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A Rant: Canadian Sports Networks' Western Baseball Coverage

5K views 33 replies 10 participants last post by  randomusername2 
#1 · (Edited)
*Begin official rant*

Note: the original statement included incorrect information. Because it's mentioned later on in the thread, I've since edited it out. And thus, the second point remains -

And if I'm gonna jump up and down on the subject, let me add that RSN isn't much better, at least to baseball fans of western teams. This entire past week, vitally important contests between the L.A. Angels and the Oakland Athletics were scheduled following those featuring Toronto or Boston. In each case, the earlier games ran longer than the allotted three hours and those of us waiting patiently missed between two and five innings of the late games. Note: in each and every instance.

That was the case for the RSN-regionals. Meanwhile, SN1 proved that Rogers operates with the same mindset as that of TSN. On the national channel, we were given pre-taped filler-type programming. Rather than scheduling the eastern and western baseball games on separate channels initially (i.e. Toronto or Boston or New York on the national channel, the western game on the regionals or vice versa), we are constantly frustrated having been placed in "joined-in-progress" mode over and over again.

As it stands now, we on the left side of the country are being wordlessly informed that games likely appealing to us as much or more than eastern viewers are little more than an afterthought. While there's obviously no ill intent on their part, these two sports networks continually send the message that the interests of those in the west don't matter enough to ensure full coverage of the late games.

I don't mean this to be just an impotent screed by a western baseball fan. I'd genuinely be receptive to any thoughts or suggestions on what can be done to make an impression on RSN and TSN that our interests account for something, too. While there's lip service to that effect, the proof is in the pudding ... and it's most definitely inferior.

*End official rant*
 
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#2 ·
What are you ranting about? There was no college football at all on any TSN channel last night (Sunday 31 Aug.). Instead, at 19:00 there was Baseball Tonight and at 20:00 there was Sunday Night Baseball, Cleveland @ Kansas City on TSN3.

In fact, there were also no 3 channels for U.S. Open last night. There were just two. What TSN had last night was NASCAR on TSN1 and 5, U.S. Open on TSN2 and 4 and MLB SNB on TSN3.
 
#4 ·
Even if one changes Sunday Night ESPN baseball game to ESPN Monday night game, this statement below is still false.

"With five TSN channels now available, the network is unable to find room for the weekly Sunday Night ESPN baseball game, something they ordinarily provide."

TSN did not / does not ordinarily provide baseball night on Monday night at this time of the year as Monday night is always the time for Monday Night Football.
 
#5 ·
Then you're missing my point. Throughout the season, TSN has shown the ESPN games on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights. Sure, if they still only had TSN 1 & 2, then it's more-or-less understandable that it may face substitution on occasion.

TSN now has five channels. Yet, they still choose to dump an important LIVE ball game in favor of canned programming on one of them. To a baseball fan, there's no way that should be considered the go-to option. There's no justification for it whatsoever.
 
#7 ·
Ya know what? I'm backing off on my comments about TSN tonight. Brady is correct ... although the Washington @ L.A. game was originally on that network's schedule, it had since been removed. Obviously, I was unaware of that and anticipated seeing the game. In which case (and to keep it in baseball terminology), my diatribe about TSN tonight was off base.

Now, about RSN and the shortsighted scheduling of eastern and western games on the same channel ... at least THAT could be rectified, no?
 
#12 ·
ESPN broadcast 2 baseball games during the day early and late afternoon (Mon. Sept. 1st.) but TSN could not show them because they were busy with a CFL double header.

West coast baseball games get no respect from Rogers sportsnets as they are almost always joined in progress. Usually on Sportsnet East, Ontario, and West they won't join the ballgame until Sportsnet Connected is finished, leaving the viewer with less than half the game. Would be interesting to see them do that with hockey.
 
#14 ·
Most often RSN Pacific will go directly to the late west coast game out of Blue Jays, skipping news. I'm sure the sales people at your cable carrier would tell you are that you are welcome to subscribe to that channel. And if your local cable company doesn't carry it, and these games are that important to you....

Its no different than anything else, if you want it bad enough, you'll pay. If you don't, I guess message boards will have to do.
 
#18 ·
And once again, skeena1, I misunderstood what you were saying. (Hey, it ain't easy hittin' 65 and headin' to surgery soon!)

So, to clarify once and for all, mlb.tv is indeed available to me. But it's a computer service. What I thought you were suggesting was subscribing to the MLB package available on cable systems in the U.S. Which would be fine if I didn't live in Canada. Alas, that's not an option here. The idea of watching 3+ hour games on my business computer in my office (the only one with a large HD monitor) isn't practical.

My apologies to you and to anyone else I may have misinterpreted along the way. The bottom line is that I'd happily pay to receive a full menu of games on my living room big screen TV (which also has surround sound). And, as previously mentioned, such a cable package doesn't exist where I am.

Therefore, those of us interested in particular games on the west coast are limited to whatever RSN shows. Because of that, we don't see them from the beginning more often than not. Instead, we are expected to wait while two non-contenders (i.e. Boston @ Tampa Bay) play extra innings.

The fact that RSN hasn't clued into this scheduling problem yet (or worse, doesn't consider it worth addressing) and continues placing the western games on the same channel(s) as the eastern ... well, that says a lot about RSN and its lack of determination to service the entire country.
 
#21 ·
So, to clarify once and for all, mlb.tv is indeed available to me. But it's a computer service. What I thought you were suggesting was subscribing to the MLB package available on cable systems in the U.S. Which would be fine if I didn't live in Canada. Alas, that's not an option here. The idea of watching 3+ hour games on my business computer in my office (the only one with a large HD monitor) isn't practical.

My apologies to you and to anyone else I may have misinterpreted along the way. The bottom line is that I'd happily pay to receive a full menu of games on my living room big screen TV (which also has surround sound). And, as previously mentioned, such a cable package doesn't exist where I am.
You do know that there are ways for you to watch MLB.tv from the internet to your television system, do you not?

Also, I found out that Extra Innings are available on Telus TV, which serves British Columbia.
 
#19 ·
You can get MLB Extra Innings via your cable provider, can you not?

Sportsnet will never not show the Jays on all four regional feeds. Granted, some nights they could show a west coast game on SN1 or SN360, but those channels sometimes have their own programming (especially SN360: UFC, WWE, etc.)

FYI: TSN3 has a MLB double-header tomorrow night, 7pm and 10pm.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Thanks, ticky.

Taking your points one-by-one...

1. Nope. MLB Extra Innings doesn't exist here in Vancouver, B.C. via cable. The only way to get it is to hook up with Bell satellite.

2. Yep. And that's the crux of the issue. RSN COULD put the Blue Jays on the regionals and the west coast game on SN1. While there is occasionally some manner of live program on SN!, much of the time it's filler. As it stands, we in the west are forced to wait until an eastern game finishes on the regionals before joining the preferred game already in progress (with rare exception). So put the damn western game on SN1. This ain't rocket science.

Thanks for pinpointing the doubleheader on TSN3 Wednesday. The Sunday, Monday and Wednesday ESPN games have been on TSN all season. Now that we're in the final month, they're scheduling doubleheaders more often.

Really, the long and short of this surprisingly lengthy thread is that RSN's inattention and seeming lack of interest in western viewers' preferences is unacceptable. Of course I've expressed these sentiments to them ... twice. I've yet to get any reply, even if it's to tell me to bug off. As such, I find it very difficult to meekly accept their indifference when a simple solution is clearly at hand.

For the record, tonight's late game, Seattle @ Oakland, was scheduled for a usual 7 p.m. PDT start. And, as has been the case with every doubleheader-on-the-same-channel over the past several weeks, we're lookin' at Toronto @ Tampa Bay instead.
 
#22 ·
Even if you have MLB Extra Innings with Bell TV, you still won't get to see the west coast baseball game from the beginning if they are scheduled on Rogers Sportsnets. MLB EI does not show any games that Rogers has decided to broadcast, and in reality partially broadcast.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
And there we have it; we're right back at square one.

In the future (i.e. 2015), this entire conversation could be avoided if RSN was just a little bit more mindful that not every viewer is a rabid Blue Jays fan. Sure, the network owns the team and we understand it'll get pushed more than any other. That's to be expected. But the simple truth is that RSN is ignoring the reality that people within their purview some 3,000 miles away matter too. As it currently stands, we are being told over and over that our interests are secondary and that we should be happy enough to get pieces of our preferred games most nights. Second class sports subscribers, so to speak.

RSN knows better than to try doing this with NHL games. The programmers apparently don't care to give the same consideration to western MLB fans. After all, game over-runs are not uncommon. Yet, RSN fails to give a modicum of thought to the potential effect of scheduling baseball games back-to-back on the same channel ... games that use no clock to regulate playing time.
 
#24 ·
WriterGuy,

I think you need to look at this matter from SN's point of view. It is all business, ratings and bottom line. How much ratings can other teams generate in Canada compared to Canada-based Toronto Blue Jays? As well, purchasing cost matters. How much does SN need to pay compared to its own production of the Jays? It may not be good for fans of other teams, but the fact remains that SN is a Canadian company and Blue Jays is its sister company that also based in Canada.

Now, for yourself, if all the TV channels available can not work in your favor, why do you not look for the alternative yourself? As mentioned by me and others above, MLB.tv has out-of-market games, it is available anywhere in Canada as long as one has broadband connection, and there are ways to watch them on your "living room big screen TV (which also has surround sound)".
 
#25 · (Edited)
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that RSN has a contract with MLB to carry any game not nationally televised. I also believe Rogers payed a flat rate to have access to all games during the entire season, picking and choosing those that fit into their schedule. If my perception is accurate, there shouldn't be any extra expense involved; it's up to RSN to decide which games are televised and on which of their channels they'll appear.

Ya know, both you, hercules130 and skeena1, have made a salient point. That being, there's a way to subscribe to mlb.tv and then run a connection from computer to television. Assuming RSN doesn't change its practices next season, I'll definitely be looking into that potential resolution. So my thanks to you both for mentioning it. Frankly, I'm not particularly gifted when it comes to things mechanical, including connections between devices. But for something like this, I'd either figure it out or have someone more knowledgeable than I pay a visit.

That said, I still have a certain amount of reticence. I've attempted to watch the odd game via the computer and have found that the a/v quality can be unstable. The video varied substantially, including occasional freezing that required reloading the page. I find myself wondering if the folks at mlb.tv can assure the subscriber a constant and clear signal.

Before anyone asks, when I visit YouTube and other sites to watch HD videos, there rarely are any issues to speak of. Point being, my computer is powerful enough to display video programs of any length without difficulty.

Heh heh ... didn't mean to pinpoint the surround sound feature as I did. Growing up in the days of monaural, I still get probably too excited when hearing anything in my home with that advanced capability. When it comes to sports, surround sound truly does put the viewer in the midst of the crowd, and to me that's a big deal.

What can I tell ya? :D
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Great! Cuz I got lots of ideas for 'em. :eek:

Actually, it's only right to give credit where it's due. RSN has improved their coverage of late games this season. While the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox get preferential treatment, we've received more Mariners and Dodgers games than previously. (My two west coast teams, if you haven't already guessed).

I haven't counted, but I'm pretty sure there've been more contests from the west coast in '14 than in '13. Really, my issue is all about the placement of east/west games back-to-back on the same channel when others are readily available. As it stands, fans of western teams typically miss anywhere from one-to-four innings on average.

In any event, this discussion has been helpful, which I suspect is why we're all here. My thanks again to one and all.
 
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