Rant alert (TV)

Amen, but I'm kinda glad this game wont be on TV, I'm thinking embarassment, and it will save me some aggrevation. Nothing worse than watching DC on the road, missing half our team, and playing Lazo Frickin throw me a bone here Alavanja.

 

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I agree completely..



This team on the road has been unwatchable.. The only game they played even remotely well was the opener against LA where they were about 5 minutes away from stealing 3 points with a man down for 65 minutes.. Who knows, if we win or even draw that match, it could have set an entirely different tone to the season, but alas, we collapsed and now the rest is sad sad history...



It would be a whole lot different if this team were merely mediocre on the road, but this current lot are worse than pathetic and they are steamrolling towards the worst road record in MLS history..

I said it about a month ago and I'm still sticking by it, this team will not win a road match this season..

 

To not have games on tv leading up to the All-Star game (and post World Cup) ain't too helpful if you're trying to put butts in seats at RFK.

(yeah I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I heard you ranting here Kelly so I thought I'd join in).

K

 

Yeah, this sux. Is the game at least on (english language) radio?

 

nope, United dowsn't have an English radio broadcasting contract, only spanish. the webcast is the only way to hear anything about the game.

 

Mr Zack is this situation going to be rectified next season. The lack of coverage is pathetic. Comcast should at least feel compelled to televise our road games, what about putting the ones they can't show live on tape delay? We're pleased that there is a webcast, but this is Major League Soccer, not a minor league deal. Maybe you should sit down with some people that will handle it accordingly. Selfishly, I hope it's Comcast because that means I can still watch the games, but we need UnitedTV.

 

I predict you will see as many United goals without TV coverage as you would have if the game had been broadcast.

 

haha unfortunately he is probably correct, Q2 might leave MLS after seeing that crap field Chicago plays on as well.

 

The problem here is ratings, pure and simple. MLS had to buy airtime for it's games this year. The also had to include WC 2002, 2006 and WWC 2003 in order to make the package more desirable to ABC/ESPN. Comcast already has poor ratings overall, so if MLS games rate even lower we will be stuck with spotty coverage losing airtime to Major League Lax games, of all things.

 

I'm trying to remember the last time I sat down to watch D.C. United on TV and am drawing a blank.

 

If it's a matter of ratings then perhaps we need to start a campaign to get every who is going to the game to switch on COMCAST before they head out to the stadium. A few thousand more TV's switched onto the game couldn't hurt.

TS.

 

Apples and oranges, isn't it? I mean there's the league deal with Disney Networks (that includes the 4:00PM Saturday matches and the World Cups) and there's United's deal with Comcast. What does one have to do with the other? And haven't DC United telecasts on Comcast/HTS historically pulled in pretty decent ratings in the DC area (beating local NHL ratings, for example)?

 

You are a wise prognosticator.

But, I heard Dave Johnson on the radio this morning on WTOP reporting live from Naperville. Why is he in Naperville if there is no English language radio or television?

 

United has played so many stinkers over the past few years that their ratings are poor as well. I brought up the ESPN/ABC deal to show an example of how bad MLS's overall ratings are. See both are fruits...........

 

Because Dave will probably be doing the webcast later

K

 

I would like to think that you mean that you watch the games at home standing up, but I don't think that is what you're saying.

I haven't seen on on television in a long time.

 

Is it going to be a real radio web cast?

I stopped going to those because I thought they were just match tracker type things.

 

I listened to one earlier in the year that featured Sean Wheelock's vocal stylings.

It was very well done and of high quality.

 

They have been good in the past and usually a bunch of people get together in the BigSoccer Chat Room and discuss the game.

 

I remember in 1996 being able to see way more DC games than the last couple of years even if it meant tape delay @ 2 a.m. on HTS. But maybe I'm just delusional. I'm all for tape delay over nothing. Particularly for away games.

Its been discussed here in the past by a poster with inside knowledge (former employee of HTS or Comcast, IIRC), but HTS/Comcast does its best to downplay United's fairly strong ratings. I don't know that this is still the case, but I believe in the past, United or MLS has had to pay them to show our games because of lack of commercial space and lack of revenue generated by soccer games as their arguments. A strong tv following limits Comcast's negotiating power with United for money. It is my opinion ONLY that United tried to press this point the season games were only on NC8 in DC, and thats why the 2 parties failed to come to an agreement. United may be doing all it can do, Comcast has its reasons for not wanting strong soccer ratings.

United's strong ratings lower the $$ value of the ratings of the other "major" players on the network, Caps, Os, Wizards, etc. When or if advertisers see the price for ad time they pay for a hockey game v. what they could pay for a soccer game with similar or higher ratings, they would feel gouged.

I don't know if I'm explaining this right. But I do know that back in 1998 (or 1999, whichever year HTS didn't carry any games), I wrote HTS a letter on this topic and their response to me was to downplay DC's ratings and to say (paraphrased) "we don't feel that DC United is the kind of programming that brings new subscribers to our channel."