Sportsnet One: The Phantom Menace?

Mustachioed D1 soccer enthusiast Andrew Bucholtz wrote a poignant post this morning on the availability of top-tier European football on Canadian channels, or lack thereof. Buried deep within the post is a criticism of Sportsnet One, the new flagship cable channel of the Rogers media empire, and their attempt to screw the rest of us.

Sportsnet One is essentially Sportsnet HD. It shows the Raptors, Blue Jays, Oilers, Flames, Canucks and Senators, with the hockey teams being restricted to their own markets.

So really, the only alternative programming that Sportsnet One will offer is European football, but, as Bucholtz points out,

1: Sportsnet One is available only on Rogers carriers.

2: Rogers only offers cable to Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

For now, the only thing we'll be missing out on is Rogers' rights to Premiership games. For now. Keep in mind this summer that the Vancouver Canucks took on the communcations giant as a business partner this summer.

13 Canucks games to be broadcast on Sportsnet One

Since BC viewers are unable to get Rogers One, this means there will be pressure on Shaw, the Western Canadian cable company, as well as sattelite carriers, to carry the Rogers channel.

The Canucks generally have 11-17 pay-per-view games per season. The package is about $11 a game or $15 in HD. If Shaw begins carrying Sportsnet One at, say, $5 a month, it disguises the cost of pay-per-view games as a regular cable channel, offering nothing that the old Sportsnet didn't do already.

Good business? Hell yes. Ethical? Hell no. It's not just the Canucks, but the Oilers and Flames each have 58 games to air via Sportsnet, without the release stating how many will be reserved for the Sportsnet One broadcast.

This would be the television equivalent to money-laundering. How many Canuck, Flame and Oiler fans refused to buy the pay-per-view broadcasts because of the inherent bias of the phrase? Under the 'Sportsnet ONE' umbrella, it's just another cable channel, like TSN2.

Unlike TSN2, however, Sportsnet is not actually committed to bringing sports programming to our homes, but more determined to shut us out from it.

TheHockeyWriters post: Don Hay to seek NHL bid?

Occasionally, 'Eh' Factor editor and sole writer Cam Charron will post on TheHockeyWriters.com and shamelessly repost it here to create useful synergy between the two websites, one which attracts far more readers than the other.

This is one of those times.

This post is about Don Hay. Neate Sager of Buzzing the Net posted this earlier today, and I felt I had to jump on the story. My short post reducing Don Hay's WHL career to a bunch of numbers can be found here. Enjoy.

Daryl Katz buys the lease to Copps Coliseum

The philanthropic owner of the Edmonton Oilers is doing well to put the city of Hamilton out of its misery.

The general consensus seems to be that Katz is attempting to either strong arm the city of Edmonton into helping them build a new arena or to "control the potential arrival of a relocated or expansion NHL team."

The idea that Katz wants a bargaining chip with Edmonton is pretty damn laughable, and Edmonton City Council should be able to see right through it. Northlands Skyreach Rexall may not be a luxury arena, but Copps Coliseum sure as hell isn't. It holds about 1,000 more people and has an ugly seat colouring scheme.

The way the NHL is today, neither Copps or Rexall should fit a team. It's a dissapointing reality. Even the Flames, who reside in a Pengrowth Saddledome that fits 19,000 people, are looking for a new place to not play hockey past April.

So if Katz is using this as a means to persuade Edmonton into buying him a lot (or part of the purchase price) for a new arena, it comes across as pretty thin. Mostly, this is something that Katz is likely using to stimulate discussion amongst Edmonton fans, with a renewed optimism and faith in the franchise thanks to Taylor Hall.

This gives me the idea to copyright the phrase "The House That Hall Built" so I can see some royalties in a few years when it eventually happens.