Freezeouts And Flashbacks
Why Comcast customers need to revert to 1986 to watch the inaugural season of the Utah Hockey Club and how BYU has become the state's top college football program thus far.
The following article is from October 2024 and is a token of thanks for subscribing. - Brian
Oct. 09, 2024
? Over the past quarter, approximately 122,000 peeps left Comcast, the digital giant, on the broadband side. Some said it was competition; others said it was seasonality, i.e. folks were too darned busy doing other things.
I say nay; I say it’s the frustration that peeps feel when they turn on their Xfinity remotes and find they have fewer viewing options than ever — but are paying the same or more for their basic cable packages.
At my old condo after I was hit with this disease and lived alone, I was a participant in the Affordable Connectivity Program that is now no longer available as of this past May. At my new place of residence, I and others no longer have that option to take advantage of the ACP, meaning like many other Utahns and those in Utah’s footprint such as Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, I’m paying out the nose for cable even if it was merely a $30 monthly discount.
With a bill ranging from $30 to as much as $300 for the highest speed Internet package per month, you can see that the digital giant can’t see the forest through the trees and that it’s adding pieces to its fiber-optic journey as it’s meandering along, competing with other fiber Internet Service Providers for new customers.
The problem with this scenario is that many Utahns and those in the region I mentioned are about to be left in the dark as of this Thursday’s game at the New York Islanders—thanks to ill-advised plans of the Utah Hockey Club nee Arizona Coyotes that already thought it had a broadcast agreement, or something like that, in place at Scripps Sports—which agreed to broadcast the inaugural season of UHC’s games.
Of course, if you’re at all familiar with how Diamond Sports engaged in a yearlong battle with teams like the Coyotes last year, you already know it didn’t end well, as that carrier had a dispute that ended only after it made some sort of agreement with most of its Bally Sports entities retaining the rights to local pro sports broadcasts.
Enter Utah’s Channel 16, a sister channel of KSTU Fox 13, Utah’s Scripps-owned TV station. Though the inaugural game Tuesday was aired by ESPN, Utah’s next game this coming Thursday is scheduled to be aired on 16, however, it will not be broadcast on Comcast so long as this carriage dispute lingers.
Therein lies the [deep-heating] rub after sitting in an ice-cold hockey arena for several hours. The only people who suffer in this case are fans—not only of Utah’s new team but those who follow the Coyotes that still populate UHC ‘s roster. And, Scripps appears to be unwilling at this point to back down.
“Tuesday marks a historic day in Utah, and Scripps Sports is very disappointed that Comcast has chosen not to give its subscribers access to Utah 16, the broadcast home of the?[Utah Hockey Club],” posted Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor. “Despite our repeated attempts to work with Comcast to provide this channel to the residents of Utah, Comcast has made it clear that broadcasting Utah Hockey Club is not a priority for them.”
Comcast, which claims it has added approximately 300,000 new customers this past quarter, has not issued a statement at press time. Keep in mind that Diamond Sports DBA Bally is in the process of restructuring as we speak, aligning with FanDuel on many of its regional sports networks in a statement that was announced in—what else?—a bankruptcy court filing:
The debtors are close to reaching agreement with a third party on the terms of an agreement for naming and branding rights with respect to the debtors’ RSNs,” posted DSG. “The contemplated agreement will lock in a new naming rights partner for the 2024-2025 NHL and NBA seasons while also providing the debtors with a long-term naming rights partner if the debtors are ultimately able to emerge as a going concern.”
There is, however, a quick fix. Isn't there always? Go to the store or online and buy a digital antenna! Then, you can get Channel 16 over the air like you're back in 1986. In some ways, well, in all ways pertaining to this situation, the answer is ... Walmart ... since Radio Shack is no longer.
And, if you made it down to the Delta Center for the inaugural game on Tuesday and saw Dylan Guenther etch his name in the record books by scoring Utah’s first goal, good on ya. I’ve had my turn; I was there when Real Salt Lake took its first kick at Rice-Eccles Stadium and happened to be one of the first journalists in Utah to report on Jason Kreis’ first goal for that franchise. For someone who has been a soccer player since the age of six, it was a moment I’ll cherish for all of time.
Roar!
Some people say ? Okay, nobody saw this coming outside of the football building in Provo. Who actually thought there was a chance the BYU football team would be sitting at 5-0 at this point in the season?
All the talk before the season was that head coach Kalani Sitake was entering the twilight of his career at BYU, one that was ho-hum at best, as far as records were concerned.
But then the games were played, and defensive coordinator Jay Hill suffered a heart attack two days before the Cougars were set to face Southern Illinois.
领英推荐
Win One For Jay Hill
September 3, 2024
Needless to say, the Cougars came out of the gates inspired in a 46-10 blowout victory over SIU. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff, the self-proclaimed #BYJEW, who was downplayed in every local media publication before the Cougars’ Big 12 Conference season even got underway, threw for 348 yards. It turned out to be his best outing of the season; after that, the junior’s thrown for, in order, 1-3-2-and-3 TDs per game, with a high of 291 and a low of 151 [yards passing].
To boot, the Cougars have used a running-back-by-committee approach, one that the Utah Utes were forced to employ at various times during Sitake’s time there, that which I talked about on this BVU Show:
Million Dollar College QBs?!?
September 29, 2024
Ta-da, it has worked! BYU has been able—through Retzlaff’s game management and RB Committee that includes him the same way that Travis Wilson ran—to manufacture yardage but most importantly, chew up time of possession: the Cougs average 32:10 per game.
Not only that, BYU has only committed 23 penalties over 300 minutes of action while averaging 33 points per game. Its defense under the direction of Jay Hill has been ferocious, combining for 131 solo tackles, 10 sacks and 7 interceptions, while forcing four fumbles along the way to a No. 14 AP ranking. Not bad for a team experts picked would finish 13th in the Big 12.
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. ?
I read a lot. Helps take my mind off the fact that I have Long Covid, and am stuck at home so any escape from my reality is good for the soul.
For more on some of Utah sports greatest moments, you can read my book SPORTZZ FRUM HOME available now on Amazon.
How Is BYU Not In The AP Top 10?!
October 20, 2024
Name Them The Utah Hockey Club Already
October 13, 2024