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VS and DirecTV Combine For Shutout! |
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This is the last thing the NHL needs.
A squabble between their only national cable carrier and DirecTV.
You gotta be kidding me!
This is a far different situation than when the Owners and the players couldn’t see eye to eye and hockey fans were forced to suffer a full year without NHL hockey.
NHL fans could care less who’s at fault here.
They aren’t looking to take sides between the VS Network and a freaking satellite carrier.
Because they don’t care!
Nor should they, all they want is to watch pucks.
Sources with VS tell me they are not at fault here. They say they recently made an offer to DirecTV that was 100% exactly the same as the previous agreement the two sides have been working on the last several years.
Word is DirecTV has ignored the offer and as of this afternoon has yet to respond.
I'm told DirecTV's claim that VS is asking for a 20% fee increase in a flat out lie.
VS says this negotiation has never been about price and it's simply about distribution. They don't want to see their viewers dropped to a separate tier and be forced to pay a fee to watch hockey.
The bottom line is if the two sides we are dealing with here are unable to find some middle ground then the NHL has no choice but to find a carrier that is available to hockey fans across this country.
Poker has lost its buzz if you haven’t noticed.
Again, this is not a contract dispute between a player and an organization; fans aren’t choosing sides because quite frankly they could care less.
They want hockey!
Fans are learning way too much about contract negotiations between cable Networks and satellite providers than they ever cared to know.
Chances are the casual hockey fan still has no clue VS has been taken away from DirecTV subscribers.
The majority of NHL fans watch VS only during the NHL months and rarely if ever go to the network outside of the NHL season.
It’s quite clear DirecTV doesn’t care about the NHL.
Do you think this would ever happen between ESPN and D-TV? Could you imagine the outcry if Monday Night Football wasn’t available to D-TV viewers?
Where is Chris Chelios when you need him and his colorful comments on negotiations? Hockey fans shouldn’t need a reminder of the headlines he created several years ago during the 1994 NHL lockout
Believe me, I appreciate the VS network for having the best interest of NHL fans and having their back. They’ve done the NHL a great service since the lockout.
Hockey has made great strides on making the games available. This disagreement is taking fans back to the 80’s when there was no national carrier.
Fans should feel comfort knowing that the NHL tells me they are monitoring the situation. Is that all they can do is monitor? This is an absolute joke. Once again the NHL and their fans get the short end of the stick. It’s been going on for years, will it ever change?
Just get it done!
Blues Clues!
The Blues will begin the season with no interim Captain.
Barret Jackman, Keith Tkachuk, and Paul Kariya will each be supporting the “A”.
Alex Pietrangelo is unlikely to dress in the season opener Friday. (which will not be seen in the majority of homes throughout the country)
The Blues are not committing to Pietrangelo beyond nine games played as of now.
Blues Buzz airs tonight between 6-7 on 590 the fan in St. Louis. The show can be heard on www.kfns.com
Blues Buzz returns to Johnny Mac's on Watson road next Tuesday October 6th. Head Coach Andy Murray is expected to be my first guest live in store. Archives of Blues Buzz can be found at www.kfns.com
More to come,
Andy Strickland
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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