27 replies to this topic

[edicius]

I'm from the U.P. going to grad school in Milwaukee until May, spending much of my time on campus, so for the past 5 years I've had to rely on these online stream services to watch my Wings. Last season I decided to get NHL Gamecenter Live (the online service), wanting high-quality, reliable streams which I was not seeing from HockeyStreams at the time (its since improved).

The service was a huge rip off. $180+ for 2/3 of the games I wanted to watch. Their service would blackout every game on Versus, NBC, and NHL Network. I don't have NHL Network and often would find myself on campus for the evening, unable to get home for games on NBC or Versus. I'd even find times (albeit rare) when I could get home, but Versus or NBC were televising based on region, and despite another game playing on the tube, I was STILL blacked out online. It was ridiculous, paying that much and still having to resort to terrible, buffering, blurry online streams for 1/3 of the games.

AMEN.

I used to get NHL Center Ice every year when I had cable. But when I cut the cable, I just sought out streams online. This season, I decided to go legit again with GameCenter Live and have been sorely disappointed. It seriously seems as though every other game is on either NBC Sports or NHL Network, which automatically blacks it out on GCL. I can at least understand blacking out the NBC games, but NHL Network? IT'S THEIR OWNf****** NETWORK. As a result, I've had to go with non-legit streams for a ridiculous amount of games, despite paying for the NHL's service. I know I'm going to get equally screwed when the playoffs come around. When it is broadcasting the games, it's great and I have no complaints. On GCL, I can pick the feeds, whereas on Center Ice, I couldn't. But $180 to watch maybe 2/3 of the games (if not fewer)? Unh-uh. Not worth it. Give me access to the NHL Network/NBC Sports games and then we can talk. Tack on an additional $70 to the package; I can stomach $250/season for ALL the games. Not this half-assed "some of the games".

[VM1138]

To me the league is handling this exactly the way it is supposed to be handled. The only reason to get NHL Centre Ice is to be able to watch out-of-market games, not your local team. That's what your local cable channels are for! I don't understand why people these days are so unreasonable. They think that paying a lousy $180 entitles you to every single NHL regular season game? In fact, that's almost what they are getting. And what makes any one think that they are entitled to millions of dollars just because the league is possibly doing something illegal (according to the way the law is written)?

Seriously? If they have a way of providing access to a game without cable, it's bad of me, the consumer, to want access to local games without having to shell out $100 bucks a month for cable I won't watch that often other than for games? Now, the real deal is that I don't think the NHL is alone in this regard, all the sports do it.

[WorkingOvertime]

I posted this on HF (before I saw the topic here), but this I think changes should be made.

IMO the best option would be the current price for out of market online streams, with an additional fee for local games. This fee could then be split between the local broadcast provider and the NHL. I don't know if the cable companies could/would have power over this (IMO they wouldn't be happy), but it could be set up such that the local broadcaster makes more money than they currently make on viewers of local market teams.

[cusimano_brothers]

In spite of claiming the opposite, Bettman doesn't give a black rat's a## about hockey fans.

[ami]

the biggest problem with the nhl, is the league is ran by fuching lawyers, not businessmen.
laywers rather find 'legal' way to squeeze money out of customers, where real businessmen find ways to improve product.

[Wings_Toledo]

Living in Southern Ohio, the only games that get blacked out for me are Bluejackets games. Needless to say, I wouldn't exactly say I'm missing anything.

[edicius]

Living in Southern Ohio, the only games that get blacked out for me are Bluejackets games. Needless to say, I wouldn't exactly say I'm missing anything.

Except for the Wings games against the Blue Jackets.

[WorkingOvertime]

Living in Southern Ohio, the only games that get blacked out for me are Bluejackets games. Needless to say, I wouldn't exactly say I'm missing anything.

With GCL, you will be missing the playoffs.