Devils and Islanders MSG Question

Wingman77

Registered User
Mar 16, 2010
20,251
765
One of those games would pretty much be MSG promoting Barclays Center. They made the smart business move not showing that game.

Understood, but how about the other 4-5 games that weren't shown?

Not sure what the Isles coverage was, however the Devils got the Ranger game televised and then at the last minute, literally hours before the start, one of the Flyer games

The other 4? Nope - Poker, Halls of Fame, Giants Rewind, etc were televised

It's pre-season, I'm not expecting every game to be televised for obvious reasons, but just 1 scheduled? and then another thrown in last minute? C'mon it's been the same **** for years now for both the Devils and Isles - at the most 3 games can't get worked in?

Sometimes during the season it'll be Rangers on BOTH MSG and MSG+, the Devils on MSG+2 and the Isles on some random channel or vice versa - it is silly
 

Kane One

Moderator
Feb 6, 2010
43,103
10,625
Brooklyn, New NY
Understood, but how about the other 4-5 games that weren't shown?

Not sure what the Isles coverage was, however the Devils got the Ranger game televised and then at the last minute, literally hours before the start, one of the Flyer games

The other 4? Nope - Poker, Halls of Fame, Giants Rewind, etc were televised

It's pre-season, I'm not expecting every game to be televised for obvious reasons, but just 1 scheduled? and then another thrown in last minute? C'mon it's been the same **** for years now for both the Devils and Isles - at the most 3 games can't get worked in?

Sometimes during the season it'll be Rangers on BOTH MSG and MSG+, the Devils on MSG+2 and the Isles on some random channel or vice versa - it is silly

I really have no answer for that. Do they lose money showing pre-season games? Maybe they just take the loss for showing Ranger games just so they can help promote their own team. Using that possibility, you would think that they would promote the Islanders and Devils on MSG, since they do hold their TV rights. Yeah, I have no idea why they don't show them.

I also don't remember ever seeing the last thing you said.
 

The Korean*

Guest
They will have to do it, but then they would have no choice, unlike now, where they do have a choice.

Why would they let the Islanders leave MSG? SNY would be the obvious network for the Islanders to play on, so why will MSG want SNY to get bigger?

When the Yankees (and later the Mets) were going leave MSG, Cablevision (then the owner of MSG) wanted to buy the Yankees (and later the Mets) because MSG would lose viewership.

I wonder if the league can force Dolan to terminate the contract. IMO the TV contract hurts Devils and Isles fans.

But then again it helps Devs and Isles teams bottom line financially.

Understood, but how about the other 4-5 games that weren't shown?

Not sure what the Isles coverage was, however the Devils got the Ranger game televised and then at the last minute, literally hours before the start, one of the Flyer games

The other 4? Nope - Poker, Halls of Fame, Giants Rewind, etc were televised

It's pre-season, I'm not expecting every game to be televised for obvious reasons, but just 1 scheduled? and then another thrown in last minute? C'mon it's been the same **** for years now for both the Devils and Isles - at the most 3 games can't get worked in?

Sometimes during the season it'll be Rangers on BOTH MSG and MSG+, the Devils on MSG+2 and the Isles on some random channel or vice versa - it is silly
IF American Airlines and US have hard time merging how is it fair that MSG can buy Fox Sports Net NY just like that?
 

Kane One

Moderator
Feb 6, 2010
43,103
10,625
Brooklyn, New NY
I wonder if the league can force Dolan to terminate the contract. IMO the TV contract hurts Devils and Isles fans.

But then again it helps Devs and Isles teams bottom line financially.

How does the TV deal hurt the fans? Because you guys can't watch pre-season games?

And no, Bettman can't do anything, and even if he could, you posted the reason why he wouldn't.
 

The Korean*

Guest
Because we are stuck on crap channels (well, Isles anyway) while Rangers and Knicks get all the good slots. Which isnt to be unexpected but it still pisses us off.

**** Dolan. The man is at least 25% of all the reasons why people hate Rangers and Knicks.
 

Kane One

Moderator
Feb 6, 2010
43,103
10,625
Brooklyn, New NY
Because we are stuck on crap channels (well, Isles anyway) while Rangers and Knicks get all the good slots. Which isnt to be unexpected but it still pisses us off.

**** Dolan. The man is at least 25% of all the reasons why people hate Rangers and Knicks.

I'm not sure about the other providers, but on Optimum, MSG2 and MSG2+ is just as clear as MSG and MSG+. What's the problem with being on those channels, except for feeling like a second-class citizen (or in this case a third-class citizen)?
 

The Korean*

Guest
Isles on MSG2+ is atrocious.

This aint right. I am pretty sure Isles didnt sign that huge deal with Dolan.
 

Giuseppe Franco

Registered User
Jun 1, 2008
620
133
One of those games would pretty much be MSG promoting Barclays Center. They made the smart business move not showing that game.

I think this incident highlights the main problem with the deal - there is a clear conflict of interest involved between what's good for the Rangers and what's good for the Islanders and Devils. While MSG obviously wants to have good ratings for the Isles and Devs, it won't do so at the expense of its brand. I know it may seem like a relatively minor thing, but I think Bettman should be more proactive in ensuring that MSG will do what's best for the Isles and Devils and not themselves.
 

blamebettman*

Guest
Still wish we had signed that deal with YES a few years back

Signing on with WFAN was very smart though. That's a super powerful signal on the eastern seaboard. I've heard people saying they could pick it up in the freakin Carolinas
 

19NYSports91

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
4,767
0
Long Island
How does the TV deal hurt the fans? Because you guys can't watch pre-season games?

And no, Bettman can't do anything, and even if he could, you posted the reason why he wouldn't.

How doesn't it hurt the fans? I can't watch the Isles on HD every game because MSG is Pejorative Slured. When the Devils and Islanders are both playing, the devils usually get the HD channel on fios for some reason, which is very annoying. There was one game last year vs the canadiens where I missed a whole period because they weren't showing the game on Fios. A lot of people called up Fios and finally showed the game.

There were many times that we couldn't even watch the pregame or the start of the game because their was a college basketball game going on, which no one even cared about. It's very annoying and frustrating.
 
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blamebettman*

Guest
How doesn't it hurt the fans? I can't watch the Isles on HD every game because MSG is Pejorative Slured. When the Devils and Islanders are both playing, the devils usually get the HD channel on fios for some reason, which is very annoying. There was one game last year vs the canadiens where I missed a whole period because they weren't showing the game on Fios. A lot of people called up Fios and finally showed the game.

There were many times that we couldn't even watch the pregame or the start of the game because their was a college basketball game going on, which no one even cared about. It's very annoying and frustrating.

The Devils get higher ratings then the Islanders, so they get HD priority I assume.

Though if both teams are playing at the same time, the way it should be is Long Island - Isles HD/Devils SD. NJ - Devils HD Islanders SD

The college basketball stuff I don't understand . Nobody gives 2 ***** about college basketball in NYC/NJ/Long Island
 

Status Quo*

Guest
Signing on with WFAN was very smart though. That's a super powerful signal on the eastern seaboard. I've heard people saying they could pick it up in the freakin Carolinas

My brother picked it up in Alabama at night when he went down there for a Nascar race a few years ago and was able to listen to a Devils game...
 

Colin226

NJ Devils STH
Jan 14, 2011
6,933
2,218
Central NJ
I really have no answer for that. Do they lose money showing pre-season games? Maybe they just take the loss for showing Ranger games just so they can help promote their own team. Using that possibility, you would think that they would promote the Islanders and Devils on MSG, since they do hold their TV rights. Yeah, I have no idea why they don't show them.

I also don't remember ever seeing the last thing you said.

Happens a lot! Last season it happened to the Devils when they were playing the Rangers, and the Islanders were also on. MSG and MSG2 would carry the Rangers in HD, while MSG+ carried the Islanders in HD.. Devils were given MSG+2 in standard def on FiOS (and several other carriers as well I believe)

Here's a quick breakdown of times when either the Rangers or Knicks get shown on 2 MSG-HD stations (MSG-HD and MSG2-HD), while one hockey team gets MSG+HD and the other is relegated to MSG+2 which is standard def for many folks in the area who don't subscribe to Dolan's cable provider. Can anyone explain why they need to be on TWO HD stations?!! It forces one hockey team to be in standard def, and there's simply no reason for it!

Devils getting the shaft:

Oct 17th - Knicks Preseason on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def
Oct 26th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def
Nov 2nd - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def (against the Flyers!! wtf)
Nov 12th - Rangers vs Devils - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def - major BS and I'm sure this will boost Ranger ratings since hockey in SD sucks

Islanders getting the shaft:

Oct 19th - Rangers vs Devils - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def - also BS for their fans
Nov 7th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 10th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 16th - Knicks on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 27th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def

The Devils get higher ratings then the Islanders, so they get HD priority I assume.

Though if both teams are playing at the same time, the way it should be is Long Island - Isles HD/Devils SD. NJ - Devils HD Islanders SD

The college basketball stuff I don't understand . Nobody gives 2 ***** about college basketball in NYC/NJ/Long Island

Looks like they do split the shafting somewhat evenly between the 2 teams, at least through the early parts of the season, but I'm pretty sure if I did this the entire season you'd see the Devils get MSG+ HD priority a lot more. The Devils do consistently get higher ratings than the Islanders so they tend to get a bit of priority over them, though the Islanders playoff run did get them slightly higher overall ratings than the Devils for the season as a whole, in large part because the Devils collapsed down the stretch

Mid-2013 Ratings per game:
Devils - 0.55 HH
Islanders - 0.47 HH

2013 Total Ratings per game:
Devils - 0.47 HH
Islanders - 0.49 HH
 

Ruggs225

Registered User
Oct 15, 2007
8,422
4,131
Long Island, NY
Happens a lot! Last season it happened to the Devils when they were playing the Rangers, and the Islanders were also on. MSG and MSG2 would carry the Rangers in HD, while MSG+ carried the Islanders in HD.. Devils were given MSG+2 in standard def on FiOS (and several other carriers as well I believe)

Here's a quick breakdown of times when either the Rangers or Knicks get shown on 2 MSG-HD stations (MSG-HD and MSG2-HD), while one hockey team gets MSG+HD and the other is relegated to MSG+2 which is standard def for many folks in the area who don't subscribe to Dolan's cable provider. Can anyone explain why they need to be on TWO HD stations?!! It forces one hockey team to be in standard def, and there's simply no reason for it!

Devils getting the shaft:

Oct 17th - Knicks Preseason on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def
Oct 26th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def
Nov 2nd - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def (against the Flyers!! wtf)
Nov 12th - Rangers vs Devils - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Islanders on MSG+. Devils on standard def - major BS and I'm sure this will boost Ranger ratings since hockey in SD sucks

Islanders getting the shaft:

Oct 19th - Rangers vs Devils - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def - also BS for their fans
Nov 7th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 10th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 16th - Knicks on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def
Nov 27th - Rangers on 2 MSG HD channels. Devils on MSG+. Islanders on standard def

I call bs on this. The Rangers are never featured on two MSG channels at once. I watched or DVR'd every game last year and never found myself saying which of the two channels should I watch. They are usually on MSG or MSG 2 but sometimes they are on MSG+. By the way i use Direct TV as my provider.

The only time the Rangers are on two MSG channels is when they play either the Isles or Devils. And one of those broadcasts would be using the Isles or Devils announcers so they are not the featured team.

Here is a link to their OFFICIAL broadcast schedule.

http://rangers.nhl.com/club/schedule.htm
 

Ruggs225

Registered User
Oct 15, 2007
8,422
4,131
Long Island, NY
The Devils get higher ratings then the Islanders, so they get HD priority I assume.

Though if both teams are playing at the same time, the way it should be is Long Island - Isles HD/Devils SD. NJ - Devils HD Islanders SD

The college basketball stuff I don't understand . Nobody gives 2 ***** about college basketball in NYC/NJ/Long Island

Not true at all. Love watching St. John's bball and am glad that they have priority over Isles and Devils when they play AT MSG.
 

The Korean*

Guest
Not true at all. Love watching St. John's bball and am glad that they have priority over Isles and Devils when they play AT MSG.

College football no one cares, but basketball is very popular around here.
 

njdevil26

I hate avocados
Dec 13, 2006
13,770
5,077
Clark, NJ
Isles fans... by now you should hate your cable provider and not MSG for the Isles being on MSG+2 on certain nights. We used to complain when the Devils were put there... but Comcast in central Jersey has its own channel for MSG+2 HD.
 

nyiguy21

Poster of the Decade
Aug 22, 2007
2,553
7
New York
It's really frustrating to miss the Isles pregame and part of the 1st period because 2 basketball teams from Texas and New Mexico went to overtime. The least they could do is put the Isles on the overflow channel when it happens.
That really was my only gripe with MSG last year. I saw every game in HD whether on the main 2 channels or on the overflow channels, so I'm not sure if this has something to do with the fact that I have Cablevision or not.
 

njdevil26

I hate avocados
Dec 13, 2006
13,770
5,077
Clark, NJ
It's really frustrating to miss the Isles pregame and part of the 1st period because 2 basketball teams from Texas and New Mexico went to overtime. The least they could do is put the Isles on the overflow channel when it happens.
That really was my only gripe with MSG last year. I saw every game in HD whether on the main 2 channels or on the overflow channels, so I'm not sure if this has something to do with the fact that I have Cablevision or not.

I think anyone that has Time Warner are the frustrated ones.
 

Colin226

NJ Devils STH
Jan 14, 2011
6,933
2,218
Central NJ
I call bs on this. The Rangers are never featured on two MSG channels at once. I watched or DVR'd every game last year and never found myself saying which of the two channels should I watch. They are usually on MSG or MSG 2 but sometimes they are on MSG+. By the way i use Direct TV as my provider.

The only time the Rangers are on two MSG channels is when they play either the Isles or Devils. And one of those broadcasts would be using the Isles or Devils announcers so they are not the featured team.

Here is a link to their OFFICIAL broadcast schedule.

http://rangers.nhl.com/club/schedule.htm

Looks like it could be different for satellite folks, but certainly not a BS statement being that I was talking from a cable/FiOS perspective.. MSG-HD and MSG2-HD almost always (if not always) show the same broadcast for Rangers and Knicks games, even if the Devils and Islanders are playing (thus pushing one team to MSG+HD and the other to MSG+2 which is standard def on many providers outside of Cablevision)

Let me show:

Exhibit A - The Rangers game tonight is clearly on both MSG-HD and MSG2-HD (though this TV listing website gives MSG2-HD a funky name). You can also see that, yup, even the postgame show is on both channels as well. I'd be glad to take a photo of this tonight on my FiOS guide as well, if you'd like.
ekkTOGO.jpg


Exhibit B - On October 17th the Knicks, Islanders, and Devils are all playing at the same time. Would you look at that, the Knicks get featured on both MSG-HD and MSG2-HD (not given the proper name on this site either but you can see they are 2 separate channels). You can also see that the Islanders are listed as being on MSG+HD, as they should be for this game. You can't see the MSG+2 listing because this channel only becomes available when a game is relegated to it.
yp4xcYB.jpg


I would post images proving this for all of the examples I gave in the original post you tried to call out, but TV listings are only available so far out. Would be happy to add more images for future games as they become available.

You'll almost always (and really I'm 99% sure it's always) see the same game on both of those channels. Only time that doesn't happen is when all 4 teams are playing at the same time, in which case it's Knicks on MSG-HD, Rangers on MSG2-HD, and Devils/Islanders a coin-toss between MSG+HD and MSG+2 standard definition.
 
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Ruggs225

Registered User
Oct 15, 2007
8,422
4,131
Long Island, NY
Looks like it could be different for satellite folks, but certainly not a BS statement being that I was talking from a cable/FiOS perspective.. MSG-HD and MSG2-HD almost always (if not always) show the same broadcast for Rangers and Knicks games, even if the Devils and Islanders are playing (thus pushing one team to MSG+HD and the other to MSG+2 which is standard def on many providers outside of Cablevision)

Let me show:

Exhibit A - The Rangers game tonight is clearly on both MSG-HD and MSG2-HD (though this TV listing website gives MSG2-HD a funky name). You can also see that, yup, even the postgame show is on both channels as well. I'd be glad to take a photo of this tonight on my FiOS guide as well, if you'd like.
ekkTOGO.jpg


Looking more into that MSG2Z channel, it seems to pick up most of the Sabres games. This channel might be made for Upstate NY and will show Buffalo/NYR/NY Knicks games. I think that is because regular MSG might be blacked out our used to be blacked out upstate.

MSG2Z literally is the same channel as MSG at all times except during Sabres games.

Exhibit B - On October 17th the Knicks, Islanders, and Devils are all playing at the same time. Would you look at that, the Knicks get featured on both MSG-HD and MSG2-HD (not given the proper name on this site either but you can see they are 2 separate channels). You can also see that the Islanders are listed as being on MSG+HD, as they should be for this game. You can't see the MSG+2 listing because this channel only becomes available when a game is relegated to it.
yp4xcYB.jpg


I would post images proving this for all of the examples I gave in the original post you tried to call out, but TV listings are only available so far out. Would be happy to add more images for future games as they become available.

You'll almost always (and really I'm 99% sure it's always) see the same game on both of those channels. Only time that doesn't happen is when all 4 teams are playing at the same time, in which case it's Knicks on MSG-HD, Rangers on MSG2-HD, and Devils/Islanders a coin-toss between MSG+HD and MSG+2 standard definition.

Direct TV deosn't have that. MSG 2 isn't a real channel on direct tv (thought it was), but if the rangers, devils or islanders are on it it will kick over to MASN or another alternative network type thing. I guess that is why i never see the duplicates.

I also checked online about fios and it seems you are right. But it looks like MSG2Z always just mimics MSG. It doesn't look like Time Warner has this MSG2Z channel either.

I think this is solely a Fios thing.

by the way i used http://www.locatetv.com/listings to research the channels.

Edit: I looked into the channel more, and it seems that it is an Upstate NY feed. MSG2Z shows all the same stuff as MSG at the same times except when the Buffalo Sabres play. They will show the Sabres game then. I think it is there because of blackout regulations and such.
 
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Renbarg

Registered User
Feb 24, 2007
9,945
23
NY
Its a slight inconvenience with Fios. With DirectTV. All of the games used to be HD.

Not the case with Fios. Its more frustrating than anything when you have MSG and MSG2 playing the same exact thing (let say Ranger game), while MSG+ is carrying a Devil/Islanders game, and the other game get thrown onto MSG+2 (non HD on Fios).

As far as catering goes, they actually do a pretty good job of trying to include the Islanders and Devils. Both get a good chunk on Hockey Night Live (although the Islanders don't really have an in house rep now that Butchie moved to PbP). The Islanders at least get the odd classic game (even if its a non-Ranger game, or a non-Rangers win if its an isles-ranger game). On their "original" programming, they do a lot of top 10 metro area dmen, and both the Islanders and Devils are well represented.

Obviously, they don't get the special shows that the Rangers get, but to be honest, the Rangers don't get all that much anyway, the most they have is those long-form "growing up" interviews. I think Fran Healy's (lol, I guess he must of signed a long-term contract when the Mets were on air and now they don't have anything to do with him) show often features Islanders such as Tavares, or great ones like Bossy and Gillies.



The bottom line is that I can watch all the Islanders games without a problem, although I'm slightly annoyed at about a quarter of them. Its still better than not having the ability to watch all your games on tv (some teams are in this situation, believe it or not).
 

Uli Hiemer

Dr. Evil
Oct 19, 2011
13,914
11
Queens
There is no priority between Devils/Islanders

They split the HD games. Some cable providers do have MSG +2 in Hd. Unfortunately for me, Fios is not one of them. I had Time Warner for the longest, but switched after being completely disgusted with their service. The year I switch they put the flood channel in HD.

However, I will say it's a bit easier to watch the crappy channel on Fios than it ever was to watch on Time Warner. At times, I felt like I was watching from space somewhere. just awful.
 
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