UND/Midco 5 year contract

[82SiouxGuy]

Didn't know the whole story, but the result is the same. While I hope midco sportsnet will become a national sportsnetwork, I'm mostly resigned to the fact that the best it will do is remain a regional cable network, unavailable amongst the major players (including directtv and dish). Wish they would stay FTA while they try to increase their viewership (like the Ohio News Network did when they picked up all Miami home hockey), but I fear the end result will be the same, a regional sports cable network only. Maybe then they'll offer us a pay for smart card to watch the channel.

Without any pro sports, midco can't get to that level anyway.

Most of the sports networks on Directv and Dish are just regional cable networks. FSN in Minneapolis is just a regional sports network. NESN out of Boston is just a regional sports network Yet they are available on dishes and on cable systems around the country through sports packages. I think that this is the goal for Midco. They will never be another ESPN or CBS Sports Network. But if they keep their costs low and have interesting programming (UND hockey) they will have a chance to make this happen. It will be interesting to see if they can make it happen, and how long it takes.

[watchmaker49]

I don't think that FSN would want to give Midco too much hassle. Midco covers a very nice chunk of FSNs market and could say oh we don't want to pay your rates. Midco is in the drivers seat with FSN.

[WeAreNorthDakota]

Midco's goal should absolutely be to get on DirecTV's sports pack. They're no different than ROOT, or FSN, or YES. If they are successful in getting on DirecTV then the FCS problem is eliminated and UND games will be available nationwide and in every legitimate sports bar in the country. If they accomplish that and are also able to get Midco Sports Net on a majority of the cable providers in the region, UND will have as much television coverage as a small market Major League Baseball team.

[sprig]

Midco's goal should absolutely be to get on DirecTV's sports pack. They're no different than ROOT, or FSN, or YES. If they are successful in getting on DirecTV then the FCS problem is eliminated and UND games will be available nationwide and in every legitimate sports bar in the country. If they accomplish that and are also able to get Midco Sports Net on a majority of the cable providers in the region, UND will have as much television coverage as a small market Major League Baseball team.

Absolutely, and add dish's multi sportspak to that list, so no one (me) is left out. Until that happens, many of us will apparently have to stay patient, do without the former FSSN, and hope the deals get done.

It doesn't appear to be much different, however, than the Ohio News Network, a regional channel that added all of Miami's home hockey in hopes of expanding their footprint. I don't know that anyone that hasn't lived within their region has ever hear of it, other than FTA'ers, but they are no longer uplinked to satellite, I haven't seen the network available on either directtv or dish, and I assume they are once again just a regional local cable network in the Ohio area. Hope Midco doesn't end up with that level of non success. Edit: Guess it's permanently gone from anywhere now, according to wikpedia

On July 25, 2012, ONN announced it would be ceasing operations for reasons unknown, effective August 31.

Montana football has been FTA for years, and last year went HD FTA, along with the rest of the Big Sky, which were, for the most part, available FTA in HD. I'm guessing that the ROOT sports deal will end that also.

[TheGreatSiouxNation]

Last season I watched a minimum of 2-3 Big Sky games every Saturday in HD. Hopefully it will be the same. Nothing beats FTA when it comes to sports feeds. First they take the name and now the game! What's next?

[Jayson Hajdu]

Happy Friday, everyone. Please bear with me on this lengthy post. Hopefully it will address the various questions regarding broadcast viewing.

First, here is the tentative Midco Sports Network schedule for the upcoming year:

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/848716.pdf?ATCLID=205499028&SPSID=58715&SPID=6409&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13500

Please note that the football game against Montana will be broadcast by Root Sports, not MidcoSN.

MidcoSN does not yet have a deal in place with DirecTV.

All home and conference road games for football, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball can be viewed for free on Big Sky TV at BigSkyConf.com. Men’s and women’s hockey can be viewed live or on-demand on UND Insider at UNDSports.com. UND Insider is also your ticket to live video and audio streams of exclusive events such as women’s soccer, baseball and softball not available anywhere else.

At this point, Fox College Sports is only picking up men’s hockey. All home men’s hockey games will be broadcast on Fox College Sports for 2012-13 only. Once UND joins the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2013-14, CBS Sports Network holds national broadcast rights to all NCHC games. Thus, UND cannot broadcast nationally on another network, even if CBS Sports Network is not showing that particular game.

Is this ideal for UND as an individual institution? Of course not. In college athletics, there is a cost to doing business. Sometimes concessions have to be made for the best interests of the league(s). Now, this doesn’t preclude us from attempting to regain that national footprint in the future. We are well aware of how many loyal fans we have nationwide and we will make every effort to make sure we reach as many as possible, in as many ways as possible.

In the meantime, fans outside of the MidcoSN viewing area will still have the opportunity to view home men’s hockey games via UNDInsider webcasts. We like to think we already offer high-quality webcasts – we pull the feed directly from the television broadcast – but we are still making significant upgrades for the upcoming season.

Specifically, we are upgrading in terms of quality (to near-HD), video player (better streaming for your connection speed) and accessibility (iPad, etc.). Once MidcoSN makes the conversion to HD in 2014-15, our webcasts will also be available in full HD.

With the upgrade to near-HD – and eventually full HD – you’ll still be able to enjoy UND men’s hockey games on your television screen by connecting your computer. It will essentially be the same quality you previously enjoyed, albeit with an extra step involved.

Our goal is to provide our programming to as many fans possible through as many platforms as possible. We’ve come an awful long ways since the days of one or two games per year being broadcast on local network television. In 2012-13, every home game will be available to watch on television, webcasts and mobile devices.

The recent exposure we’ve had with the Fox College Sports deal is quite an anomaly in today’s world of college athletics. An increasing number of conferences are now dictating the terms of national television rights. As I mentioned earlier, that is a cost of doing business when seeking affiliation with elite-level conferences. But, as I also mentioned, we’ll continue to attempt to regain at least some of that national footprint going forward. When that will happen, I don’t yet know, but these things are fluid. The situation as it stands today could be quite different down the road.

But in the meantime, I urge you to utilize our other platforms for viewing our events. The world of technology is ever-evolving, and we’re doing our best to keep up while still trying to balance the needs of those who view through traditional platforms like television. That’s the positive in a technology-driven world – you are no longer restricted to viewing solely through your television. I’ve mentioned this before in Twitter discussions on the same topic: in 2012, if there is a game you want to watch, chances are you’ll be able to find it. You just may have to do so through non-traditional means.

Hopefully this answered your many questions. If I missed anything, please feel free to ask.

[sprig]

Jayson,

Please address uplinks to satellite and FTA. To date no one has answered that question. I'll be comparing the web stream to the former FTA offering. I'm very skeptical that it will be the same quality.

[Jayson Hajdu]

Jayson,

Please address uplinks to satellite and FTA. To date no one has answered that question. I'll be comparing the web stream to the former FTA offering. I'm very skeptical that it will be the same quality.

Midco will not be making programming available via FTA, as is their right. I believe Midco addressed this via Twitter earlier this week.

As for your skepticism regarding the webcast quality, there's probably nothing more I can say to change your opinion, other than the quality of our webcasts has most definitely improved over the years, and to repeat what I posted earlier: that we are once again making upgrades this year that will continue to enchance the quality.

[sprig]

Midco will not be making programming available via FTA, as is their right. I believe Midco addressed this via Twitter earlier this week.

As for your skepticism regarding the webcast quality, there's probably nothing more I can say to change your opinion, other than the quality of our webcasts has most definitely improved over the years, and to repeat what I posted earlier: that we are once again making upgrades this year that will continue to enchance the quality.

Thanks, finally, for that response. As long as it will be our only option, and I hope that is not forever, I'll be using the stream.

[bincitysioux]

Maybe the new nickname could be the University of North Dakota "Buffering".............................

[bincitysioux]

As for your skepticism regarding the webcast quality, there's probably nothing more I can say to change your opinion, other than the quality of our webcasts has most definitely improved over the years, and to repeat what I posted earlier: that we are once again making upgrades this year that will continue to enchance the quality.

Jayson, I've watched alot of Big Sky TV over the past 3 years. The quality of their webcasts has been far superior than that on UND Insider. Not so much the video, but the continuity of the stream. Big Sky TV has always been nice and fluid for the most part, while UND Insider is constantly freezing, buffering, and falling behind. Can you say why the big difference, and will these new "upgrades" solve this?

[sprig]

Jayson, I've watched alot of Big Sky TV over the past 3 years. The quality of their webcasts has been far superior than that on UND Insider. Not so much the video, but the continuity of the stream. Big Sky TV has always been nice and fluid for the most part, while UND Insider is constantly freezing, buffering, and falling behind. Can you say why the big difference, and will these new "upgrades" solve this?

Should add that the stream will get an extreme amount of additional use, especially next year, when UND hockey is gone from FCS as well as any other TV availability for many. Will the servers, whoever runs them, handle this significantly increased use. I've seen Sioux fan totally shut down other web streams for road games that aren't available on TV, will UNDInsider handle that level of use.

I know past UND web stream services have been quick to refund money when they don't work for someone, but I want them to work, and don't want to have to ask for a refund.

Also, have there been any discussions on getting a midcosportsnet ap, on smart tv and the likes of samsung bluray players, to avoid constantly hooking up a PC to the TV.

[Blackheart]

Hockey is hard enough to watch on tv sometimes...going to webcasts as the primary tool to watch the Sioux has me nervous, re: the quality of the picture. FTA first generation picture was somewhere between Standard Definition and HD and has been real fun to watch.

I guess we will have to wait and see how this new alternative compares...at least we always have Hennessey on internet radio...

[Sioux2007]

Dear UND---if the webcasts will be so much better this year, then UND should offer 1 month free so UND can prove themselves to us. I have been less than satisfied with webcast in the past. I'll say it again, big step backwards for UND on TV. Someone from UND please address the idea of a free month trial. Thank you!

[FSSD]

Sometimes concessions have to be made for the best interests of the league(s).

Jason,

Just a quick thanks to you and the UND athletic department for all the hard work. But, please understand how frustrating this is for all the out of region fans. I would appriate it if you would keep us updated periodically.

[sprig]

Hockey is hard enough to watch on tv sometimes...going to webcasts as the primary tool to watch the Sioux has me nervous, re: the quality of the picture. FTA first generation picture was somewhere between Standard Definition and HD and has been real fun to watch.

I guess we will have to wait and see how this new alternative compares...at least we always have Hennessey on internet radio...

And I've not yet seen a web stream that can match first generation feed quality, hence my skepticism. For those that get HD and SD networks ota, you have seen the quality of first generation, beats any SD or HD from directtv, dish, or any cable co. Just can't match it.

[Bob in Wisconsin]

Should add that the stream will get an extreme amount of additional use, especially next year, when UND hockey is gone from FCS as well as any other TV availability for many. Will the servers, whoever runs them, handle this significantly increased use. I've seen Sioux fan totally shut down other web streams for road games that aren't available on TV, will UNDInsider handle that level of use.

Bingo. More subscribers, more $$$

[TheGreatSiouxNation]

If anyone has tried the web stream before how is the quality? Jason seems to think it can be connected with a big screen and one would not know the difference. You will not convince me of that mind you but for those who have tried it last year was it worth buying a subscription or I am I better off watching Gophers and cheering for the other team? I would like to use my iPad and iPhone to connect with my tvs. Anybody?

[crb1]

If anyone has tried the web stream before how is the quality? Jason seems to think it can be connected with a big screen and one would not know the difference. You will not convince me of that mind you but for those who have tried it last year was it worth buying a subscription or I am I better off watching Gophers and cheering for the other team? I would like to use my iPad and iPhone to connect with my tvs. Anybody?

If they deliver the content for mobile devices on a non flash based platform then you could view it on your iphone/ipad. To get it to your TV you could buy a $99 dollar AppleTV and use AirPlay to mirror your device to the TV. Or you could buy an iphone/ipad hdmi adapter and purchase a hdmi cable to go from that iphone/ipad hdmi adapter to your TV. HDMI is better because you will get both video and audio from that one cable and the quality is much better than VGA. DVI is pretty much the same quality but doesn't include the audio.

[sprig]

If anyone has tried the web stream before how is the quality? Jason seems to think it can be connected with a big screen and one would not know the difference. You will not convince me of that mind you but for those who have tried it last year was it worth buying a subscription or I am I better off watching Gophers and cheering for the other team? I would like to use my iPad and iPhone to connect with my tvs. Anybody?

I used it minimally; it streamed well and the quality for a web stream was decent. It is nowhere near FTA TV, or regular SD or HD TV for that matter, as I know you'd suspect, when it's hooked up to a big screen. In its little box within a PC screen it looks better. With many more Sioux fans logging on to the stream that can't watch on TV, I'm skeptical that it will stream well for everyone. We'll see.

[WeAreNorthDakota]

I hook my laptop up to my tv with an HDMI cable to stream things pretty often. The quality is no different than when I watch something on cable. Of course this depends on the quality of your internet connection. I've never watched the UND Insider on my tv but I've watched 6 or 7 streaming services and the quality has always been good. I'm really excited for Big Sky TV for precisely this reason.

[TheGreatSiouxNation]

If they deliver the content for mobile devices on a non flash based platform then you could view it on your iphone/ipad. To get it to your TV you could buy a $99 dollar AppleTV and use AirPlay to mirror your device to the TV. Or you could buy an iphone/ipad hdmi adapter and purchase a hdmi cable to go from that iphone/ipad hdmi adapter to your TV. HDMI is better because you will get both video and audio from that one cable and the quality is much better than VGA. DVI is pretty much the same quality but doesn't include the audio.

"IF" they deliver on a non flash based platform? Last time I checked it was 2012. So I could end up paying for a subscription that is useless on the two devices I use? But Sprig what other choice do we have other than to bend over and take it?

[a_hockeynut]

Thank you Jason for posting information on the direction UND is heading with viewing options for Sioux sports.

While I am disappointed FTA is no longer going to be an option, I am hopeful your comments on making Sioux sports available on as many platforms as possible will mean there will be a way for most to tune in (especially those of us who have enjoyed FTA for so long). I like the idea of an app for a SMART TV. Also hopeful you are considering ROKU.

[southpaw]

"IF" they deliver on a non flash based platform? Last time I checked it was 2012. So I could end up paying for a subscription that is useless on the two devices I use? But Sprig what other choice do we have other than to bend over and take it?

Have you emailed to ask them if it works? No, you won't end up paying for a subscription that is useless on your two devices unless you continue to whine and only post on a message board instead of sending a simple email. But I guess it is easier to act like a 3 year old instead of actually finding out the answer.

The viewing options are different. Quit whining and deal with it.

[Jayson Hajdu]

If anyone has tried the web stream before how is the quality? Jason seems to think it can be connected with a big screen and one would not know the difference. You will not convince me of that mind you but for those who have tried it last year was it worth buying a subscription or I am I better off watching Gophers and cheering for the other team? I would like to use my iPad and iPhone to connect with my tvs. Anybody?

I did not say this. I said we are continually improving our stream to make it as high-quality as possible, both for those watching on their computer and those connecting it to their television. Once Midcontinent makes the conversion to high definition, then yes, the webcast stream will be noticeably better than watching a hockey game in standard definition.

Jayson