# Fox Sports Net Issues



## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

I just signed up for the Sports Pack on DirecTV. I can get all the sports channels indicated unless there is an NBA or NHL game on them, in which I get either a "not available in your area" or "channel not purchased" message on the screen. Is anybody else having this problem? I thought the purpose for the Sports Pack was to get coverage from out-of-market teams...for a price. Any knowledge would be helpful. Thank you all.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

> I thought the purpose for the Sports Pack was to get coverage from out-of-market teams...for a price.


Then why would NBA League Pass, NHL Center Ice and MLB Extra Innings be in existence?  This is a common misconception, but every time I post about it, I always ask the OP, do you think you could really watch the vast majority of every MLB, NHL and NBA game for $12 a month or less? I don't mean to be a wiseass, but think about it. 

This is normal, the only way to see out of market professional sports is the season packages. Most if not all professional games and some colleges games will be blacked out on every one of the 20some regional sports networks except for the one(s) that claim your area and you get free in your basic subscription. There are some oddball exceptions, like here in Buffalo, FS Ohio and FS Pittsburgh are not our RSNs but due to whacked out boundaries, the Pirates and Indians are considered home MLB teams for us, so with the Sports Pak, I'd be able to watch those two teams blackout free.

You'll be able to watch Arena Football, Minor League Baseball, Minor League Soccer, Minor League Hockey, Lacrosse, local auto racing, high school sports and some college sports. Along with tennis and boxing. When pro sports go into OT or EI or rain delay, if the extended period lasts longer then the original time slot of the game, the blackout is lifted and you can see the end of the game. You also get a million chances to see Best Damn Sports Show, Beyond The Glory and can watch regional programming that is unique to that area. Fox example Empire, before they went under had a sports show called Fan TV, while distant Sabres fans couldn't see the games on Empire, they could see pre and post game and Fan TV which heavily focused on the Sabres.

Bottom line, the sports leagues control blackouts not DirecTV, Dish or anyone else and when you subscribe to this package, expect to see no professional sports at all on the extra RSNs, and if you happen to live where the boundaries are screwy, it's an added bonus.


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

That's the best damn explanation I have heard all day. I was on the phone with DirecTV for 45 minutes through 3 different reps. I told them about the message I was receiving and the best they could tell me was I need a phone line to watch the games. I also told them the FSNs I wasn't getting all had some form of game action on. They even had me reset my receiver. They did something else on their end. Not really sure what it was. It would be nice though if these CSRs could get some form of an education about stuff before they try to help us all.

You are right though. $12 a month did sound too good to be true, but I see why now.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

FavreJL04 said:


> That's the best damn explanation I have heard all day...


Yes, my good buddy Steve has a knack for cutting through the crap and getting to the crux of the matter. He is wise beyond his years and his usually opinionated postings are always entertaining and a good read.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Steve said it before I could. But I do have a list of what you get and don't get.

www.carload.com/dishsports.htm


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

That was a list of what you get from the Dish Network Multi-Sport package. Is it pretty safe to assume that list would duplicate for the DirecTV Sports Pack as well since the station listings are about identical?


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I can't say for sure, because I've never had DirecTV. I have read that DirecTV blacks out MLB games in their entirety no matter how long they last -- it's like they actually have someone watching.  I have also heard that DirecTV has fewer preseason blackouts on all major sports. I could easily be wrong.

If you're in one of those funky between-cities, claimed-by-lotsa-teams areas, then I hear that more games from "your" kinda-distant teams are available with DirecTV than with Dish.

Finally, although it's not directly relevant, Dish has Superstations available, and they give you games that aren't otherwise available. Currently, that includes some games from the NJ Nets, LA Clippers, NY Mets and NY Yankees, plus occasional college sports.


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

I do notice that there are a lot of preseason MLB games that are televised. All NHL and NBA games are blanked out, except for the ones that are on the local RSN. Some NBA and NHL repeats are even blanked out and there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it. I noticed on Altitude sports there was an Avalache game repeat being aired that I COULD receive. Later on they were airing the same repeat again, but this time it was blanked out. Makes no sense.


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## TimL (Apr 24, 2002)

There is no rhyme or reason for it. I have Dish Network and with their $5.99 Sports Pack I get BOTH the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins. (am in between both cities) However, On Local Time Warner Cable, Columbus is blacked out on FSN Ohio and Pittsburgh claims my area (Canton/Stark County, Oh.) but the Penguins are on FSN Pittsburgh, which Time Warner doesnt carry. I do get the Hockey replays all over the NHL and i think some NBA replays as well..MLB does open up on Dish after the 3-hour broadcast window..


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Why thank you Nick. As always, I’m flattered 

Also comes the question is, is the Sports Pak worth it? Aside from the RSNs you also get, ESPN U, CSTV, TV Games, Gol TV, NBA TV, Fox Soccer Channel, The Outdoor Channel and if you don’t have Total Choice Plus, Fuel. 

Personally I like what Time Warner does better then either of the DBS providers. The Sports Tier on TW is $1.95. ($4.95 in some areas but that should be going down). You get CSTV, NBA TV, Fuel, Tennis Channel and the 3 Fox Sports Diginets. Fox Soccer Channel and The Outdoor Channel are included in the basic digital tier. ESPN U, Gol TV and TV Games are not offered. The three FS Regional Diginets are a combo of all the Fox RSNs and essentially replace them all because the three regionals just show in the clear content. 20 channels compacted down to three. Channel count doesn’t look as nice, but in the end the content is probably almost the same.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

FavreJL04 said:


> Some NBA and NHL repeats are even blanked out and there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it. I noticed on Altitude sports there was an Avalache game repeat being aired that I COULD receive.


The pattern I've seen is that all OOM NBA repeats are blacked out, period. When they're packaged as a "fourth quarter" or "highlights" repeat, they might get clear sometimes, but the full-game NBA repeats are always blacked out.

On the other hand, OOM NHL repeats are usually in the clear. Did Altitude really repeat an Avalanche game twice? Maybe that second repeat was really the next live game, or was at least mistakenly thought to be live.

Caveats: This is based on Dish, not DirecTV, and here in Denver, we even get to see the live games on Altitude.


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

I am pretty sure it was the same repeat twice. The original game was two nights ago, Sunday night I believe, and there was a repeat later that night which I was able to watch (I didn't though). Then there was a repeat of that same game again yesterday afternoon (Monday) that was blacked out. Now that I think about it, I am not 100% sure if both repeats were on the same channel or not, but I thought they were.


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## springdale_sam (Jan 14, 2006)

Hey I was wondering if there was a way that dish would put up Fox sports Mid West on my program guide because when the Mlb season starts I am allowed the Cards games


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Springdale-area Dish subscribers apparently get only Fox Sports Southwest with AT60+ packages. You'd need to add the Multi-Sport Package to have a shot at getting the Cards on FS Midwest.


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## springdale_sam (Jan 14, 2006)

The local cable company takes one of there real estate channels and puts on the cards games from Fox Sports Mid West and then when the game is over the channel goes black


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## KyL416 (Nov 11, 2005)

> Springdale-area Dish subscribers apparently get only Fox Sports Southwest with AT60+ packages. You'd need to add the Multi-Sport Package to have a shot at getting the Cards on FS Midwest.


Sounds similar to the situation with us in North Eastern, PA and D*. With just Total Choice we get FSN New York, YES, MSG, and possibly SNY. If we subscribe to the Sports Pack, we can get Penguins and Pirates games on FSN Pittsburg,


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## Tony1097 (Apr 26, 2006)

Steve Mehs said:


> Then why would NBA League Pass, NHL Center Ice and MLB Extra Innings be in existence?  This is a common misconception, but every time I post about it, I always ask the OP, do you think you could really watch the vast majority of every MLB, NHL and NBA game for $12 a month or less? I don't mean to be a wiseass, but think about it.
> 
> This is normal, the only way to see out of market professional sports is the season packages. Most if not all professional games and some colleges games will be blacked out on every one of the 20some regional sports networks except for the one(s) that claim your area and you get free in your basic subscription. There are some oddball exceptions, like here in Buffalo, FS Ohio and FS Pittsburgh are not our RSNs but due to whacked out boundaries, the Pirates and Indians are considered home MLB teams for us, so with the Sports Pak, I'd be able to watch those two teams blackout free.
> 
> ...


you can add Canadian Football and "Poker Superstars" to that list


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Steve Mehs said:


> Also comes the question is, is the Sports Pak worth it?


I think it is, (it is for me because I watch alot of college hockey) however, I also think that if you subscribe to 2 or more professional league packages, (especially the expensive NFLST) they should wave the $12.00 a month fee and you should get the sports pack at no extra charge (or at least at a discounted price). I think that would be an incentive for people to order the league packages, because to me, the sports pack alone is worthless without the individual league packages.

What do you guys think?


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I think the Sports Pack is worth it at E*'s price of $6/month. I think I might have a problem with DirecTV's just-like-Showtime pricing. Then again, D*'s package includes ESPNU, Fox Soccer, CSTV, and Gol TV, all of which I get in AT180 already.

That list again: www.carload.com/dishsports.htm

And I'm counting down the days to Canadian Football League action, without Ottawa this year.


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## Z-Todd from AZ (Apr 12, 2006)

The Sports Pack (on Direct) is good for college hoops, especially for the Pac 10 or Gonzaga basketball. All those games are blackout free.


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## BGummy (Mar 1, 2006)

I've been a D* customer for five years and a MLB Extra Innings subscriber for three seasons. I know it's frustrating to see a game listed on the guide only to find out that it's not available in your area. But, you'd be surprised how many games/events are blacked out. FSN has a monopoly on sports telecasts in the world and they've got us right where they want us. And we have to suffer. Unless something changes for the better, we won't get to see what we want to see.


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## KyL416 (Nov 11, 2005)

FSN has little to nothing to do with those various blackouts. It's MLB, NHL, NBA, and ESPN with their seasonal sports packages that cause them.


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