Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rogers to Paying Customers: "Fuck You"


Remember the first week of the season, when I encouraged the more entitled among us to relax about the inability to see every game or every highlight pack? As Neate points out, Rogers has sold the rights to a Jays/Red Sox series at the ROGERS CENTRE to TSN for broadcast on TSN2. Guess who doesn't get TSN2?

Who am I to stand in the way of a media conglomerate's power play? I simply source Rogers for my cell phone, internet, cable, and home phone. I attend dozens of Blue Jays games a year, subscribe to the MLB Extra Innings package and have BASICALLY CREATED A SHRINE TO THEIR BASEBALL COMMODITY ON THE INTERNET where I (and dozens or hundreds of people like me) devote hours a week freely and actively promoting their product. What the fuck else do they want from us?

Has Rogers simply taken a sweetheart deal from TSN or the shadow company that owns them too good to pass up? Could either of these monoliths show more contempt for the lowly denizens that prop them up? Should I officially start stealing cable or anything else branded by these two tax havens not tied down? Fuck. This.

If this game is somehow NOT available via the Extra Innings package, it will be fucking on. I don't riot when I'm charged a "monthly access fee" nor do I storm the "campus" when my cable bill goes up as carrier costs decrease. If somehow I'm blocked out from these games, on principal alone, I'll fuck shit up. Off the grid I'll go, and I'm taking shit with me.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Madison Guy
Posted by Drew
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13 comments:

  1. I fucking hate the Roger's Corporation with every fiber of my being. After being on the phone with them for what seemed to be days, I uttered the comment: "I'm pretty sure suicide would be more fun than dealing with this company".
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  3. Yup, yup, yup.

    I'm in for something. Blog boycott? No Jays' blogs write anything for those three games if this goes through?

    Either way, I'm sending an email to both companies.
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  4. Blog boycott would only work if I thought Rogers gave a fuck or understood. Blogs to them are nothing more than filters preventing their ideal brand image. A minor consumer annoyance, like letter-writing old ladies who complain when the cable goes out during The Doctors.

    Deep sigh.
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  5. In December I switched from Bell ExpressVu to Rogers, and to be honest a part of my decision was to do with the Jays games that are on the preview channel. If I had stayed with Bell I would have TSN2. If they don't find a way to bring me these games, I will spend several hours going through levels of supervisors on the phone, until I reach the guy who made this decision. Then I will get his name, I will find him at the Rogers campus, and I will voice my displeasure in person. It will not be pleasant.
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  6. Nah, that has to be changing. And even if they don't see your blog, or any others, as a big deal I think you have to act like it. You know? Act like you're helping them by providing people with this blog to read (which you are) and act like it should hurt them, even if it's a little, by not updating it for three games.

    If all the big Jays' blogs did it I'm sure there would be some talk about it online and possibly in traditional news if someone thought it was a good angle.

    Any other suggestions?

    It's funny because I was going to suggest to people that we pick a day to make "Blue Jays" as one of the major trend topics on twitter, now I want to do the opposite. Maybe if we did both it'd be an example that the stuff people do on this internet thinger ain't worthless.
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  7. Looks like Bullington might be on the fast track to Toronto after all.
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  8. You know, I think there is something to be said about this being a part of a bigger play by the Rogers company as a whole to move to get TSN2 on to their cable division.

    Think about it... People at the top for Rogers must have been in negotiations with Bell for months to get TSN2 onto cable and by all accounts, it doesn't seem like it would happen any time soon. That said, what if Rogers offered Bell (the owners of TSN) a series like Boston at home to see if they could sweeten the deal to drop the price to get TSN2 to the masses on Rogers Cable.

    Nothing is ever free, and by the looks of things, Rogers is (potentially) trying to make some headway to try and get us all TSN2. Let's just wait it out and you never know what could happen!
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  9. Drew, this is a great fucking post.

    Down with Rogers. (Even though they own me.)
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  10. I thought the extra innings channel was like MLBTV where there was blackout restrictions (i.e No Jays games if you are in Canada)?
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  11. @Johnny G

    You are correct. There will be no Extra Innings coverage of the game. It's TSN2 or bust.
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  12. Rogers better have TSN2 before that Red Sox series
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  13. The same thing happened with the fucking Raptors Game, and there was a write up in the globe or something.

    Rogers got all pissed cause Bell started throwing games on TSN2, when they'd bidded for them under TSN. It was stupid, and I was somewhat glad Rogers stood pat and didn't offer Ontario folk TSN2.

    Throwing a handful of games on TSN2 to make cable companies and people buy a channel that plays 95% shit isn't kosher.

    Now, Rogers clearly knows what's up and they've sold the rights to Bell anyways? What the hell?

    Maybe Rogers and Bell have come to a deal on the cost of adding TSN2 to a cable package.. who knows.

    Anyways, Congrats Blue Jays fans -- the rapin' is underway and you'll be shittin' cum for a week.
    ReplyDelete

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