ESPNa(trocity)
Anyone out there a DirecTV subscriber who keeps getting hosed by the Big Ten games getting shoved to the ESPN alternate channel? This has happened almost every week with the absolute worst being the Michigan-Michigan St game. It wouldn't be a big deal if DirecTV offered the ESPN Alternate in HD but of course they DON'T! UNACCEPTABLE!!!
So here I am stuck watching in standard def the Wisconsin-Iowa game, the only game I was planning on sitting down to watch today, while Nebraska-Oklahoma St is on ABC (ok, fair enough) and GT-Clemson is on ESPN. Awesome.
Seriously, if ABC/ESPN is going to keep showing 3 games in the same time slot by bumping the 3rd to ESPN Alternate I think I'm going to go crazy. Anyone else out there outside the BIg Ten footprint (I'm in St. Louis, MO btw, not exactly outside the Big Ten footprint but still getting screwed regularly) getting hosed by this crap?
/rant... ARGH!
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:04 PM ^
Watching the Wisky game in Austin on ESPN standard def on Time Warner, so yeah I'm getting hosed like you are.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:05 PM ^
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
Oklahoma State, Oklahoma is playing Mizzou tonight at 8
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
I believe I remember hearing that the ESPN alternate and ESPN2 carrying ESPN alternate is always SD and that this is driven by ESPN, not deals with the telcos. I might be wrong, but this keeps coming up so I beleive it is universal, and thus, on ESPN's hands.
October 23rd, 2010 at 7:07 PM ^
Yeah, you can't blame them.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:10 PM ^
So does that mean I have more of a beef with DirecTV? My area around Lansing doesn't get any local stations in HD. So every f'ing ABC game is in standard when I pay for HD service. I pray and hope every game is carried by ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU b/c those are all HD.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
is free over the air. what are you complaining about?
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:31 PM ^
Ok wise guy. How do I get this "free" HD. My apartment complex uses DirectTV exclusively, and no channels come in directly from the outlet; have to use a box to get any signal.
October 24th, 2010 at 8:50 AM ^
You can pick up a set of rabbit ears (21st century version) at BestBuy...costs about 70 bucks and picks up the HD tower signals.
October 24th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
Stores and Companies labeling there products as an "HD Antenna" is a marketing gimmick. All TV antennas can recieve digital signals. I assume you are refering to an Amplified Antenna? One that you can plug into a power source to boost the signal.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^
Watching in SD and not complaining..
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:29 PM ^
Seriously. Not to be the crotchety old man in the room (ok, fine, I'm being the crotchety old man), but are we really getting this upset over being compelled to watch a game in - horrow of horrors - standard def? I might understand if you had a cable package that didn't include the alternate channel & so you missed the game entirely or something. But please, let's reserve the word "atrocity" for things like that amount of holding our opponent's have gotten away with on us this year, not for being stuck with SD TV that is just *so* two or three years ago.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:34 PM ^
oh yeah, completely agree. It's ridiculous. I am watching on some nice Sony Bravia giant tv, with no HD feed and it still is looking sexy. I actually hardly notice the difference in HD sometimes..
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
You can hardly tell the difference between SD and HD? Seriously? Sounds to me like someone misplaced their man-card on WifeDay 2010. : )
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:25 PM ^
okay okay, certain channels I can, but I just looked at ESPN SD and it was amazing. Somehow ABC SD is pretty bad, so ESPN SD seemed like HD. And I can't say I am participating in WifeDay, as I am unmarried and 20 haha
October 23rd, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Either you do not have the correct Cables to bring out your true HD or you have like a 320p HD tv . Or your large TV isn't really all that big . I have a 62 inch TV so the difference between Regular and HD is night and day ..
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
San Diego? or South Dakota?
Former, I get it totally. Latter, you have grit.
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:08 PM ^
Oh SD is a type of TV. I am lost on technology. Sorry.
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:26 PM ^
"San Dimas High rocks. Rrraaahhhh"
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:15 PM ^
it's the main ABC game here, we get Buffalo NY's ABC feed. . . . .
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:25 PM ^
It's amazing how little $70 / month gets you sometimes. I really hope those companies get what's coming to them. Long-term, hopefully the internet will improve as an alternative in this area.
Or, change the fee structure. Make it so you only pay for the channels you want. You could even have a system where subscribers can "rent" a channel outside your normal package for a dollar per day.
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^
an ESPN/ABC issue, not a Directv/network provider issue. As the coverage map shows, ESPN is only broadcasting the game in SD on the alternate channel (I believe Michigan ran into this problem in certain regions a couple weeks ago).
The gripe should be with ESPN since they have more games on the schedule than channels to properly broadcast them. Well that, and that they also produced some of the worst sports-themed dramas and talking head shows, are responsible for the proliferation of sports journalists yelling at each other, have undeniable conflicts of interest between sports news reporting and business interests, and still make people listen to Chris Berman.
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^
I get hosed like that down here in San Antonio too
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
If you get an internet connection anyway you can watch many/most of the games online.
All network channels come in HD, for free, over the air with rabbit ears.
There are plenty of sportsbars that show all the games.
Your buddies probably have cable.
Bottom line: You have options. (Unless you live in a rural area.)
If cable TV is really this annoying to so many people, I don't get why they keep paying for it. I'm not sure many people are getting their enjoyment/money's worth when you consider you're paying somewhere between $500 and $2000 a year.
Normally when people are unsatisfied with a purchase they don't buy it again. This doesn't seem to be true with cable.
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:09 PM ^
I've got it on network HD in my area, but the problem should disappear over time as SD sets go more and more into the crapper and are replaced with HD sets.
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:32 PM ^
is bringing me Wisky-Iowa on ABC-HD. Luck of the draw, I guess.
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^
I'll post it here. Why the hell is the ABC noon game in my area a MAC conference game? No one gives a flying fuck about the MAC. An EMU team that hasn't won a game in two years? Yeah, I want to see that, especially when there's no one in the damn stadium that wants to see it. This week's game... a Buffalo blow out over Temple. Riviting
/rant
October 23rd, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Eastern did defeat Ball State in overtime last week, for the record. Also giving Virginia a run for its money currently.
October 23rd, 2010 at 10:26 PM ^
Yeah, at the time they were televised, they were 0 for a lot. I'd like to see EMU succeed because of the Michigan coaching tree, but no one wants to see that. When I turn on the noon ABC game I don't want to watch a battle of futility between irrelevant programs. I'm in Big Ten country, why not a middle of the road Big Ten game?
October 23rd, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
you sent a similar statment to your DT subscriber if not it's just a pointless rant falling on ears that cannot help you effect the change you desire. So fire off a letter to those guys you pay your hard earned money.