The Veneer is Coming Off the NHL TV Deal
[Hey Sunshine! Looks like you are right]
It happened quickly! Only the second game into the season, and the new OLN network is dropping the ball (not the puck!). In a sickening display of tech snafu and executive "not-me-ism", the cowardly OLN screwed up their big game, the one featuring the return of Lemieux and newby Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins -vs- Buffalo Sabres. The game was scheduled for Monday night 10 October at 7PM. Apparently many thousands of ticked-off OLN customers got jilted, judging from the volume of angry Blog traffic to OLN's site (OLN is asleep at the wheel ... dozens of frighteningly obscene email insults have piled up on their "feedback" site). I was among the few who got through to OLN by phone, to speak to an overwhelmed, non-technical sweet girl who didn't know WHAT to do with the flood of angry phone calls from angry fans demanding "Where's My Hockey Game!?"
A truly inauspicious start for OLN and the NHL. I'm not suprised one bit. Butthead Bettman IS a butthead and a money-grubber, if the details are missed so what.
Sample correspondence to NHL follows:
[Hello Pittsburgh Penguins Front Office! I tried to send this communication to NHL.com through it's "feedback" mechanism on its webpage, but like many parts of the new NHL, it's not working. Last night I tried to watch the Penguins on my newly-subscribed OLN Network connection. It was a disaster, and here's the story ...]
Dear NHL,
The OLN Network dropped the ball (not the puck) on Monday Night 10 October 2005. I'm one of the many thousands of OLN subscribers who did not receive a Penguins-vs-Sabres hockey game during the 7PM-9:30PM time slot (EDT).
The OLN network delivered an ordinary adventure show called "OI" instead of the game, and OLN is receiving thousands of adverse emails, phonecalls, and blogs on the subject.
I am a DISH Network subscriber, I paid for the "America's Top 180" collection which includes OLN as Channel 151. My OLN signal is clear and crisp. The opening game, Rangers-vs-Flyers, was delivered ontime and with high quality, and I was among the viewers. The second OLN game, to feature the Mssrs. Crosby and Lemieux, was advertised widely in the US media, including NHL.com. How disappointed I was to not receive the game. I live neither in the Pittsburgh nor the Buffalo area, so clearly "blackout" is not an issue
Technically, my DISH signal for Channel 151 was just fine. The DISH schedule channel clearly stated "NHL Hockey, Sabres vs Penguins", as did the Channel 151 moniker. The only problem? OLN transmitted something other than the game. I wonder if anybody with DISH got the game. Judging from the volume of angry email/blog/phone at OLN, the event seemed like a universal disaster where nobody got the job done.
This stinks. It's an inauspicious start for a fledgling TV net who's just a bit too arrogant as a newcomer to broadcast sport.
As for you NHL, if you're looking for fans to return to televised hockey in droves, you're already into damage-control mode.
My own calls to OLN were disappointing. My long wait was followed by a brief talk with a non-technical salesgirl who could only offer "It's out of OLN's hands" and "The cable companies are at fault." I left a message with a "Programming Representative" but do not have a warm-fuzzy-feeling that OLN will resolve this problem.
I wish USA Network had gotten the TV contract. They did a fine job in 1985.
Sincerely yours,
Ticked off Hockey fanEdited by: Realgeorge