Post by mountie4ever on Sept 28, 2005 21:30:07 GMT -5
It looks like the Big East Game of the Week will continually not be shown on GamePlan.
I think this is unfair and ridiculous--for those that scrampled around Saturday to see the ECU game, you'll know what I mean.
Here is my letter:
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is written to inform you of growing frustration concerning the consistent exclusion of the Big East Game of the Week at noon from ESPN GamePlan due to an apparent lack of capacity.
Please be advised that ESPN'S promotion of ESPN GamePlan as showing games from the Big East may be creating an implied contract with consumers that the ESPN Game of the Week, which has, for years, been part of the GamePlan package, and which is produced and distributed by your company, will regularly be shown on ESPN GamePlan's TELEVISION package. I cannot understand how there is not sufficient capacity on DirecTV and Dish Network to show ESPN Regional Television Games from all conferences. Failure to show the Big East Game of the Week diminishes consumer expectations and results in tremendous difficulty for loyal fans that buy the package with the understanding that their team will be shown. This difficulty was not anticipated when I and I am sure other fans elected to subscribe to ESPN GamePlan for the season.
The problem is five-fold. First, ABC Sports this season has been frequently showing games at noon. Secondly, ESPN can apparently only show 6 games at one time on DirecTV and Dish Network. Third, the Big East game appears to consistently be the lowest game on the proverbial totem pole, losing out consistently to the SEC Game and the ACC Game, even though those games are not even produced by ESPN Plus. Fourth, ESPN U, which could be an outlet to show games that could not make the Gameplan lineup, shows the Big Ten game, resulting in the Big 10 game of the week being on 2 channels. Finally, MSG shows the game, but this showing is blacked out in areas not within the New York City metro area.
The result is that it becomes nearly impossible for Big East fans to see their game if they live outside the local market. I understand the game is apparenly shown online only, but that is substantially insufficient when most computers are located in dens and most computer screens are not larger than 17 inches. Additionally, it requires a separate subscription from the season subscription for satellite.
Big East fans have already endured a tough several years with a raid of the conference by the ACC and consistent criticism, some of which may be legitimate, but many of which is not informed, by commentators on your network and others. To add insult to injury, it appears that we will consistently not have our game of the week available out of market.
I urge you to take corrective action to ensure that the Big East game of the week is shown every week. The capacity on the satellite is there. If nothing else, you could lift the blackout on MSG and make the game available that way. The purpose should be to help the loyal fans who are willing to pay either $99 for a season or $19.95 for a weekend to see their team.
I feel that there is damage that results from the fact that ESPN GamePlan is consistently excluding the Big East Game of the Week, and the only way to be made whole is by specific performance. I know that you probably have fine print in your agreements that supposedly inform consumers of a lack of capacity, but your advertising does not explicitly tell fans that the Big East games will only be shown if there's enough space. Had I known that no WVU Big East Games of the Week were to be on, I probably would not have bought the package.
I look forward to your reply and to trying to work with you collectively to determine an appropriate solution to this issue so that fans of Louisville, West Virginia, and other Big East teams that live in other regions of the United States are able to see their teams.
To give an example of the issue, the East Carolina-West Virginia game was not avaliable on the TV version of ESPN GamePlan on September 24. The Louisville game this weekend is not available either. While no schedule has been posted, I am willing to guess that the West Virginia-Rutgers game on October 8 also will not be on ESPN GamePlan because there are 3 ABC games beginning at 1:00, plus the ACC, SEC, and Big 10 games, making a total of 6. If I am wrong, and WVU-Rutgers WILL be shown on ESPN GamePlan, then perhaps the issues in this letter will begin to be addressed.
Again, the emphasis should be on serving the fans that support your network and its advertisers, so I hope we can work to resolve these issues amicably. At the end of the day, it may be cheaper to buy a plane ticket home to the northeast than to file a lawsuit, but this constant exclusion of the Big East from ESPN GamePlan is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth and in the mouths of all other fans of Big East institutions that do not live in the local Big East markets.
I can think of several potential solutions to the problem:
1. DIrecTV and DishNetwork have plenty of channels. Why can't you add Channels 781 and 782 of DirecTV to have the capacity to show what appears to be a glut of games at noon?
2. Why can't the black-out of MSG be lifted? I realize there may be some copyright issues with this, but if fans are willing to pay to view the games, then why isn't this a potential option.
3. This is not as good as options 1 and 2, but could you show the excluded ESPN Regional Games (i.e. the Big East Game of the Week) at 3:30 on a same-day delay basis so that fans can see the games relatively closely after the game is played?
4. Is it possible that you can make blackout exceptions for commercial users so that "fans" sports bars can see the game. WVU and other Big East Schools have loyal fan clubs throughout the USA that gather to share in the good spirit of cheering for their team. For many, it is a rare opportunity to feel like they're back at home. Several WVU fans gathered at Laseters Tavern in Vinings, Georgia, on Saturday expecting to see the game on MSG only to have to scatter about and be disappointed because the game was unavailable.
Again, I look forward to hearing from you and to trying to find some ways to address this problem. I've offered some potential solutions, and I hope that someone at ESPN can come up with others. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
I think this is unfair and ridiculous--for those that scrampled around Saturday to see the ECU game, you'll know what I mean.
Here is my letter:
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is written to inform you of growing frustration concerning the consistent exclusion of the Big East Game of the Week at noon from ESPN GamePlan due to an apparent lack of capacity.
Please be advised that ESPN'S promotion of ESPN GamePlan as showing games from the Big East may be creating an implied contract with consumers that the ESPN Game of the Week, which has, for years, been part of the GamePlan package, and which is produced and distributed by your company, will regularly be shown on ESPN GamePlan's TELEVISION package. I cannot understand how there is not sufficient capacity on DirecTV and Dish Network to show ESPN Regional Television Games from all conferences. Failure to show the Big East Game of the Week diminishes consumer expectations and results in tremendous difficulty for loyal fans that buy the package with the understanding that their team will be shown. This difficulty was not anticipated when I and I am sure other fans elected to subscribe to ESPN GamePlan for the season.
The problem is five-fold. First, ABC Sports this season has been frequently showing games at noon. Secondly, ESPN can apparently only show 6 games at one time on DirecTV and Dish Network. Third, the Big East game appears to consistently be the lowest game on the proverbial totem pole, losing out consistently to the SEC Game and the ACC Game, even though those games are not even produced by ESPN Plus. Fourth, ESPN U, which could be an outlet to show games that could not make the Gameplan lineup, shows the Big Ten game, resulting in the Big 10 game of the week being on 2 channels. Finally, MSG shows the game, but this showing is blacked out in areas not within the New York City metro area.
The result is that it becomes nearly impossible for Big East fans to see their game if they live outside the local market. I understand the game is apparenly shown online only, but that is substantially insufficient when most computers are located in dens and most computer screens are not larger than 17 inches. Additionally, it requires a separate subscription from the season subscription for satellite.
Big East fans have already endured a tough several years with a raid of the conference by the ACC and consistent criticism, some of which may be legitimate, but many of which is not informed, by commentators on your network and others. To add insult to injury, it appears that we will consistently not have our game of the week available out of market.
I urge you to take corrective action to ensure that the Big East game of the week is shown every week. The capacity on the satellite is there. If nothing else, you could lift the blackout on MSG and make the game available that way. The purpose should be to help the loyal fans who are willing to pay either $99 for a season or $19.95 for a weekend to see their team.
I feel that there is damage that results from the fact that ESPN GamePlan is consistently excluding the Big East Game of the Week, and the only way to be made whole is by specific performance. I know that you probably have fine print in your agreements that supposedly inform consumers of a lack of capacity, but your advertising does not explicitly tell fans that the Big East games will only be shown if there's enough space. Had I known that no WVU Big East Games of the Week were to be on, I probably would not have bought the package.
I look forward to your reply and to trying to work with you collectively to determine an appropriate solution to this issue so that fans of Louisville, West Virginia, and other Big East teams that live in other regions of the United States are able to see their teams.
To give an example of the issue, the East Carolina-West Virginia game was not avaliable on the TV version of ESPN GamePlan on September 24. The Louisville game this weekend is not available either. While no schedule has been posted, I am willing to guess that the West Virginia-Rutgers game on October 8 also will not be on ESPN GamePlan because there are 3 ABC games beginning at 1:00, plus the ACC, SEC, and Big 10 games, making a total of 6. If I am wrong, and WVU-Rutgers WILL be shown on ESPN GamePlan, then perhaps the issues in this letter will begin to be addressed.
Again, the emphasis should be on serving the fans that support your network and its advertisers, so I hope we can work to resolve these issues amicably. At the end of the day, it may be cheaper to buy a plane ticket home to the northeast than to file a lawsuit, but this constant exclusion of the Big East from ESPN GamePlan is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth and in the mouths of all other fans of Big East institutions that do not live in the local Big East markets.
I can think of several potential solutions to the problem:
1. DIrecTV and DishNetwork have plenty of channels. Why can't you add Channels 781 and 782 of DirecTV to have the capacity to show what appears to be a glut of games at noon?
2. Why can't the black-out of MSG be lifted? I realize there may be some copyright issues with this, but if fans are willing to pay to view the games, then why isn't this a potential option.
3. This is not as good as options 1 and 2, but could you show the excluded ESPN Regional Games (i.e. the Big East Game of the Week) at 3:30 on a same-day delay basis so that fans can see the games relatively closely after the game is played?
4. Is it possible that you can make blackout exceptions for commercial users so that "fans" sports bars can see the game. WVU and other Big East Schools have loyal fan clubs throughout the USA that gather to share in the good spirit of cheering for their team. For many, it is a rare opportunity to feel like they're back at home. Several WVU fans gathered at Laseters Tavern in Vinings, Georgia, on Saturday expecting to see the game on MSG only to have to scatter about and be disappointed because the game was unavailable.
Again, I look forward to hearing from you and to trying to find some ways to address this problem. I've offered some potential solutions, and I hope that someone at ESPN can come up with others. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
