Hackett I am not looking to pick a fight with you... I agree that it's a much more pleasant experience to watch the game on a nice big HD television screen fed by cable or satellite with a quality stable picture... So we agree on that... And you don't seem to disagree with me that $60 for the RDS package is a reasonable price (I pay Bell Satellite $7.00 month for the package that contains RDS and 99% of what I watch on RDS is Habs games)...So hopefully you and I are still on the same page... But here is where we disagree...You insist the RDS package is only for GCL...that's not accurate... Here is a cut and paste from the Rogers press conference announcement in Montreal:
In recent years, they have had access to all 82 regular-season games by subscribing to RDS as part of their cable or satellite package. Under the new deal, Rogers sold the French-language rights to TVA Sports, which will televise 22 Canadiens games. RDS retained the rights to the other 60 games, but it appeared that fans in Ontario and points west would be out of luck because RDS had become a regional network limited to Quebec, Eastern Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces.
It appeared that the only recourse for Canadiens fans was to purchase the NHL Centre Ice package for $200.
But Rogers, which has received its share of complaints from irate Canadiens fans, has provided a solution with a French-language package that provides fans access to the RDS package, which has 60 Canadiens games and 54 Ottawa Senators games.
Judging from the reaction on HIO, there seems to be a lot of confusion over the package, but here are the important points:
1.The package will be available on cable and satellite television as well as for online devices with Rogers NHL Game Centre LIVE (the NHL streaming service).
2.Fans will be able to buy the French-language package for $60 and aren’t obligated to buy the full Centre Ice TV package. If fans want the regional games in English on TV, they will have to spring for the full Centre Ice package.
The French package will give fans outside the Eastern region access to every Canadiens game this season. The 22 games not carried by RDS and any playoff games will be available across Canada on the various Rogers outlets.
In most cases, fans will be paying more than they did in the past to add RDS to their cable package, but if you do the math it comes out to $1 a game even if you pass on the Senators
And here is the quotation from Sportsnet President Scott Moore:
Scott Moore, a self-professed Canadiens fan who is the president of Sportsnet and NHL Properties for Rogers Media, was among those on hand for a news conference Wednesday in Boucherville as TVA launched its inaugural season of French-language NHL coverage.
Rogers also announced on Wednesday a new package that will allow Habs fans across the country to watch all 82 regular-season games on TV. Before Wednesday’s announcement, Canadiens fans living west of Belleville, Ont., wouldn’t have had access to the regional coverage unless they paid $200 for the NHL Centre Ice TV package.
Rogers announced Wednesday that fans outside of Montreal and Ottawa broadcast regions can now also get up to 111 games broadcast live in French, including the Canadiens (60 games) and the Senators (54 games) on both Rogers NHL Game Centre LIVE (the NHL streaming service) and on TV with NHL Centre Ice. The 60 regional Habs games and the 54 Senators games will be available for $60 to those outside the regional market.
, reid isnt with sportsnet right?
