Hi John,

Thanks for doing this.  Two quick questions.

1. Why are all preseason games blacked out on the regional sports networks on Dish Network but available on DirecTV?

2. Are there any updates on MSGHD/MSG+HD becoming available on Dish Network?  Since they are now broadcasting all games in HD for the Rangers, Isles, Devils, and Sabres (home games only) they represent a majority of the HD games that would be available on NHL Center Ice.

Thanks again,

Jason

Posted by Jason from Los Angeles on 10/06/08 at 10:46 AM ET

What’s the latest on ESPN? Is the NHL pursuing any deals with the network, or are they content with their currently national agreements?

Posted by penguinsfan on 10/06/08 at 10:53 AM ET

Great job in getting Hockey Night in Canada on the NHL Network, but I have one question regarding NHL Network.

Why are the higlights from On the Fly not in HD and some of the games that are re-broadcast are not in HD.  We need our HD please.

Posted by Tommy on 10/06/08 at 11:14 AM ET

I’d be interested to hear about any current negotiations towards NHL Center Ice being available on Verizon FiOS. Obviously it’s too late for this season (for me anyway), any chance on having it for 2009-2010 season?

Posted by Mojo Tooth on 10/06/08 at 11:16 AM ET

Hi, I´m a european NHL fan and I purchased ESPN360 Season Pass and Playoffs Pass last year and the experience was great so this year I purchased the Early Bird.

But I have some questions/problems.

-Why we can´t have the Center Ice Online? ESPN360 works good but CIO has some features (watch 4 games at the same time ) that ESPN360 doesn´t have.

-In Spain, the cable company that has hockey is Canal+ España with his channel Canal + Deportes, they only show 2 regular season games every week and the last two rounds of the playoffs (live). We don´t have any company that carries NASN so we can´t have it. But ESPN360 blacks out every game from NASN for me, they also blackout all the games showed on NBC in the U.S. Why this happens ? I would understand that the games from Canal + were blacked out ( They aren´t) but I can´t understand why they blackout games that I don´t have other (legal) alternative ways to enjoy. I have asked them many times and they don´t give me any answer. For example
, the opening season games of saturday were on Canal + ( and I watched them ) but the sunday games were not but I couln´t watch them on ESPN360 because “blackout restrictions”.

-Does the NHL realise that situations like the one I described happen very often and the fans are forced to use ilegal streams to watch some games ? Everytime this happens the NHL loses money.

Thank you in advance.

Posted by Miquel B.G. from Palma de Mallorca, Spain on 10/06/08 at 11:34 AM ET

I’m very pleased with the progress of Center Ice on DirecTV in the last year with most every game having home and away feeds.  My question is why when a game appears on the NHL Network (US) are we are blacked out of both the home and away RSN feed?  I understand blacking out the feed that the NHL Network picks up, but is there any way to get the other feed opened up?  One of the advantages of Center Ice, on satellite at least, is the freedom to see whichever team feed you want.  Specifically I’m talking about Saturday’s game where the NHL Network had the CBC feed, but MSG was broadcasting the same game.  I would have liked to compare the coverage and not be forced into the CBC’s coverage (of which I usually enjoy).

Posted by Brad V from GR Michigan on 10/06/08 at 12:14 PM ET

It’s another question with specific regards to blackouts. 
Specifically, what I’ve been wondering for 10 years is, “what’s the point”?

For instance, in Albany, NY, we have been designated a Buffalo Sabres market.  Any time Buffalo has a home game, any and all NHL games not on Versus is blacked out.  So a Ranger, Islander, or Devil fan who wants to watch their team (and ALL could be argued to be a more logical market than Buffalo) is out of luck unless they want to shell out $$ for the Center Ice Package. 

The question I’d have is how in the world would anyone expect to attract NEW fans to the league in this way?  As a die hard fan, I’m happy to at least have the option to purchase the Center Ice package to get the 20 or so Ranger games that get blacked out.  But would a new fan do so?  Or would they watch the tons of alternative sporting events that are available for free?

I thought that the essense of blackouts were to protect the rightsholders of the original broadcast (if MSG is showing Buffalo, and the NHL Network is showing the same game, the NHL network is blacked out.  Understood.) I wasn’t aware that the point was to eliminate any other available NHL games from my television.  When 4 games (Buffalo, NYI, NYR, and NJD) are available in my area and only one is allowed to be shown, you’re hurting the product, alienating the fans, and stifling growth.

Posted by Len Schlegel from Albany, NY on 10/06/08 at 12:38 PM ET

1. What are the chances of Comcast offering as many Center Ice games in HD as DirecTV does?  None of the Center Ice games (at least last year) were offered in HD. I am not allowed to have a dish in the building I live in, otherwise I would get DirecTV solely for the purpose of getting more hockey in HD.

2.  What is the possibility of getting whoever the two guys were calling the Pens game on Versus yesterday actually calling the game instead of talking to each other the ENTIRE time??  A little color is nice, but not for the whole game.  I am the biggest Sidney Crosby fan I’ve ever seen, andeven I was getting tired of their relentless display of affection for him (mostly because thigns like that are why others get sick of him).  So, please can these guys just call the play?

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 10/06/08 at 12:47 PM ET

I love NHL Center Ice and i make sure to purchase it every season. I am annually disappointed though when i find out that none of the center ice games on cablevision come in HD. Do you know if anything is being done about that? Watching a game in HD really improves the experience by about 300%

thank you

Posted by miked051 on 10/06/08 at 12:53 PM ET

I live in Mississauga, and all last season, Buffalo games were blacked out on Centre Ice Online for me. Is there a reason for this? And will it be any different this year on Gamecentre?

Posted by bcrt on 10/06/08 at 01:30 PM ET

Awesome so now HNIC will be blacked out on Center Ice.

They keep raising the price of CI but giving us less choice in games. A lot of people still don’t have Versus and good luck finding NHL network half the time.

It seems like the NHL goes out of it’s way sometimes to make things hard on the fans that actually shell out the money to see the sport.

Posted by Moocat on 10/06/08 at 01:46 PM ET

Mr. Shannon,

I have an audio question. I’m not sure if it is the NHL network or one of the Canadian broadcast feeds, but one of the feeds does a four or five minute stretch of the game where they cut the announcers mic off to let you hear the sounds of the game. It is an absolutely brilliant idea as you really feel like your at the game. Are there any plans to expand this idea to an actual audio option for full games in the near or even distant future? If not, would the NHL consider this idea?

Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 10/06/08 at 06:39 PM ET

Hello John:

Why is it that commercial Bar and Restaurant owners still can not get Vs in Hd??
The HD Ch. 604 is always #721 blacked out.  We buy ALL of the HD and Sports packages, inc. Centre Ice, and the Golf Channel and no-one can give us a straight answer.
My local cable co., Cox, doesn’t carry it either at my home, and going to a Sports Bar brings no joy either.  I’m sure the NHL would like to pick up some new eye balls that may turn into higher ratings.

Thanx!!

Posted by Ray Lucca from OC, So Cal on 10/06/08 at 11:41 PM ET

Please light a fire under Comcast’s posterior for the following:

- provide GameHD for Center Ice in all markets
- provide an NHL Network HD channel in all markets
- don’t bump Versus HD hockey games for obscure golf tourneys, especially during the playoffs

Kirk Spence
West Linn, OR

Posted by Kirk Spence on 10/09/08 at 11:46 AM ET

Will there be any way for people in markets without NHL Network to have NHL Network games on CenterIce. I’m currently in a situation where I cannot get NHL Network and cannot get any form of satellite. My next move, it will literally be a move, so that I can get the NHL Network unless something else is done. Keep up the good work!

Posted by Johne on 10/09/08 at 12:46 PM ET

While Football marathons on Sunday make sense for the NFL fans, limited as they are to 16 regular season games per season, this tends not to be the uniform case for NHL fans. With 30 teams playing 82 regular season games, it is far easier for fans to become loyal to a specific team and still feel that they get a great deal of hockey action in following that lone team.

The current spread of NHL games to various networks based on specific days of the week could be suitable for a casual or non-team-specific hockey fan. However, does the League ever intend to work out a way in which a hockey fan - especially those outside of their favourite team’s market or within the market of a different NHL team - can follow their team in one easy way, not having to follow multiple different channels, purchase multiple different packages, and still manage to wind up with games that are not covered or that are blacked out?

Or does the League not see it as a problem that even a season ticket holder living in their team’s market cannot watch every one of their team’s games, let alone a fan displaced from their team’s market or within another team’s market?

Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 10/09/08 at 03:05 PM ET

Mr Shannon, I am a Leafs fan living in the us. For the past few seasons I have enjoyed seeing all Leaf games on the Center Ice package. Now this year the NHL Network has picked up about 25 Leaf games by broadcasting HNIC on Saturdays. This increases my costs by quite a bit. It is not worth it to pay the $160+ for the center Ice package AND pay an additional $50 or so to subscribe to the NHL Network.

The claim is that you are providing HNIC to the American audience but really you are increasing the price of the quality HNIC broadcast for the committed fans like me.

I am very dissapointed in the higher price I will have to pay. I am considering not subscribing to either package this year due to the increased cost.

Posted by UpsetHNICFan from Maryland on 10/10/08 at 08:39 AM ET

Mr. Shannon,

The primary HNIC feeds being removed off the NHL Center Ice Package is inexcusable when the NHL Network has not made enough penetration on many cable systems.  I have been a fan of hockey for over 20 years and have purchased Center Ice for eight years in a row now, but now for the same amount of money I am going to receive less games due to my carrier (Time Warner Cable, San Diego) not carrying the NHL Network.  Why should I continue to buy Center Ice if I am going to be blacked out of all games shown on the NHL Network?  The black out of these games is on top of the significant number of blackouts of Ducks and Kings games I receive due to Prime Ticket not being on my cable system as well. 

Regards,
Kirk in San Diego

Posted by Kirk from San Diego, CA on 10/11/08 at 05:52 PM ET

Please, please, please make it a standard feature of the Center Ice package to have both the home and away feed for every game.  It is my understanding that is how DirecTV does it; that’s how everyone should do it. 

Also, I agree that the VS. announcers tend to talk, talk, talk about everything but the game. 

Additionally I’d like to second the notion of a raw audio feed of the game with no announcers at all (Center Ice could have three feeds per game:  home, away, and raw).  That would be unique and quite an experience.

Posted by monkey from Waiting for the lambs to stop screaming on 10/11/08 at 07:27 PM ET

I have more questions because ESPN360 is really pissing the European fans.

-Why the video quality of the streams is worse than it was last year ? (can be related for the switch from Windows media player based streams to Flash based streams). NHL Game Center Live has streams at 1200kbps but Espn360 only of 700kbps.

-Why the game archive is not updated apropiately? Please read this thread of this message board and you will see lots of fans really dissapointed. http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=560305

-Doesn´t seem a litle bit weird that the league sell the broadcast rights of NHL in Europe to a company that doesn´t carry Hockey in the U.S. ?

I know that almost all of this questions could be for the people of ESPN360, I have already asked but they don´t answer me. Please step in and help all the european fans if the NHL truly wants to grow in Europe.

Thank you in advance

Posted by Miquel B.G. from Palma de Mallorca, Spain on 10/11/08 at 08:14 PM ET

Why are the higlights from On the Fly not in HD and some of the games that are re-broadcast are not in HD.  We need our HD please.

Edited by Paul- Golfmitgliedschaft, Since you subscribed to the comments via email, I thought I would let you know you left a bad email address, so I deleted it.

Posted by Golfmitgliedschaft on 10/12/08 at 03:40 AM ET

If you have the technology to blackout games in local markets off of the CI feeds, why can’t you provide the NHL Network on CI EXCEPT in markets where it is available?

I understand that you want to grow NHLN so you try to force people to purchase it. But with Time Warner-Los Angeles, I can’t get NHLN even if I wanted to.  So I pony up for CI but then I lose 25 HNIC games? That’s insanity, unfair, and is punishing the most die-hard fans and supporters you have.

Also, the NHL’s NUMBER ONE priority should be to have every single broadcast of every single game in HD. There is no other sport that has as great a difference in viewing quality between SD and HD. Make it happen John!

Posted by Jeff on 10/12/08 at 04:04 PM ET

Hello Mr. Shannon,
In addition to the obvious question about the possibility of CenterIce games being available in HD on Comcast, I am intrigued at the very attractive product in NHL.com GameCenter.  However it is also listed at $139 right now.  If hockey fans wanted to subscribe to both InDemand Center Ice on TV and the NHL Gamecenter that would run us $280, a lot of money.  Is there anyway some package could be put together that would offer us a discount if subscribing to both, like 50% off the second package or something akin to that?  Throw us a bone!! 

Thanks, Bill, Richmond, Virginia

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 10/13/08 at 09:30 AM ET

The Leafs are playing the Blues right now and watching the Leafs TV broadcast on Center Ice.

I know the game is in HD in Canada, why can’t the HD feed be picked up by CI for those of us in the States.  This happens with all Canadian feeds, no HD for us here in the USA.

Posted by Tony on 10/13/08 at 01:01 PM ET

1. Why is every game in GameCenter Live displayed in an incorrect aspect ratio, ruining the viewing experience?

2. Why aren’t any archived games on GameCenter Live, when it said they would be up within 48 hours when I paid for the service?

3. Why are the GameCenter Live support representatives unqualified for their positions and unable to help customers in any way?

4. Why are other features of GameCenter Live, which were listed as features when I paid for the service, still not available (for example “Player Cards – Scroll over a player in the Real-Time Stats tab and view an image of the player, season stats, and the ability to add the player to your favorite players list.")?

5. In last year’s “Center Ice Online”, a blacked out game would be clearly marked as blacked out. In this year’s “GameCenter Live”, even after signing in, “Watch Now” is displayed on EVERY game. On many games, clicking on “Watch Now” leads to a message that the game is not available This is very frustrating and a step back from last year’s product. Is there any way to change it back?

6. Why is it impossible to have a conversation, via online chat, e-mail, or support forum when dealing with GameCenter Live support issues? The customer service representatives have so far ignored what I’ve written, lied to me several times, belittled my problems as insignificant, and have never responded with anything remotely useful. I have no online support ticket, no forum thread, no e-mail conversation, nor anything else useful. I have no reason to believe that anything I’ve reported is being looked into or will ever be fixed.

(Also, if you can get me into contact with anyone about these issues, Paul or Mr. Shannon, let me know. I am incredibly disappointed with GameCenter Live and I really just want to talk to someone who (1) listens, understands, and cares and (2) can actually do something about it. I’m tired of getting useless e-mails and having no other recourse.)

Posted by Muéro from Ohio on 10/14/08 at 01:25 PM ET

Nhl network is not part of the regular package here.  I already had to upgrade from “standard cable” to digital plus a dvr(about $20 extra a month) so I could get Center Ice.  Perhaps CI should come with a discount for all these games you miss on the Nhl Network.

Posted by Ron from Seminole, Fl on 10/18/08 at 01:59 PM ET

Is there any way that TSN HD, SNETHD , and Oilers/Flames/Canucks HD PPV (IE Canadian HD feeds) can appear in Directv’s NHL CI package?

I know some don’t like it, but I think HNIC games on NHL NETWORK USA is a great idea (over having them in NHLCI).  More people have NHL NETWORK than NHLCI, so these games are available to more people this year than any other year.

Trent

Posted by Trent from North America on 10/18/08 at 09:07 PM ET

Mr. Shannon,
For the second week in a row, the NHL Network in the U.S. has botched the CBC feed on Hockey Night in Canada.  For whatever reason, After Hours is scheduled on the program guide from 12:30 to 1:00 AM ET when it actually airs from 1:00 to 1:30 AM.  On October 11, the network cut to “On the Fly” immediately after the late game.  Even worse, on the night of October 18, the network cut the CBC feed with 10 seconds to go in a one goal game and then aired “Top 10 Goals” after five minutes of network promos.  The feed was never mishandled when these games were on NHL Center Ice.  Can this please be corrected so that the programming that has been advertised can be seen?

Thank you,
Elliot in Columbus

Posted by Elliot Fineberg from Columbus, OH on 10/18/08 at 11:52 PM ET

Hello Mr. Shannon

I am very grateful for the Hockey Night In Canada pacakage on the NHL Network, but like the previous writer the end of the show has been badly handled the first two weeks of the season.  Now that you are responsible for the NHL Network can you please see that the folks who run the network get it right.  Loosing a hockey game in the third period is not acceptable.

Posted by LeafsFan1967 from Philadelphia on 10/19/08 at 11:34 AM ET

I have DirecTV with NHL CI and the NHL Network.  I believe I have always been in a blackout-free zone in NE PA (outside Flyers, Pens, NY markets)..  The Oct 18 Leafs/Pens game was blacked out on NHL Network.  When I called DirecTV, they said it was blacked out for the whole country except for the Pittsburgh market..  This makes no sense to me - based on my understanding, it should have been the reverse (NHLN blacked out in Pittsburgh - in favor of their local FSN-Pitt broadcast, yet the rest of the US should have seen the game)..  Can you explain this, or did DirecTV just make a programming error?  Thank you…

Posted by Rich from Tannersville PA on 10/20/08 at 12:18 AM ET

To the person who wrote

“When I called DirecTV, they said it was blacked out for the whole country except for the Pittsburgh market..”

This is just plain wrong. 

I watched the game on the NHL Network and I live in Philly

Posted by LeafsFan1967 from Philadelphia on 10/21/08 at 04:59 PM ET

Just a note to everyone that John Shannon has all your questions and will be getting his responses back to us when time allows. 

As soon as we have them, we’ll publish his remarks on KK Hockey.  I’ll also leave a link here in the comments as well, in case anyone finds it easier to check this spot to find out when they’re online.

Thanks for the great questions!

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 10/23/08 at 01:13 PM ET

To Muero and others annoyed with the aspect ratio issue: yes, this is an annoying problem and the NHL needs to address it. But there is a workaround that I’ve been able to use when the Gamecenter console is being viewed on a 1.33:1 monitor. (I’m using a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop connected to a standard-definition Panasonic television). Again, you’ll need to be viewing the Gamecenter console on a 1.33:1 monitor for this to work.

1. Pick the game you want to watch. Click on that game.

2. At the exact moment before the feed begins to open, click on “fullscreen.” If you time it exactly right, the game will expand and will fill the entire 1.33:1 frame of your monitor. Again, you need to time this exactly right; it took me a lot of trial and error to get it right. After you click on a game, there will be a brief moment when the cursor freezes as the new feed is opened. Right after the ‘fullscreen’ button becomes clickable again, click! If you get the timing exactly right, you’ll get the right 1.33:1 ratio.

3. This may not work with all setups, and it’s not going to work with 16:9 displays (which will just display the stretched-out 1.33 image). Obviously, the NHL still needs to fix Gamecenter so that you can watch the feed in the right aspect ratio on any setup, but this workaround might work for a few people until they get their act together.

Posted by Thrashers Fan from ATL on 11/17/08 at 02:26 PM ET

What ever happened to this? Is this no longer happening?

Posted by Muero from Ohio on 02/13/09 at 10:47 AM ET

Muero, I have been in contact with Mr, Shannon and have been told the answers are coming.

Not much else I can do but wait.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 02/13/09 at 10:58 AM ET