[sarah11918]

I just noticed that 19 of the last 30 Jays games will be broadcast on the new SNET-1, which I've seen no indication Eastlink intends to carry.

I can't call customer service today because it's Sunday, so I thought I'd ask around here.

This could be a real deal breaker for us, since this is one of the few reasons we have cable. I'm hoping we're going to be able to find these games through someone in PEI.

 

[sarah11918]

I spoke to someone at Eastlink today who put me on hold a couple of times to ask around and finally said she'd call me back so she didn't have to keep me on hold so long.

She did call me back later and say that no one has any news to report. It *might* be that we'll all get SNET-1 just like everyone who gets TSN gets TSN2, but she couldn't say on which channel or even if they planned to carry it.

She said either call back much closer to Aug. 14, or check the website for an announcement. She guaranteed there would be an announcement on the website when/if they did add the station.

I also sent a question to @EastLink on twitter, and they replied, "Thank you for your question on SNET - 1. Stay tuned." This account did seem to be pretty good at answering other people's questions, so I do think that at least we've made someone aware that they need to get their act together on this and let us know what's happening soon.

 

[sarah11918]

Hubby got the exact same email message last night.

I think it sounds worse than it is. I'm *hoping* that it's the standard reply email that they send out when someone asks about a channel Eastlink doesn't currently carry. In other words, I'm hoping that the we have no plans to carry it" is really just a "saving their butt" phrase that gets bandied about until an official announcement of a new channel is actually made.

The CR rep I spoke to the other day actually said to me that she was afraid to tell her husband about moving so many Jays games to SNET-1, so I think there are humans in the organization that realize this is a pretty serious issue. It would be one thing if SNET-1 were a premium or overflow channel, or if it were going to show more obscure/non-local programming. But, Jays games? It's obvious Sportsnet intends for people to actually watch this new channel.

I might sleep on it, then call again tomorrow and tell a live person what the email said. I didn't mention canceling service in my last phone call, because I really just wanted information, but if my Canadian cable provider can't make it possible to watch Jays games, then there's absolutely no reason to stay with them. MLB tv is a joke, has never worked properly, and the whole country is blackout territory for Jays. We need Jays coverage locally, and now that Jamie Campbell is no longer on the air, we actually like the Sportsnet broadcasts!

 

[sarah11918]

The problem is that in that month or so, we will have missed a LOT of games ... perhaps even the rest of the season.

This has been a great season to watch. Why would they go screw it up with a stunt like this and possibly alienate a bunch of viewers?

Buck was always my favourite broadcaster, and I think he brings out the best in his colour men.

 

[sarah11918]

I just had an exchange on Twitter with Eastlink's account and they directed me to this page, which is a SNET-1 FAQ: http://www.eastlink.ca/sportsnetFAQ/

Had anyone seen this? Not that it gives any information of course (I don't think there's one useful piece of information in it). Admittedly, I stopped going to their site every day because I figured that if they had news, they'd announce it on twitter. So, I hadn't seen this before today.

 

[sarah11918]

Here's the text of the page then, for anyone who can't access it on the site:
(they also told me it just went up this morning)

Questions About Sportsnet One?

EastLink continues to receive inquiries from passionate sports fans on the topic of Rogers Sportsnet One.
The following frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers list is intended to keep EastLink customers up to date on the status of this topic.

Q. Does EastLink plan to carry the Rogers Sportsnet One channel?
A. EastLink would like to be in a position to offer the Rogers Sportsnet One channel to our interested customers. If and when we are able to come to a mutual agreement on the business terms relating to this channel, we plan to carry the channel.

Q. Why hasn’t EastLink provided customers with access to the Rogers Sportsnet One free preview?
A. EastLink is only able to offer the free preview to customers if we formally agree on business terms and commit to a multi year contract. Given we are not yet in an agreement, we are unable to offer the free preview.

Q. What is the status of the negotiations between Rogers and EastLink?
A. While we are unable to share the details of the negotiations, EastLink, like all other service providers in Canada is working behind the scenes to understand the full extent of the "business terms” to be able to carry this content and how those terms would ultimately affect our customers, which is of the utmost importance to us.

Q. How long is this negotiation expected to take? Will the channel be offered by EastLink in time for winter sports like NHL hockey?
A. EastLink would like to be in a position today to offer the Rogers Sportsnet One channel to our interested customers. If and when we are able to come to a mutual agreement on the business terms relating to this channel, we plan to carry the channel.

We understand that this process is frustrating for our customers. It is equally frustrating for us as a service provider. We ask that customers consider that EastLink has 100,000’s of customers across Canada, to which we have offered nearly 100 new channels over the past 12 months. Each new channel is offered to our customers in as fair, equitable, and competitive a manner as possible.

EastLink appreciates your patience while we work through this extraordinary situation.

And I feel like I've given them enough of a hard time on twitter today for all of us! They also had a rough morning because those of us on Eastlink high speed internet lost like half of the interwebz due to some kind of routing problem. I thought it was funny that I couldn't even hit the website downforeveryoneorjustme.com that I use when I can't hit a site! So maybe take it easy on them... for a little while!

 

[sarah11918]

I'm with you magnet. I do think Rogers is the one not playing nicely, not Eastlink. My beef with Eastlink has always been that customers have been kept out of the loop; we want to know whom to blame and whom to pressure.

I understand that we can't know everything going on in the private negotiations process, but I haven't felt that Eastlink has done anything to even publicly acknowledge that the channel exists other than fend off inquiries.

While that FAQ page really didn't tell us anything new, it should have been there the day the new station launched (there's nothing on that website that couldn't have been said at that time) and maybe even the week before before, to let us know that baseball viewers are pretty much screwed. This trying to hound them for information day after day has gotten pretty old.

Telling me that negotiations don't move quickly, and we'd be lucky to have the new channel by hockey season would have allowed me to deal with it and move on, rather than constantly stewing because we don't know whether that channel could show up any day. Telling me that Rogers was trying to increase the cost for every subscriber, even if they didn't want/subscribe to that station would have also earned Eastlink brownie points.

 

[sarah11918]

This was just posted in the other big SNET 1 thread:

Shaw's Twitter account '@Shawinfo' posted the following three messages this afternoon, in the following order:

ShawInfo #Shaw wants to carry #Sportsnetone, and we're disappointed that the #Rogers launch was designed for profit at the expense of our customers.

ShawInfo #Shaw has asked #Rogers to put Blue Jays and hockey games back on the existing #Sportsnet while we work to make #Sportsnetone available.

ShawInfo #Shaw is currently in active discussions with #Rogers to find a way to make #Sportsnetone content available to our customers.

I'm now following (on twitter) a cable company who doesn't even service my area because they seem to be more active in the SNET1 issue. I've made the Eastlink twitter account aware of what Shaw is tweeting.

Even if you're not on twitter, you can always visit their public twitter page to see what they are saying:

http://twitter.com/shawinfo
http://twitter.com/eastlink