Media: 2009-10 complaints about broadcasters

[Jarhead]

Somebody should be able to fill this explanation out. Raycom has the rights to all ACC games on over the air stations only. They get first choice. Other networks can have access to the games, but must black them out in any area in which a local station is broadcasting a game. That only applies for games in which the ACC owns those rights initially, but if Raycom does not pick up the games other broadcasters can pick them up. That's why we see so many games on ESPN, Fox Sports, and CBS. Somehow, the cable people get involved also, but who knows what cable companies do. If you are in an area covered by an over the air station with a Raycom contract you will not be able to view games on any other carrier.

That's for regular season and ACC tourney games. For NCAA tourney games, CBS has the contract with the NCAA, and is the culprit. They are afraid of losing viewers if a game appears to be a run away, so they jump to other games, willy nilly. I'll be so glad when the NCAA contract ends.

[mgtr]

Here in Maryland the ACC tourney ESPN feed was also blacked out. And my DirecTV only carries the standard definition version of the local channel with the Raycom feed. Really pisses me off that the HD feed is blacked out and I have to watch standard def. I'm going to have to check out Dish and see if they carry that channel in both standard and regular def. Grumble grumble. But we won, so all is right with the world. Until the networks switch away from the next Duke game as soon as they get a 6 point lead...at least ESPN (usually) shows the whole game.

Directv is pretty good about carrying the locals in HD if available. Your Raycom local may not be broadcasting in HD (stations are not required to broadcast in HD, just in digital).

[Magnolia888]

I know that if I still lived in the region I would have been really ticked off (well, I am really ticked off now, but nothing like I would have felt being unable to view the game).

If you were a regular viewer of Duke games, you would know what local station in your area shows the Raycom games (unless you had some strange reason you could not access your local stations like McDougal). You would probably have watched a lot of games on that Raycom station all season so it wouldn't be a big mystery to you.

In Atlanta, the Duke games are generally shown on the local Raycom affiliate (Channel 36) or Fox Sports South, if they aren't on ESPN or ESPN2. The TV Guide tells me ahead of time what station it will be on. The info is also pretty easy to find on the web.

All your Dad had to do was look at the TV guide to find the local station playing the game (it was CW 44 in Tampa afaik). It probably would have been an easier thing to figure out the day before the game, and you could have helped him find the station on his system.

[-jk]

If you were a regular viewer of Duke games, you would know what local station in your area shows the Raycom games (unless you had some strange reason you could not access your local stations like McDougal). You would probably have watched a lot of games on that Raycom station all season so it wouldn't be a big mystery to you.

In Atlanta, the Duke games are generally shown on the local Raycom affiliate (Channel 36) or Fox Sports South, if they aren't on ESPN or ESPN2. The TV Guide tells me ahead of time what station it will be on. The info is also pretty easy to find on the web.

All your Dad had to do was look at the TV guide to find the local station playing the game (it was CW 44 in Tampa afaik). It probably would have been an easier thing to figure out the day before the game, and you could have helped him find the station on his system.

In DC, the usual Raycom affiliate is DC20. Imagine my surprise when, Sunday morn, I check the schedule and find that DC20 is showing some 80's B movie! They'd moved the Raycom rights to the local Fox affiliate..

But Comcast didn't have it on their programming list. ESPN had it listed as blacked out. Fox had something else (I don't recall what) showing on their programming guide.

TV isn't always sweetness and light. I did find it - Fox was listing the ACC pregame show, so I extrapolated. (Some TA is shuddering, even now.)

-jk

[Classof06]

This is a long thread, so someone may have already discussed this, but I thought it was funny that Doug Gottlieb had us in his Final 4 when pressed last night.

Who woulda thought? I didn't think we passed the test of "alarming" athleticism.

[Magnolia888]

In DC, the usual Raycom affiliate is DC20. Imagine my surprise when, Sunday morn, I check the schedule and find that DC20 is showing some 80's B movie! They'd moved the Raycom rights to the local Fox affiliate..

Okay, I will amend my previous statement . . . if you were a regular viewer of Duke games, you would probably already know what the local Raycom station is in your area. :o

I have to think that it doesn't happen very often that the Raycom affiliate changes stations in the middle of the season without much warning. That would definitely suck. :( (I have TiVo and it's never failed to find the Duke game no matter what station is playing it, but I know other people don't have that luxury.)

But it sounds like Dad in Tampa just had no idea that a local station played ACC games, and didn't know where to find it other than ESPN, which is never going to air any game playing on a Raycom station. The TV Guide should tell you what station is playing the game, and the ACC website has broadcast info ahead of time for every game.

ETA: To add a more relevant point to this thread: Hubert Davis is freaking annoying, and that laugh is the worst.