Redneksioux

Problem is, there are people that have lost their options for viewing und sports. You shouldn't expect them to be happy about it. I'm not complaining about it in this post. Just stating the obvious. Don't be upset that the complaining will continue because the season hasn't even started yet.

I didn't see him or anyone else in this thread complaining about anything.

So you are saying there are multiple student athletes on und's football team that don't care? This sounds like a leadership problem.

I miss the days you could get a room at place Louis reile from Knox marketplace for cheap. Awesome hotel!

I obviously don't speak for all fta'ers....but I think I can speak for most. Most of us were very happy that und sports were available via Fta satellite. Every fta'er realizes that feeds come and go and most don't expect feeds. They are always a pleasant surprise. I for one will miss und being Fta. But will definitely appreciate every game that may happen to be up there in the clear.

Saw the game on Fta tonight too!

Maybe! But not this Sioux fan;)

And I apologize but I wasn't meaning to do any name calling. I just presumed that since the statement of "Fta being as dead as the dinosaur" was said here by you, that thia theory may have been considered when the decision to no longer offer Fta this season was made.

Well where I live I cannot get high speed Internet so it's not an option for me. And my grandparents in hazen nd won't be changing their cable package or figuring out how to watch online. They'd like to keep watching und but they will be ok without.

I've scanned the arc the past 2 Saturdays and found maybe 20 games each day on ku band in hd....so there's plenty of hd Fta wild feeds out there for sports. Far from being dead like the dinosaur like jayson's source. I'm sure midco would like to believe Fta is as dead as the dinosaur though. Or at least have sold the fact it is dead to media people at und.

I can understand the financial implications as reasoning changes were made. Basically all games should still be available to everyone in some form or fashion still. Just in order to view them more hoops will need to be jumped through and in many cases more money spent by the viewer. Cable one customers will need to watch online. Customers of affiliate cable companies in the region will need to upgrade and spend more in many cases. Past fta'ers will need to watch online. Fans nationwide will need to watch online as well as of right now. There will be many that will subscribe and watch online but I will tell you that many also will not.

I don't think they are insisting exposure isn't as important. I think the exposure issue has been underestimated by some though.

Thanks for the update Jason. It's nice that you are able to come on here and give us demanding fans updates. But you are very wrong on Fta being gone by the way of the dinosaur. On any given Saturday you can scan with a motorized Fta dish and find almost any college football feed out there. Most still use satellite trucks and midco is one of the few companies who has stopped this for und sports. Most fta'ers know that feeds can come and go so it doesn't shock us and the und feeds were never expected to continue. But to say that Fta is basically dead nationwide is dead wrong. I can get more college football games with my Fta system than I ever could with midco cable virtually every weekend.

Very unfortunate they won't have service for the du series

I thought they usually show up right after the phone book guy makes his drop.

Well we've been told it was in und's best interest to go with midco for more exposure of all sports. But the midco deal this year is leaving many in the dark who have had access to und sports in past years.

It's not just those that had Fta that will be without. There are those with cable companies other than midco which may or may not have the channel (including cbssn), and there are those homes with no suitable high speed Internet connection. And local prairie public is offered by both satellite providers, pretty much any cable company in nd, and if you have a hd tv with a $10 set of rabbit ears you will find yourself numerous options for prairie public television. Heck from grand forks this is how many watch the bemidji games. I hope you are right and more options will be a available soon for viewing und sports. I also get it that the tv situation is a situation you hold close to your heart as you defend it. This isn't a conversation I plan on having for the next 5 years. What I'd be more concerned with is for those that will not have access for und sports to be lost and forgotten over time. How many this weekend watched the ndsu game over the und game because it was what was available to them?

Times have really changed though. How many college hockey teams in the 80's could be seen nationwide? Currently there's a good chunk of nd residents that cannot get und hockey. Not everyone has access to high speed Internet with a data allowance capable of streaming. Where midco cable is not available, midcosn being a available in someone's home is hit or miss. And many people's only option for television service is ota antenna and or satellite service which currently leaves you with the option for 6 hockey games this year at best. If und hockey was available on PBS this year, games would be on in every nd home. And I apologize in advance if my posts are incessant or idiotic. Just when people's options for viewing und sports have diminished....don't expect them to be happy about it.

I'd be very happy if they could get their channel on one of them. But the midcosn's sporting season has already began so I won't hold my breathe.

Midco is a business and they have made it clear that if it will make them money they will do it. From getting rid of their satellite trucks and using fibre, to requiring their affiliates to pick up their channel full time in order to offer und sports. If midco can make money by getting their channel on dish/direct, I'm sure they'll do it. But they also want to hold an edge over dish/direct in their market where they offer cable service. Personally I wish they could get midco sn added to one of the satellite companies so I'd finally have access to und sports on the tv myself.

I will tell you that many people have become fans of und athletics because of Fta. And many have been able to follow their favorite sports teams because of Fta when no other options are available. Many dont know about Fta because it's not advertised but there are thousands of homes nationwide with Fta systems. And their primary purpose is generally to pick up wild sports feeds. And in the past und feeds have been probably the most relied upon Fta sports feed out there. So much that Fta feeds have been used in sports bars to show und sporting events to hundreds of fans who had no other means of viewing und sports. And it hasn't been limited to a few football games and hockey games only. Volleyball as well as men's and women's basketball were commonly shown and I will tell you that virtually any Fta viewer that had fallen in love with und hockey had the same feelings for any und sport that was available to them.

But those games for the most part have already been on in these homes the past few years. Now that midco is requiring their channel being picked up full time and through a different delivery method....it will just be in less homes than the past few years.

Thanks for your insight. Most of the smaller cable companies don't offer very many tiers of packaging. The one I speak of offers two tiers - standard and digital. And I was told, that because midco is only able to deliver their channel through fibre this year (rather than satellite like last year or years in the past like fssn) that customers would be required to have the digital tier in order to receive the midco sn channel. In this case a customer that had the standard programming package with one tv in their home would need to pay an extra $25 per month and this includes the stb rental. This is not my situation. Personally I'd be happy to spend that amount to receive und sports on tv. All I'm saying is there is people that have had access to und sports in the past that no longer will.

Sorry did I hit a nerve? I realize that you have interest in the midco situation. Great. But guess which production today had more viewers? We are moving in the wrong direction.

Well these same people that made this decision left many North Dakotans in the dark to und's football game tonight. All while ndsu's game was on NBC statewide in hd and available on satellite nationwide.