TV Coverage

[UNDColorado]

Where have I ever said that Midco should "give away" anything? Please do not put words in my mouth (and that goes for everybody else on this thread). Midcontinent should sell the rights to Cable One for whatever price they end up negotiating. The only point I have been trying to make is that both entities are trying to get 100% of what they want from each other. That never happens, I don't think it's even possible. And in the end, it's the customer (a.k.a. the people that ultimately pay the bills) that gets used as a pawn. Do you think Ralph Engelstad ever negotiated with the idea that he would get 100% of what he wanted from a potential partner and would walk away if he didn't get it? I say no. I say if he had, he wouldn't have been as successful in Las Vegas and we wouldn't have the $104 million arena bearing his name. I think Ralph even said he wanted to get out of the casino business because he tired of all the long legal contracts and liked it better when deals were sealed with a simple handshake.

And please don't think I am a shill for Cable One; I have a buddy in Fargo that HATES Cable One and has said if he couldn't have a dish, he would just go without anything. I think their monopoly is bad for customers and I think it's only a matter of time before it is done away with, no matter what happens with this deal. There are just too many people in Fargo that want a choice in cable providers for it not to happen eventually.

I am not promoting "altruism", I am promoting free market competition so that those of us paying ever-increasing monthly cable bills can vote with our wallets and influence what programming is offered to them. Cable One is just one example of how large, powerful, monopolistic companies are insulated from the natural consequences of marketplace competition and can just screw over whomever they want whenever they want. You, ironically, made my point for me when you brought up Standard Oil. They were broken up because they were using their monopolistic position to suck up all the wealth for themselves and shut out any potential competitors. AT&T was broken up in 1982; now there are a plethora of phone providers to choose from.

My ultimate point is that one or both of these cable providers are likely being stubborn with each other and are trying to get 100% of everything for themselves and that the rest of us pay the price for it. UND fans in Fargo need to call Cable One and tell them you want UND sports this season. Let your wallets do the talking.

This is the best assessment of the situation I have seen so far. When companies have a monopoly they get lazy, and the customer always suffers.

[Redneksioux]

It's not just cable one. Maybe midco is playing hardball with them too but midco is playing hardball with every affiliate they are selling their channel to and most customers are having to pay much more if they want to continue to have access to und sports this season all across North Dakota.

[82SiouxGuy]

Where have I ever said that Midco should "give away" anything? Please do not put words in my mouth (and that goes for everybody else on this thread). Midcontinent should sell the rights to Cable One for whatever price they end up negotiating. The only point I have been trying to make is that both entities are trying to get 100% of what they want from each other. That never happens, I don't think it's even possible. And in the end, it's the customer (a.k.a. the people that ultimately pay the bills) that gets used as a pawn. Do you think Ralph Engelstad ever negotiated with the idea that he would get 100% of what he wanted from a potential partner and would walk away if he didn't get it? I say no. I say if he had, he wouldn't have been as successful in Las Vegas and we wouldn't have the $104 million arena bearing his name. I think Ralph even said he wanted to get out of the casino business because he tired of all the long legal contracts and liked it better when deals were sealed with a simple handshake.

And please don't think I am a shill for Cable One; I have a buddy in Fargo that HATES Cable One and has said if he couldn't have a dish, he would just go without anything. I think their monopoly is bad for customers and I think it's only a matter of time before it is done away with, no matter what happens with this deal. There are just too many people in Fargo that want a choice in cable providers for it not to happen eventually.

I am not promoting "altruism", I am promoting free market competition so that those of us paying ever-increasing monthly cable bills can vote with our wallets and influence what programming is offered to them. Cable One is just one example of how large, powerful, monopolistic companies are insulated from the natural consequences of marketplace competition and can just screw over whomever they want whenever they want. You, ironically, made my point for me when you brought up Standard Oil. They were broken up because they were using their monopolistic position to suck up all the wealth for themselves and shut out any potential competitors. AT&T was broken up in 1982; now there are a plethora of phone providers to choose from.

My ultimate point is that one or both of these cable providers are likely being stubborn with each other and are trying to get 100% of everything for themselves and that the rest of us pay the price for it. UND fans in Fargo need to call Cable One and tell them you want UND sports this season. Let your wallets do the talking.

I am not involved with either company, so I have no idea what either side is asking for. But my general impression is that Cable One doesn't want to have much to do with Midcontinent. They didn't like broadcasting the games before when they were free. They often added games late in the week when customers put on enough pressure. They aren't interested in working with Midco and they aren't interested in paying for it. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of negotiating room if that is their position.

[fightingsioux4life]

It's not just cable one. Maybe midco is playing hardball with them too but midco is playing hardball with every affiliate they are selling their channel to and most customers are having to pay much more if they want to continue to have access to und sports this season all across North Dakota.

I have no problem playing hardball to a point. Obviously, you don't want anyone taking advantage of you. But the fact that the fall sports season has started and this deal still isn't done tells me that someone is simply refusing to budge on anything. Since Midcontinent has successfully negotiated deals with other cable companies, but not Cable One, that would seem to point to Cable One as the main culprit. But that is just pure speculation; it could be Midcontinent or it could be both of them.

Again, the main remedy for this is for UND fans in Fargo to contact Cable One and tell them what you want. Nothing else will have much impact on anybody.

[82SiouxGuy]

It's not just cable one. Maybe midco is playing hardball with them too but midco is playing hardball with every affiliate they are selling their channel to and most customers are having to pay much more if they want to continue to have access to und sports this season all across North Dakota.

Sounds like the free market system. It costs money to buy all new broadcast equipment in HD.

[fightingsioux4life]

I am not involved with either company, so I have no idea what either side is asking for. But my general impression is that Cable One doesn't want to have much to do with Midcontinent. They didn't like broadcasting the games before when they were free. They often added games late in the week when customers put on enough pressure. They aren't interested in working with Midco and they aren't interested in paying for it. It doesn't seem like there is a lot of negotiating room if that is their position.

If Cable One does eventually lose their exclusive contract with Fargo, the bolded sentence above will be a big reason why. Erecting barriers to entry like this backfire in the long-run.

[fightingsioux4life]

Sounds like the free market system. It costs money to buy all new broadcast equipment in HD.

I guess it's a "free market" for the cable companies as they negotiate amongst themselves. But it's not the "free market" I learned about in college (or even high school for that matter). What you are describing is a oligopoly or a duopoly. While a perfectly competitive market does not (and probably never has and never will) exist, neither of these conditions can ever be described as a "free market".

[Redneksioux]

Sounds like the free market system. It costs money to buy all new broadcast equipment in HD.

Nothing wrong with that. If I had access to midco's content I'd definitely be willing to pay for it myself.

But to ask an elderly person in small town North Dakota for an extra $10 per month for a new tier created because of midco sn? I don't understand how anyone can claim viewership with this situation is increasing. Only thing I see increasing is midco's profits.

[82SiouxGuy]

Nothing wrong with that. If I had access to midco's content I'd definitely be willing to pay for it myself.

But to ask an elderly person in small town North Dakota for an extra $10 per month for a new tier created because of midco sn? I don't understand how anyone can claim viewership with this situation is increasing. Only thing I see increasing is midco's profits.

There are a lot of ways for Midco to charge for their product and for the cable companies to pass along those charges. Cable companies can just increase general rates, sell the sports channel on its own, set up tiers, add it to another tier and increase the price for that tier, etc. I would be shocked if Midco is going to get $10 per subscriber. Cable companies weren't going to pay $2 per subscriber for networks like ESPN, they probably aren't going to pay it for Midco Sports Network. If cable companies are charging $10 for new tiers, then they are taking advantage of the situation themselves to make more money. I highly doubt that Midco is getting anywhere close to half of the $10 you quoted. But people are going to blame Midco for that whole increase whether Midco gets $0.25 of it or the whole amount.

Also, you mention that all of this is going to Midco profits. As I mentioned earlier, Midco has added HD production for this year. That is an expensive proposition. It involves all new equipment. It is also ahead of their original timeline. So they have plenty of bills to pay besides the normal expenses of putting on a television broadcast. I'm sure that Midco hopes, even plans, to make money on these broadcasts. But don't think for a second that increased subscriber costs are going right to the bottom line for Midco.

[bincitysioux]

As far as football and the other sports go, I think North Dakota has a pretty good deal with the arrangement with Midco, especially since they are still affiliated with Fox College Sports. Where they really screwed the pooch is allowing the NCHC to broker the "exclusive" national deal with CBS.

It's unfortunate that Cable One subscribers don't have access to MidcoSN, but, hey, lots of other people don't including me. If you can't get service from Midco, your next best option is DirecTV.

The biggest negative to me of going with Midco vs "in-house" is the fact that the weekly coaches show (the one that Pat Sweeney has hosted state-wide on Sunday nights my entire life) went from being available in about 600,000 North Dakota homes to about 30,000 North Dakota homes. That hurts in my eyes. I understand that Midco has like 3 weekly shows devoted to UND, but only fraction of the former potential audience has access to it right now, unless they want to watch online. Grampa doesn't want to watch online, and neither do I.............................

[The Sicatoka]

To those complaining about Cable One: Clearly you live in Fargo to have the issue. Me? I have Midcontinent, and yet I drive more than 75 miles (Fargo to GF = 75 miles) to every home game.

So here's your solution: physically go to the games. I'm doing it from that distance plus.

[FightingSuhaki]

Does anyone have a link to an online feed of the game this weekend?

[dakotadan]

www.watchBigSky.com

[Matt]

As long as we are discussing local cable-Midco has already forced Cableone to change immensely. Several years ago, I was about to drop Cableone for Dish because they refused to add BTN. If memory serves, it was at least a year before they added it. Same thing with NFL Network.

Cableone used to be incredibly slow to add channels. Not so anymore. When there's a new offering they jump on it. Without competition from Dish and MidCo, that never would have happened. I still have my issues with Cableone, but nothing that has pushed me to the point of dropping them as I was about to do before. Is see the continued presence of MidCo to continue this trend, and the viewer is the beneficiary in this.

[UNDBIZ]

The biggest negative to me of going with Midco vs "in-house" is the fact that the weekly coaches show (the one that Pat Sweeney has hosted state-wide on Sunday nights my entire life) went from being available in about 600,000 North Dakota homes to about 30,000 North Dakota homes. That hurts in my eyes. I understand that Midco has like 3 weekly shows devoted to UND, but only fraction of the former potential audience has access to it right now, unless they want to watch online. Grampa doesn't want to watch online, and neither do I.............................

With a population just over 700,000 I find it hard to believe there are 600,000 homes in North Dakota, but your point is still valid.

[westsidesioux]

I'm an admitted electronics novice...with that said, what is going to be the best way to hook my computer up to my flat screen to watch the game this weekend? Just use the standard VGA cable and crank my computer volume up? Somebody, anybody, teach me! Thanks guys!

[Shawn-O]

I'm an admitted electronics novice...with that said, what is going to be the best way to hook my computer up to my flat screen to watch the game this weekend? Just use the standard VGA cable and crank my computer volume up? Somebody, anybody, teach me! Thanks guys!

HDMI cable.

[UNDBIZ]

HDMI cable.

Depends on the age of the computer.

[82SiouxGuy]

I'm an admitted electronics novice...with that said, what is going to be the best way to hook my computer up to my flat screen to watch the game this weekend? Just use the standard VGA cable and crank my computer volume up? Somebody, anybody, teach me! Thanks guys!

HDMI is by far the best. It will run both audio and video through the TV. VGA plus an audio out from the computer headphone plug in to the TV audio input would also work, but the quality isn't as good.

[dmksioux]

Depends on the age of the computer.

It does depend on the age of the computer but you can also buy an HDMI to VGA adapter if needed. HDMI is the way to go.

[WYOBISONMAN]

I have a home theater system set up in my basement bar/sports and movie area. The best luck for me is running the HDMI through the receiver and from there the receiver goes to the TV via HDMI. As long as you have a decent feed it is not much different than watching TV other than the pain of hooking it up. Also make sure when playing to the TV you have your screen resolution correctly set.

[Shawn-O]

I have a home theater system set up in my basement bar/sports and movie area. The best luck for me is running the HDMI through the receiver and from there the receiver goes to the TV via HDMI. As long as you have a decent feed it is not much different than watching TV other than the pain of hooking it up. Also make sure when playing to the TV you have your screen resolution correctly set.

True. Having the HDMI port on the front of the receiver is key.

[westsidesioux]

You guys have all been a huge help. I tried it last year with just a VGA cable and it was awful. I appreciate all of the help from my fellow Sioux fans and my favorite Bison fan (yeah you Wyo)!

[Redneksioux]

There are a lot of ways for Midco to charge for their product and for the cable companies to pass along those charges. Cable companies can just increase general rates, sell the sports channel on its own, set up tiers, add it to another tier and increase the price for that tier, etc. I would be shocked if Midco is going to get $10 per subscriber. Cable companies weren't going to pay $2 per subscriber for networks like ESPN, they probably aren't going to pay it for Midco Sports Network. If cable companies are charging $10 for new tiers, then they are taking advantage of the situation themselves to make more money. I highly doubt that Midco is getting anywhere close to half of the $10 you quoted. But people are going to blame Midco for that whole increase whether Midco gets $0.25 of it or the whole amount.

Also, you mention that all of this is going to Midco profits. As I mentioned earlier, Midco has added HD production for this year. That is an expensive proposition. It involves all new equipment. It is also ahead of their original timeline. So they have plenty of bills to pay besides the normal expenses of putting on a television broadcast. I'm sure that Midco hopes, even plans, to make money on these broadcasts. But don't think for a second that increased subscriber costs are going right to the bottom line for Midco.

I apologize but I had some wrong information. I will not disclose the cable company doing this but I'm sure this is the case with many of the affiliates now offering midcosn for the first time.

The cable company I speak of is requiring it's customers to upgrade to a higher tier programming package to receive midco sn. So for one of their customers with their current basic package, they will need to pay an extra $25/month. This is their customers only option to watch und sporting events .

If I had the option to even get the games on tv myself this year I'd be happy to pay $25 a month to get them on tv but I don't even have the option for und on tv where I live with this new deal. And there are many many people across our great state that will now be without und sports on tv because of the midco ordeal. Either way this is bad for exposure of und sports compared to years in the past.

[82SiouxGuy]

I apologize but I had some wrong information. I will not disclose the cable company doing this but I'm sure this is the case with many of the affiliates now offering midcosn for the first time.

The cable company I speak of is requiring it's customers to upgrade to a higher tier programming package to receive midco sn. So for one of their customers with their current basic package, they will need to pay an extra $25/month. This is their customers only option to watch und sporting events .

If I had the option to even get the games on tv myself this year I'd be happy to pay $25 a month to get them on tv but I don't even have the option for und on tv where I live with this new deal. And there are many many people across our great state that will now be without und sports on tv because of the midco ordeal. Either way this is bad for exposure of und sports compared to years in the past.

The cable company that is charging people to upgrade to a higher tier at $25/month is at fault for taking advantage of the situation. That is not Midco's fault. As far as the exposure, that issue has been discussed to death. Much of the exposure you talk about was lost because of the NCHC contract with CBS Sports. UND and Midco have worked on supplying alternatives, and will continue to work on the issue. No one that complains about the change to Midco has ever addressed the $200,000 per year that Midco is paying UND, money that the athletic department didn't have before. If you don't believe that the money was a significant factor in the decision, you don't know a lot about the finances of college athletics. And they don't address the addition of HD this year, something that wouldn't have happened with the old set-up. Besides, this is the second year of the deal. The only people losing access to the games this year are people that used to watch on FSC and don't have access to Midco. That isn't a huge number within the state of North Dakota. Many of them probably have access by going to a bar or another location in their area. It is a bigger factor in other parts of the country.