Posted this in GARM thread: If this were July...and Rockets season weren't until October...does anyone think for one second they wouldn't use the same advantage (if it were afforded them) to maximize their own dollars coming out of this media deal? Really? These are businesses. I don't know what's real and what isn't here...but Les turning over all of the Rockets TV coverage to a deal that can simply be trumped by another business with its own interests is just flat out dumb. So dumb I have difficulty believing it entirely. Jim Crane now for all respects and purposes CONTROLS the TV availability of the Houston Rockets? If true, how dumb is this entire deal for the Houston Rockets? Seriously? What monkey in a slick suit made that decision to give up that much control to another organization with its own potentially competing interests? Just because a franchise owns more of a stake in a collaborative project doesn't mean that control of the project has to fall along those same lines. To give up this much control...to literally risk having an entire season go untelevised to 60% of a home market....without any agreed parameters of numbers that would automatically trigger a deal with the other local TV providers in the market....is just flat out dumb. Were they represented by counsel when they signed this deal? Did no one ever point out to them the possibility that the Houston Astros effectively could control their entire availability in the local market? Really? I find this all very difficult to believe....these parties are way too sophisticated for something like this.
And you have every right to do that. I think the Longhorn Network sucks and that ESPN is screwing UT by being a stickler for the price they want to get the deals done there too. Like this, it hurts UT fans, and has completely obliterated interest in UT basketball because most of the games aren't televised. I'm not telling you how you should react to it - just that it makes perfect sense from a business perspective. ESPN doesn't care about screwing over UT fans - they care about making money in the long-term. If LHN ever is available, people will watch it rather than thinking "ESPN screwed us!" I don't think they'll get the money they want, and I think UT screwed up, but those are negotiating decisions on their part. I'm not at all surprised by any of the parties or how they are handling this. Similarly, CSNHouston is a profit-driven venture from the Astros and Rockets, and they are going to make profit-driven decisions. They are looking at it long-term. A year from now, no one is going to care about how long it took to put CSNHouston together or if people missed half a season of Rockets games in the process. If people are Astros/Rockets fans, they will tune in. In the meantime, Comcast gets a secondary benefit by being the only place that people can see the Rockets.
Why are you assuming the Astros have sole decision making. It is likely rhat both parties have to agree, and in this case the stros don't agree
Certainly true. I just assumed it from this: Without the approval of the Astros, who own 46 percent of the channel to the Rockets' 30 percent and NBC's 22 percent, no deals can be made. It didn't sound like the Rockets had quite the same leverage, but it's certainly possible. In which case, they could return the favor in March when they have much less motivation to accept a deal.
You're right...more equity does not necessarily mean that this decision would have to fall along those same lines.
Last I checked they were in the World Series in 2005 and extremely relevant up until that point, which was more relevant than Rockets have been in the post season in a long time. Of course, the Rockets do have those championships but that's almost 20 years ago now. It hurts, but it is the truth.
Guys, this is not a reliable journalistic source. Hold off on the torches and pitchforks. Who the hell even is Jeff Balke? Never heard of him. Houstonpress.com is also just a blog, not a credible source. To me this smells of trolling for pageviews. Make people mad, get hits on your website.
Astros got Swept in the WS. You can't compare that to 2 rings *****. It's like saying the Colorado Rockies are more relevant than the Denver Broncos because they went to the WS and the Broncos won Super Bowls 20 years ago. Ps: tool
Being Relevant ≠ Winning Championship Being Successful = Winning Championship PS - Tool is cool. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wS7CZIJVxFY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To be fair, the Houston Press website is more worried about being getting as many page views as Cracked than they are with being a reputable news source.
Heh, I had to be that guy who had to reply in a semi-serious manner. Oh well, this team won't be watchable anyway. At least for this year.