a building that will attract demand no matter what happens in the next two years? From a pure business standpoint, this makes sense. However, this only serves to be a negative impact on the image of the Rapids and MLS as a whole. The league is already fighting to be respected as being of better quality than most perceive, and the only thing that will fix that is more exposure rather than less. Much of the general public in Colorado (that pays remote attention to the Rapids) is well aware that road games have been on TV for years. Similarly, much of that same audience is skeptical regarding the longevity of MLS. Kroenke's decisions to date are contrary to successful models rooted in economics and/or marketing. Cheaper tickets may result in a slight increase in attendance, but more significantly it means a cheapning of the brand. Dropping TV coverage means fewer opportunities for the audience to watch the team -- and learn, thanks to on-air talent. Just what kind of message is being delivered about a team who drops ticket prices, lessens their TV coverage, can't be bothered with minimal news updates to a website and keeps a playoff-inept coach at the helm for a fourth season?
IF... this is true, I already plan on making a LARGE banner that will say.... "Tell the fans where to tune in for road games" missing those 3 games at the end of the season PI$$ED me off to no end! especially having to follow a PLAYOFF game on mlsnet!
Seems the best we can do is can and email the Rapids to let them know how we feel about this. I think it is a load of crap and hurts the Rapids in the short term. It's bad enough most people I work with, even the ones who have children that play soccer, don't believe the MLS is going to last. Not televising away games only serves to justify there disbelief.