looking for leafs tv HD channel on star choice

[a1g77luvvy]

friend looking for channel,help please
thanks.

[smp01]

Not on SC

tell your friend to NOT give his money to MLSE. Maybe that way they may be pressured to put a decent product on the ice.

[sabres12]

Till transponder space gets cheaper dont bet on this channel. Its a niche channel that broadcasts a minority of Leafs games in HD per hockey season. Hardly worth beaming down in 1080i.

[jumpy27]

But all they have to do is use a temporary HD channel only 20 times/year for 3 hours each time. That is what Bell does.

[scrooloose]

Starchoice just doesn't want to pay for it. You'll need a serious television provider for Leafs TV HD.

-Mike

[smootherator]

Crosby and that new Tlusty kid looked awesome in 1080 widescreen

[ARR]

If it's not on the SBS feeds, then it's NOT *C fault or much they can do about it.
This valuable National resource is just that, National, so niche markets just don't matter.

BTW Mike, Shaw is a serious TV provider with millions of cable AND Sat customers AND operate a national network for millions more, so I find your remarks totally without merit!

[hudson3709]

But since TO is the centre of the universe how come everyone doesn't want to waste an HD space on the leafs. If they did this I would complain. How about TLC or a channel people watch being added long before the Laughs channel.

[Renton]

That argument seems weak, given that Bell Expressvu offers the Leafs TV HD channel. It's a matter of competition for StarChoise as much as it is a 'niche' channel that only leaf fans would be interested in.

Obviously Bell see's the value in it...Starchoice should seriously look into this as a channel to add in the near future as well, or they may find more and more serious leaf fans (and you're naive to think that means peanuts to a provider) start leaving Starchoice, or new viewers going with Bell or Rogers based on the fact that yes...20 more leaf games a year will be in HD.

[Mr. Perfect]

Most Canadians like to jump on Toronto (and Toronto based "Centre of the Universe" companies) - in most cases this is deserved.

However, the same attitude prevails at Shaw in reverse - stick it to the easteners and SC subs.

They sure didn't want B.C. cable customers flooding the lines during the World Series on Sunday night. So they delivered the Canucks game to cable head ends + BC SC subs on ch 299.

Oh ... but as F2 tr 25 sits empty right ... Shaw is just too cheap to uplink Sportsnet2 HD + Leafs HD feeds.. to 299 for the 3 hours that it takes up every week or so. They want to make sure that the SC customer base doesn't increase in the next quarter which will decrease Shaw profit.

[TJ77]

Actually, there is something in the guide right now (Somewhere in the 400's) about Sportsnet west customers being able to watch an HD game (can't remember what) on channel 469.

[sabres12]

If LeafsTV HD is a deal breaker you can go to EVU. Besides as more HD is added eventually *C will probably get LeafsTV HD (even though its a waste of space since it cant be targeted to the majority of subscribers). Its never a matter of 'IF' its always a matter of 'WHEN'. If a switch to EVU is necessary for some due to not having LeafsTV HD its such a such a small chunk of subscribers *C probably wouldn't even notice.

[Petee_C]

I am not sure if I would pay a whole lot for Leafs HDTV anyways...

l had Leafs TV (SD) last year, and it was about $2-$3/month IIRC. I might pay the same amount for 2 extra Leafs HD games / month.

Unless it's Sat. night, I rarely watch the leafs... The product is just not that good.

I prefer my weekday entertainment (downtime after the kids go to bed) to be either shows like The Unit, NCIS, Bionic Woman, 24 etc., plus xbox 360 time.

P

[Donnybrook]

The only time that SC does anything is when the churn numbers, in a quarter, reach a number that it looks like there will be negative growth for that period.

Just look at the last 12 quarterly Shaw reports. SC averages a year over year 5% increase in revenue. This is due TOTALLY to price increases (that's $9 for the average sub over this period).

Shaw is not interested in SC or Shaw Cable service except to produce free cash flow to expand internet + telephone business. The only reason that NHL CI was added to Shaw/SC is because Shaw actually had a decrease in subs to their cable system in the last quarter. This in a time when their main geographical area served is experiencing the biggest growth rates in Canada.

Want more HD channels on SC - just have 4 or 5,000 subs cancel in the next 30 days. That's the way Shaw has been operating for years.

[sabres12]

AND the reason Star Choice packaged it with NFL ST was to get subs that went to Bell for CI back. It was to retain customers who would switch for CI (which are many per year) and to gain old customers who are sick of EVU back. So yes. It was to stop customers from having a reason to switch to Bell/Rogers. Plain and simple. Besides I think they got a decent deal for the package based on what they're selling it for to consumers.