To their credit, I did get a response from USA Network about their dropping coverage in the middle of the last set of the Blake – Agassi match:
Thank you for expressing your concerns about our US Open coverage. Regarding
Wednesday night’s match between Andre Agassi and James Blake, our
commentators announced several times that viewers in the east would need to
switch over to CBS to continue viewing the match. Due to contractual
obligations we could not continue our coverage after CBS’s US Open
Highlights show began at 12:37AM (Eastern). Requests to allow us to continue
our coverage were denied.While the eastern feed of USA network left the match, the western feed
continued to broadcast the match until its conclusion. If you live in the
western part of the country and had the match cut off, this means you were
viewing the eastern feed. Contact your cable or satellite provider for
information on why you are not receiving the western feed of USA.USA Network
Only problem is, there is no eastern or western feed on Dish Network for USA Network. Here’s my response:
Something is very strange here.
I’ve spent the last hour on the phone with support people at Dish Network. They are adamant that there is one and only one feed on Dish Network for USA Network — channel 105 — for the entire country.
Why do you tell me that there is an eastern feed and a western feed???? Do you know something that the technical support people at Dish Network don’t know?
I’m still very unhappy with USA Network. If someone working for me (and I’ve a lot of people in my organization working for me) gave me your answer, they’d get booted out of the office and perhaps out of the company. The Blake-Aggasi match was not going overly long, however every men’s match has the opportunity to go to five sets and a tie break. You obviously have not planned your coverage correctly nor have you executed the appropriate contracts in advance of the coverage. There is no reason that your contract for coverage should not allow you to complete broadcast of a match in progress. Because it does not, you screwed up your contracting process in a very amateur manner.
Further, if it is true that Dish Network has only one feed — you should know that and that makes your condescending reply even more aggravating.
Roland Smith
Unhappy Customer
I, too, had a frustrating experience with the way USA/CBS handled the transition; however, I dn’t quite understand why you focus your ire at USA. What do you find lacking in USA’s explanation? Unless you simply think they are fabricating the story, they were contractually obligated to end their coverage everywhere but the Pacific Time Zone at 12;37 a.m., as they’d done on at least one other occasion during this US Open. Furthermore, it seems a bit presumptuous to claim that USA has unlimited bargaining power in the contract negotiations over US Open coverage. Of course, the USTA is going to grant preferred coverage rights to CBS over USA. CBS is the 800-pound gorilla in this scenario, not USA.
Furthermore, I think you misinterpret USA’s comment about the eastern and western feeds. The message does not claim that DISH Network receives both feeds, but instead suggests that you provider must only carry the eastern feed. That is a failing of DISH, not USA. If DISH has decided to provide only the east coast feed for its customers, even those in the western US like you, I might aim my displeasure at DISH rather than USA. I am inclined to think your frustration about the coverage (which I share, but do not direct at USA) colors your reading of the USA message. I don’t find it condescending.
Frankly, my concern was with CBS’s refusal to allow USA to continue to broadcast. I think your concern should be with why DISH is providing you with the regionally inappropriate feed.