It's one of the most memorable Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory! The Red Wings! The Penguins! A Finals rematch! Crosby! Malkin! Zetterberg! Datsyuk! Game 7! How could anyone possibly screw this up, right?
Well, the fucktards at NBC, having already committed the unbelievable scheduling fumbles of pitting three of the first six Stanley Cup Finals games head-to-head with NBA playoff games, and cramming games 1 & 2 into a single weekend, decided to out do themselves.
For the first two games at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, the game was broadcast outside the arena, using the local FSN feed, and attracted huge crowds who did nothing but push the energy in the city to a fever pitch. Sounds great. Thousands of kids will remember this scene and find a love for the sport that needs every fan it can get. So how does NBC respond to this mass of positivity?
Check their official statement*:
PITTSBURGH -- The NBC Network, which holds the exclusive rights to Sunday night’s Penguins' playoff game, has decided not to grant permission to the local team to put the game on the outdoor screen at Mellon Arena.
Ray Carter, Vice President and General Manager of WPXI, Channel 11, the local affiliate of the NBC Network, expressed disappointment in the decision.
“I know the outdoor screen has become a fan favorite for those who can’t get into the game. I wish we, as the local affiliate, could grant permission to the Pens, but quite frankly, our hands are tied. We do not hold the rights to the game; the NBC network in New York does. I understand and respect NBC’s right to do as they please with the broadcast signal.”
Channel 11 is proud to be able to carry several of the playoff games to a large television audience.
NBC will be the host broadcast network for other playoff games as well as the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. WPXI wishes the Pens a long and successful run through the playoffs. Go Pens!
Ray Carter, Vice President and General Manager of WPXI, Channel 11, the local affiliate of the NBC Network, expressed disappointment in the decision.
“I know the outdoor screen has become a fan favorite for those who can’t get into the game. I wish we, as the local affiliate, could grant permission to the Pens, but quite frankly, our hands are tied. We do not hold the rights to the game; the NBC network in New York does. I understand and respect NBC’s right to do as they please with the broadcast signal.”
Channel 11 is proud to be able to carry several of the playoff games to a large television audience.
NBC will be the host broadcast network for other playoff games as well as the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. WPXI wishes the Pens a long and successful run through the playoffs. Go Pens!
I guess they figure that forcing those few thousand viewers home to watch the game would increase their ratings and somehow make up for the fact that they were once again going up against the NBA Finals on ABC. Well, ABC pounded them by a margin of 58% more viewers.
Stupid, meet Retarded.
Another thing about this: what about the thousands of people who were crammed in to sports bars to watch the game? How is the big screen outside the arena any different? No one is making any money off of the public showings.
Effing morons.
*The statement was from the WPXI, the Pittsburgh affiliate from April 17, but applies to last night's game as well.
1 comments:
The sports bar problem is interesting... I've always wondered about how they factor that into the ratings. The Superbowl is a perfect example. So many people have Superbowl parties and watch on one (or a few) TVs, but that has to kill the ratings. There must be some way of estimating, because the idea is to get people to watch, not get them to watch on separate TVs. That's assuming your a TV network, not at TV manufacturer.
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