sports pack blackouts..i'm screwed

[jmayhew]

great site guys...this helped me find out whats going on.


I live in Pittsburgh and I'm a huge NBA fan (first problem...not going to get intot that)

anyway, i'm originally from southern NJ area so i'm a Nets fan with some interest in the Sixers.

my problem is with the sports pack blackouts!!

i don't want to pay $190 whatever for the NBA league pass when i'm only going to watch the nets...its not worth it to me..especially since i probably wouldn't be able to catch all the games with my schedule.
Plus I like NBA TV which is only available through the sports pack.

So i thought..I'll get the Sports pack. It has the YES network and I'll get to see them on there...WRONG!!!
i got pre season and thats it...all the rest have been blacked out.
i think i might get an occasional Cavs. game since that area is near Pittsburgh.
but after reading on this site i finanally realized how the blackouts work since numerous phone calls with Direct TV had no help/solution.

If im in the NY/NJ area i'll get Net game on Yes, but outside that area it will be blacked out...Also Yes network doesn't replay games so i can't catch the replay either.

So i'm basically screwed...either pay $190 for the league pass that i'm not going to get my moneys worth out of it, or pay for the sports pack for NBA TV & an occasional Cavs game and other regional repeats.

THIS SUCKS!!

I think you should be able to pick the area you want for the regional sports, especially if you live in a town that doesn't have that type of professional sports team...like pittsburgh & pro hoops.

[bonscott87]

Unfortunately that's the way it's been for years. The NBA (and other sports) sells exclusive rights to the home region and then sells the out of market package themselves for those not in that region. NFL has the same thing with Sunday Ticket, MLB with Extra Innings and so on.

Pretty much the "Sports Pack" is useless other then for some college sports and for the "national" channels if you like them (Golf channel, Fox Sports World, etc.)

And why you can't choose what regional sports channel you want is the same reason you can't have the Chicago ABC station in Miami. Local/regional exclusive.

Essentially DirecTV (and Dish and cable) have no say over any of this. They just "follow the rules".

[jmayhew]

I would cancel the sports pack but i want NBA TV.
It sucks that they give you Speed channel with regular package but NBA TV is in the sports pack.

Loose-Loose situation

[boba]

I would cancel the sports pack but i want NBA TV.
It sucks that they give you Speed channel with regular package but NBA TV is in the sports pack.

Loose-Loose situationWell you can cancel at the end of the season and save some money if you want. :)

[byron]

if you subscribe to league pass you get NBATV.

[Steve Mehs]

I would cancel the sports pack but i want NBA TV.
It sucks that they give you Speed channel with regular package but NBA TV is in the sports pack.

Loose-Loose situation

A few years ago, Speedvision (as it was called back then) along with Outdoor Life Network were included in the Sports Pak and later bumped down to Total Choice and above.

[jrbdmb]

Not that I'm advocating this of course, but if you "moved" your service address from Pittsburgh to somewhere in northern NJ or New York state, you would then qualify to see the Nets games on YES (as well as all the other NYC teams). The negative to this is you would no longer qualify to see the Pittsburgh sports teams or Pittsburgh local channels.

[durl]

I wish that the commissioners of the major sports would re-think how they work television coverage. Two of the most popular teams in baseball are the Cubs and the Braves. Part of this, I believe, is because both of these teams have national television coverage via their local superstations and people from all over get to see them several times a week during the season. Sure, the Cubs have a long tradition and that's part of their draw, but national TV coverage has a lot of impact on maintaining that support. The Braves owe a lot of their popularity due to the fact that a huge audience can see them on TV.

Letting people see your teams increases your popularity. I agree that if you show all games in all areas, you run the risk of people liking ANOTHER team better than yours, but if you lose some fans in the local market, you can pick up others from surrounding regions. Why not take a chance and try to increase your fan base by letting more people see your team?

I think it would be great if you could see your own region and the surrounding ones.

[Curtis0620]

Sports pack is $120 a year. NBALP is $160. That's only $40 more.