Gamecenter Live

[phaedrusDH]

I live in Ontario, based on user experience, will any of the oiler games be on blackout??

thanks

my understanding is no Oilers games will be blacked out.

it used to be that any nationally televised games were blacked out, but that has changed now that Rogers owns all Oilers broadcasting rights.

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/schedule.htm?gameType=2

regionally broadcasted games under the license of TSN/others will still be blacked out, which affects the Leafs/Habs/Jets/Sens.

 

[phaedrusDH]

Unblock-Us + gamecenter = Beautiful.

Blackouts? What blackouts.

as a word of caution, this is against GCL terms of use, under penalty of termination and $100 charge for early termination. i doubt it will stop me, but as per my above post, there won't be much of a need for it anymore.

 

[bucks_oil]

We will agree to disagree. I already posted my side (with links) earlier in this thread.

If i lived in the states I too would support GCL just like you. I think the US price is 100$ vs the 200$ over inflated price i pay in Canada. However, the way i see it is that Rogers gets involved and jacked up the price by 50$ without giving me any extra benefit to justify the higher price.

If I paid an extra 50$ and got 0 blackouts... then fine that's an added value. To get a few extra national games i already get on my basic cable package.... that's not added value imo. All HNIC games were free on CBC.ca last season. In other words, i get a Wednesday night game and a Sunday night game for the extra 50$. Oh yay!

The other problem for me is that I can't sign up for Rogers Internet or Cable where I live because they aren't operating in my area. So I could never benefit from the free Rogers goodies even if I wanted to.

In the end its not about the money for me its about the principal. I'm not paying an extra 50$ for the same product just because Rogers got involved.

Ok... I'm catching up now. I hadn't clicked the Rogers links because they don't concern me... was rather commenting only on GCL vs HS.

Holy F.... Rogers has EXCLUSIVE rights to ALL NHL BROADCAST RIGHTS, INCLUDING ONLINE IN CANADA!!!!

Wow... that is just BEYOND terrible!!! Just when I was hoping for less exclusive deals, we now have this.... Canadians can just forget about the whole unbundling concept.

I would think some class action movement with the CRTC is worthwhile, no? Wasn't there some class action about bandwidth and fair use a year or two ago? Seems like this should drive the monopoly on content vs personal choice to a finer point.

 

[bucks_oil]

I get gamecenter free until December which is pretty sweet, I'll probably get hockeystreams after for 3 months as long as it doesn't restrict how many people can sign up, which seems to be happening. I think I need a roku, sounds more convenient than hooking up my laptop through HDMI... Can gamecenter run off xbox?

Yes the 360 has an app. Not sure if the XBONE has one yet... judging from the NHL's website, it is still in the works (not listed yet)

 

[dustrock]

Ok... I'm catching up now. I hadn't clicked the Rogers links because they don't concern me... was rather commenting only on GCL vs HS.

Holy F.... Rogers has EXCLUSIVE rights to ALL NHL BROADCAST RIGHTS, INCLUDING ONLINE IN CANADA!!!!

Wow... that is just BEYOND terrible!!! Just when I was hoping for less exclusive deals, we now have this.... Canadians can just forget about the whole unbundling concept.

I would think some class action movement with the CRTC is worthwhile, no? Wasn't there some class action about bandwidth and fair use a year or two ago? Seems like this should drive the monopoly on content vs personal choice to a finer point.

Wireless carriers all charge the same, and Canada has some of the highest rates in the world. Ditto cable, internet, etc.

 

[PeakMcOil]

Wireless carriers all charge the same, and Canada has some of the highest rates in the world. Ditto cable, internet, etc.

There are some legitimate reasons for Candaa having higher costs than other developed nations, mainly population density. But I am wholesale against what these companies do. I would be willing to pay $200 for GC IF it allowed me to actually watch Oilers games, you know, the only games I care about. But that's not enough for them, they want the 30 bucks a month but it should be at least 80, so let's force the consumer to buy a long-term cable package while we're at it.

They can go die a slow horrible death as far as I'm concerned, can't wait until one of the real big guys from the US comes in and squeezes every last penny from Bell, Rogers and Telus. They've played their game long enough now. Too bad Rogers has 12 years of the NHL, I already miss HNIC.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Ok... I'm catching up now. I hadn't clicked the Rogers links because they don't concern me... was rather commenting only on GCL vs HS.

Holy F.... Rogers has EXCLUSIVE rights to ALL NHL BROADCAST RIGHTS, INCLUDING ONLINE IN CANADA!!!!

You have seen the light my friend.

 

[smackdaddy]

There are some legitimate reasons for Candaa having higher costs than other developed nations, mainly population density. But I am wholesale against what these companies do. I would be willing to pay $200 for GC IF it allowed me to actually watch Oilers games, you know, the only games I care about. But that's not enough for them, they want the 30 bucks a month but it should be at least 80, so let's force the consumer to buy a long-term cable package while we're at it.

They can go die a slow horrible death as far as I'm concerned, can't wait until one of the real big guys from the US comes in and squeezes every last penny from Bell, Rogers and Telus. They've played their game long enough now. Too bad Rogers has 12 years of the NHL, I already miss HNIC.

I'll speak only to cellular, as it's my business. If you are so upset with the prices of your wireless cost, there are solutions. But those solutions require a person to have fiscal responsibility.

In the US, you have comparable rates to Canada. And when I mean comparable, I mean 2 year flagship device costs and plans. Don't go comparing an entry level junk phones to S5 plans.

If you really want better wireless pricing, go spend the $700-$1000 for your phone from Apple or Amazon, bring it to Virgin/Koodoo/FIdo and get yourself a reasonable plan. But don't take those phones at $0 on a 2 year and then complain when your monthly rate is higher. Canadians tend to want their cake and eat it too when it comes to mobility.

 

[KPower]

I'll speak only to cellular, as it's my business. If you are so upset with the prices of your wireless cost, there are solutions. But those solutions require a person to have fiscal responsibility.

In the US, you have comparable rates to Canada. And when I mean comparable, I mean 2 year flagship device costs and plans. Don't go comparing an entry level junk phones to S5 plans.

If you really want better wireless pricing, go spend the $700-$1000 for your phone from Apple or Amazon, bring it to Virgin/Koodoo/FIdo and get yourself a reasonable plan. But don't take those phones at $0 on a 2 year and then complain when your monthly rate is higher. Canadians tend to want their cake and eat it too when it comes to mobility.

Somebody is drinking the kool aid.

 

[MCDAVIDISH]

Does Game Center play any pre season games? I thought center ice did the first bit of the season for free but I can't seem to watch any games on those channels.

 

[bucks_oil]

I'll speak only to cellular, as it's my business. If you are so upset with the prices of your wireless cost, there are solutions. But those solutions require a person to have fiscal responsibility.

In the US, you have comparable rates to Canada. And when I mean comparable, I mean 2 year flagship device costs and plans. Don't go comparing an entry level junk phones to S5 plans.

If you really want better wireless pricing, go spend the $700-$1000 for your phone from Apple or Amazon, bring it to Virgin/Koodoo/FIdo and get yourself a reasonable plan. But don't take those phones at $0 on a 2 year and then complain when your monthly rate is higher. Canadians tend to want their cake and eat it too when it comes to mobility.

A quick check on AT&T vs Rogers for a new iPhone 6:

ATT 2-year commitment
* 2gb
* unlimited talk & text
= $199 (Iphone 6 16gb) + $65/month

Rogers 2 year commitment
* 2gb
* unlimited talk and text
= $264 (iphone 6 16gb) + 90/month
or
= $267 + $81/month USD

So that's about about a 19 to 25% premium. Is that reasonable? Maybe, maybe not. The gap has certainly narrowed since I first moved down here.... I was much more shocked at how much cheaper things were down here.

But then everything (except housing... crash notwithstanding) is cheaper down here, but that's pretty elementary economics.

 

[hockeyaddict101]

Wrong.

We are stealing from Rogers not the NHL.

Myth: Cable piracy is wrong.
Fact: Cable companies are big faceless corporations, which makes it okay.

Rogers pays a fee to the NHL, you are stealing from both.

 

[Tw0Shoes]

Rogers pays a fee to the NHL, you are stealing from both.

They pay the fee either way no?

 

[Supermassive]

Rogers pays a fee to the NHL, you are stealing from both.

No, I'm buying a legal product (prove me wrong), rather than paying one company with a monopoly whatever they demand for a crippled product with no Oilers games on it.

There's something broken when the actual cost to watch the games you want is $100 per month for cable and then another $200 per year for out of market games.

It's about bloody time we stopped defending these filthy rich corporations as if they're the moral choice. When they have the regulators in their back pocket, the rules don't apply. Not to me.

 

[txpenny]

It's about bloody time we stopped defending these filthy rich corporations as if they're the moral choice. When they have the regulators in their back pocket, the rules don't apply. Not to me.

Hmm. I like your login ID.

 

[Oiler66666]

I'm a bit confused. I thought the Rogers deal meant all games involving Canadian teams would be broadcast on a Sportsnet channel or CBC. Or is this discussion aimed at people who want to watch non-Canadian teams or who don't have cable/satellite?

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I'm a bit confused. I thought the Rogers deal meant all games involving Canadian teams would be broadcast on a Sportsnet channel or CBC. Or is this discussion aimed at people who want to watch non-Canadian teams or who don't have cable/satellite?

The Rogers deal just meant they were gaining control of the national rights. It doesn't exclusively include Canadian teams.

TSN still has the regional rights for some of the Canadian teams (Jets, Sens, Leafs)

What happened is that Rogers also acquired the digital or rights to Gamecenter.

 

[hockey2015]

Xbox 360? Can you download? I can not find it.

 

[bucks_oil]

The Rogers deal just meant they were gaining control of the national rights. It doesn't exclusively include Canadian teams.

TSN still has the regional rights for some of the Canadian teams (Jets, Sens, Leafs)

What happened is that Rogers also acquired the digital or rights to Gamecenter.

Right... which now means that if you want to watch team X, Rogers now gets a cut of that no matter where you live in the country. This is not yet the way it is in the states. States is still how Canada was up until this deal.

Canada
* watch game in region --> pay rogers thru cable and sportsnet
* watch out of market game --> pay rogers (or your local cable co) through CenterIce, which significant revenue goes to NHL HQ
* watch out of market game online --> pay rogers through Game Center Live AND likely (depending where you live) for bandwidth

USA (and similar to Canada in prior years)
* watch game in region --> NBCSN, NBC, ESPN, NESN, etc + pay your local cable co (which are far less concentrated than in Canada)
* watch out of market game --> pay your local cable co (again many of them) for the NHL package, which a significant portion of revenue goes to NHL HQ
* watch out of market game online --> buy NHL Game Center Live of which all revenue goes to NHL HQ

So in the US situation there was incentive on the networks to get relevant piece of the pie through a regional or team specific deal. BUT there was also incentive on the NHL to increase the proportion of online customers (from whom they get direct revenue) AND an incentive to, once that online revenue stream grows, to remove blackouts and separate traditional cable or OTA broadcast rights from online streaming rights. If NHL maintained its own exclusivity on online, they could offer any game a customer wanted directly through a roku or appleTV. Cable cutters would rejoice.

Now the canada situation highlights that "the gig is up" the NHL has waited too long to separate online from traditional rights... Rogers has swooped in and rebundled them both NATIONWIDE.

It prevents competition and it prevents a customer from being able to choose to pay for i) bandwidth + specific copyright or ii) TV signal + bundled copyrights (both wanted and unwanted). Traditional TV watchers (ii) probably won't notice (except that their cable bill continues to rise, unchecked by competition), but cable cutters... as a separate demographic continue to be spurned. There is no option for (i).

 

[bucks_oil]

So... and I know the Roku guys out there will not like hearing this...

but the only hope for "live" online streaming copyrights direct-to-consumer is if Apple can convince the NFL to offer the Super Bowl on AppleTV/iTunes as a streaming event (as has been rumored over the years). Only Apple has the power and customer base to outbid the traditional networks... and even then it is debatable (note Apple lost out big time on getting same day access to Game of Thrones from HBO... one still needs an HBO subscription through traditional cable).

Roughly 10 million customers on Comcast (largest US cable co... note 10M / 350M is not a lot... not like the duopoly that exists in Canada with Rogers/Bell)

Roughly 20 million AppleTVs is NOT enough, BUT there are also 500million iTunes users who Apple might be thinking about. "If I overbid for the Superbowl for one year, by next year perhaps I sell another 25 million appleTVs to make it worth it"

Roughly 10 million Rokus

Roughly 66 million smart TVs sold... but by several companies with no unified subscriber service

Roughly 44 million netflix subscribers... but they've learned to keep their head down and are opting instead to create content (House of Cards, etc) rather than outbid for "current season" or "live" content.

 

[Supermassive]

Watched the third period of the Oil Kings game and then a good chunk of the Flames game (in excellent hi-def). The bandwidth issues from last year seem to be fixed. And the selection of CHL and AHL games is amazing. Very happy with the service now.

 

[longy85]

How to play gamecentre on laptop

So I am a rogers customer, eligible for the free gamecentre trial. I have a windows based laptop.

When the games show up on nhl.com tonight is there a "watch" button that will then allow me to sign in to gamecentre? Or is there more to signing up?

Also, do I have to have the nhl app on the laptop (via itunes) to watch the games, or can I sign in on any computer/laptop via myrogers account? For example, my work computer on overnight shifts...

 

[bucks_oil]

So I am a rogers customer, eligible for the free gamecentre trial. I have a windows based laptop.

When the games show up on nhl.com tonight is there a "watch" button that will then allow me to sign in to gamecentre? Or is there more to signing up?

Also, do I have to have the nhl app on the laptop (via itunes) to watch the games, or can I sign in on any computer/laptop via myrogers account? For example, my work computer on overnight shifts...

For me (in the US) with Gamecenter, I get the "watch live" and then yes, a sign-in screen. As long as you have a login and password it should work.

By the way for those using Apple TV. Did anyone have any luck with the preseason games? They appeared to be available on www.nhl.com, but did not show on the Apple TV. (it was still showing the SCF as the most "recent" games). Perhaps it was just a preseason thing?

 

[Mr Hands]

has anyone gotten this to work?

I am able to log into the rogers.com/nhl site but when i click "start watching now!" it brings me to the nhl gamecenter site and asks for another login. Ive tried my rogers username and password but it does work.

can anyone solve this issue? id prefer not to call rogers

 

[longy85]

has anyone gotten this to work?

I am able to log into the rogers.com/nhl site but when i click "start watching now!" it brings me to the nhl gamecenter site and asks for another login. Ive tried my rogers username and password but it does work.

can anyone solve this issue? id prefer not to call rogers

Just to clarify, you have a "myrogers" online account? You have to use the username and password for that account, and yes I had to sign in twice basically.

What happened for me is I click on gamecentre live on the NHL.com site, and it directs me to:

https://gamecentrelive.rogers.com/?navid=nav-gcl-main&intcmpid=nhl-gcl-mainnav

I click on the "sign in with my rogers" and then I basically sign in twice prior to being able to watch a game.

If that doesn't work then don't know, try calling rogers.