i have to agree it's a pretty bushleague move, but nothing i'm not used to.
i long ago decided i would forego cable altogether to avoid these types of shenanigans.
i wonder if enough people actually do switch or pressure their provider to carry the station to make it worthwhile?
i wish enough people would actually complain to the crtc (no tthat they do ANYTHING except grant telecoms license to print money) so this kind of thing can't happen mid-season.
it really is blantant, and potentially anti-competitive (hmm maybe industry canada is more appropriate - either way nothing's going to happen)
while it's nice to be able to see a great or exciting play, i find these days i mostly just put the radio on in the background and do something else while listening to the game.

The timing is marketing genius. After so many years, when there is finally a buzz around the team and a chance for it to perhaps reenter the broader consciousness, Rogers makes it more difficult for those on the fringe to sample the product rather than less difficult. I'll need someone to convince me that cynicism isn't the most appropriate default position to take when considering the behaviour of this particular corporate owner.

If Arencibia and Morrow plant seeds in a forest, but there is no one there to witness it, will anything grow?

 

Just as the team finally begins to acquire a realistic post-Halladay direction, and as Anthopoulos is starting to show some real assuredness and control, ownership is executing yet another Major League-type fiasco. Way to go Rogers! (Yes, my region is served by another cable company).

Just as the team finally begins to acquire a realistic post-Halladay direction, and as Anthopoulos is starting to show some real assuredness and control, ownership is executing yet another Major League-type fiasco. Way to go Rogers! (Yes, my region is served by another cable company).

Good. Yet another reason to keep on not watching the games on SportsNet and watching the games after completion using the feed from the other teams broadcast on mlb.tv via my PS3 & TV.

Having watched a broadcast from every team around the league this year -- the Jays crew have to be some of the worst on television. Sure other crews can be really annoying (White Sox) but in terms of broadcasting talent/ability the Jays TV crew are definitely in the bottom five.

There are two things wrong with this, first we've had to live with obviously bad TV crews since the days of Buck (a good color guy) and Shulman. Second, these jobs are rare and probably prized by many around baseball -- how hard would it be to try people out and hire someone with talent, specifically Shulman was totally unknown. It is probably better if the play by play guy wasn't an ex-ball player... and really, does the ex-ball play HAVE to be an ex-Jay? Actually, having heard Millar, he'd be better than any of other ex-Jays they've trotted out. David Cone as well... so heck, an ex-Jay would be fine too.

OK. One rant over. Rogers clearly doesn't understand how to grow the fan-base via TV. As far as I can tell, Rogers does nothing well and have taken the Canadian cell phone gravy train of the last decade or more to a media empire. That's ending. Here's hoping the behemoth of company gets broken up into smaller entities that make more sense...second rant over.

Just as the team finally begins to acquire a realistic post-Halladay direction, and as Anthopoulos is starting to show some real assuredness and control, ownership is executing yet another Major League-type fiasco. Way to go Rogers! (Yes, my region is served by another cable company).

I'm not defending Rogers here, but I wonder whether the Rogers people who decided to milk the sports cash cow by starting Sportsnet One are different from the Rogers people who run the ball club.

Left Hand. Meet Right Hand.

You may be right - it's an enormous company, and the various components - wireless, cable, etc - are all sort of separate nations within the great and mighty empire.

And, y'know, they do suck for the most part.

I'm not defending Rogers here, but I wonder whether the Rogers people who decided to milk the sports cash cow by starting Sportsnet One are different from the Rogers people who run the ball club.

This one is entirely on the TV people. The team wants to put the best possible product out there to draw fans and increase viewership and thus revenues. Meanwhile the TV rights holder wants to promote the team as much as possible and draw viewers to make money. In this case it's Rogers in both instances. I don't blame the Blue Jays, the entity, I blame Rogers the corporation, whose interest is making more revenue (fine) but who evidently decided to do it in the most self-serving and perhaps shortsighted way possible.

They apparently had to get approval from the CRTC before the season began, and the channel was publicly announced at the end of July. They knew that this was going to happen, they decided to move the Jays games to the exclusive channel, and that was that. To screw over the fans who want to watch the games but have no prospect of doing it mid-season is beyond cynical.

I get and kind of like the idea of showing more EPL matches on Sportsnet---in fact I might start following Arsenal again--but I find the notion that they couldn't make room for them by cutting back on the endless hours of poker, darts, and motocross they plaster across the four existing Sportsnet channels completely ridiculous.  For shame, evil corporate overlords!

Good. Yet another reason to keep on not watching the games on SportsNet and watching the games after completion using the feed from the other teams broadcast on mlb.tv via my PS3 & TV.

How do you do this?  I think if you were in Canada you couldn't get the Jays games on mlb.tv?

Because the "don't put the games on TV" strategy worked so well for Les Expos and Chicago Blackhawks for years.

This will have the opposite effect on my cable purchases - if I'm not getting Blue Jays games consistently, then I'm getting rid of everything but basic TV. Baseball is almost the only thing I watch on Rogers as it is, since there highlight shows and other programs are done so poorly. F@#$ Rgoers for doing this, even though I'm on another provider out East...I'm not paying for another 50 channels I never, ever watch to get one more that I will. 

didn't the fanbase dwindle after being removed from cbc/ctv?
the main problem with these huge corporations is internal communications (the left hand-right hand comment astutely mentioned above) the stupid thing is EVERYONE knows it, and it's really NOT that hard to make this efficiency happen.
if rogers had proper internal communications, their best interest would be the greatest viewership possible until there is a high demand, THEN transferring over to a different channel. the first season of a rebuilding - even with good prospects on the way - is not the time to raise costs of the fan base. it's shooting yourself in the foot. especially mid-season. the smart thing to do would be to simulcast jays games on sportsnet for the rest of the season and then make the switch (or incrementally increase the number of games on the new channel).
the stupid thing is i can't get a job - haven't had one for 3 years.

Rogers cable is not even a choice out west and I'm feeling a lot like most of the opinions in this thread. Eff em I say..... till my cable provider gives me the chance to get SNET1 and then I'll probably get over it and be happy once again......or maybe not?

How do you do this?  I think if you were in Canada you couldn't get the Jays games on mlb.tv?

MLB.tv only blacks out live games.  45 minutes after the game ends it becomes available as an archived game. 

I'm not sure if you can do it with a PS3, but if you watch MLB.tv on your PC you can get around the black out check by using proxy servers.

Not all Rogers Cable subscribers have access to Sportsnet One. I have an analogue cable connection, which does not carry the new channel. It's only available to cable subscribers with a digital converter box.

Bleh.
I had to explain this to my 93-year-old grandmother. Stupid Rogers.

I would love to hear what Paul Beeston has to say about this. During Spring Training he said the Jays needed to do a better job of marketing the team across Canada. Call me crazy but not giving your current/potential fans a chance to watch some of your games isn't the smartest idea. As a diehard fan I feel insulted I've watched every game this season and to not even give me an option to watch these games live is a complete slap in the face. I thought Robbers lowering the bandwith limit on their most popular internet package was aleady bad enough after Netflix announced they were expanding to Canada.

Anybody have Nadir Mohammed's phone number or e-mail address?

Review of the Sportsnet One broadcast of the Jays game, after one inning:

Same music intro, same announcers, same wide score bar at the top of the screen.

Not sure if this started tonight, but HITS is gone from the batting stats; it's just AVG, OBP, HR, RBI.  Still no SLG or OPS.

Still no PITCHES count like some networks show for every pitch (e.g. YES, NESN), though they have shown pitch speeds tonight.

They still don't show HR allowed in the pitcher stats line.

Basically, same stuff.

I had to reboot my cable box (the basic techno fix for most everything - unplug it, wait a minute, plug it back in) before the channel worked. And then the first thing I see is Matsui...

it's just AVG, OBP, HR, RBI

Haven't you heard? HR and RBI have had new life breathed into them. Martinez and Tabler refer to these as production, and they say production all serious, like they imparting a great wisdom to the unwashed. Yes Lind's batting average has taken a tumble, but just look at his production. He's not having such a poor year after all.

Production. Don't give my no rate stats. It's about production, you see.

Thank you Buck. Thank you Pat. God bless the both of you.

Anyway, thanks for posting the information here to explain why I can't get the game, even on MLB Extra Innings. This is really outrageous, to use a good old word.  Rogers doesn't even have a cable network on the east coast as far as I know so I don't understand what this move is supposed to make me do.

I can get every MLB game except the ones played by the team owned by the Canadian broadcaster. The world has gone mad!

Heck, if the jays are gonna play like that every time SP1 broadcasts one of their games, Jays fans aren't going to want the channel!

Luckily I can still watch the Jays games - after they finish. On my PS3.  But seriously... I don't have digital cable and even then, Rogers is unavailable out here.  I'm glad I no longer work for them.

I'm sure Shaw and Bell will pick it up, but even then, you're still screwing over anyone who doesn't have digital cable.

 you're still screwing over anyone who doesn't have digital cable.

their days are numbered anyways.

Not all Rogers Cable subscribers have access to Sportsnet One. I have an analogue cable connection, which does not carry the new channel. It's only available to cable subscribers with a digital converter box.

Not a Rogers customer myself, but I read that SD channel 394 might be what you are looking for (perhaps this only carried the game last night but is not actually a SD SN1).

IF YOU HAVE MLB TV - Like I have...

This morning I just watched the Jays Angels game on my MLB TV subscription on PC in HD I could have watched either the Angels TV or the Jays TV - I watched the Jays broadcast. I could also have watched it in HD on my TV just by hooking up my PC to TV cables - but as I watched the game out on my balcony - that wasn't an option.

THE QUESTION IS? HOW SOON AFTER THE GAME IS BROADCAST CAN YOU WATCH IT ON MLB TV ARCHIVES? Obviously the the next day, I just did it - but today I'll try to watch it IMMEDIATELY after the game is over. IF THAT WORKS - then you can watch the game same day - delayed - very similar to if you PVRer the game. IF this works and you don't want to know the score four hours after the game starts open MLB TV archives and watch the game - It'll be new to you just delayed a few hours.

As to the cost - I've subscribed to MLB TV for three years now as I often watch Boston, New Your and other games that arn't televised in my area.

I think it's about a 90 minute delay.

Not a Rogers customer myself, but I read that SD channel 394 might be what you are looking for (perhaps this only carried the game last night but is not actually a SD SN1).

Nope. Channel 394 is the "standard definition" digital channel. The analogue cable channels max out at 130 (for me, anyway). For cable, there are three signal types - analogue, standard digital, and HD digital, of which the latter two require a digital converter.

A poster at the Globe site siuggested complaining about this to the CRTC:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/rapidsccm/register.asp?lang=e

Rogers, as Anders notes, is relying on fans/viewers to pressure their networks via complaints into carrying this channel.  Well I don;t see the need to complain to them, but I do see a need to complain about Rogers.

This isn't the fans fight in my opinion.  Rogers needs the channel to be picked up or they don't get viewership and don't get ad revenue.

They're trying to use the fan base to increase their leverage in negotiations with carriers.  I'd just prefer they battle it out on their own.

Pretty boorish behavior on Rogers part. Indeed, there should be some way to complain or protest. Those who go to the game should bring some kind of posters or something. Maybe like "thank you Rogers for not letting my 93 year old grandmother watch the game". I am in a similar boat, with my 90 year old grandmother not being able to watch the game, or me for that matter. Just a douchebag move on the part of Rogers.

I wonder if the audience is as proactive as Rogers hopes they'll be. If I didn't get Sportsnet One, I don't think I'd care enough to call up my cable provider and demand it. Heck, I get my cable through Rogers but don't even know whether I get One or what channel is, because I think the whole thing is kind of stupid. You're starting up a new channel so you can show Rudy in prime time on your old channel? Frankly, the inconvenience and annoyance is overwhelming my desire to watch baseball.

I feel badly for all the people on here getting screwed.. Luckily I don't have to deal with this. Then again, I don't even get the choice "to deal with it" because I've been MLB-TV only for years, since that's the only way to get Jays games here in CA. Well, ok, there IS a torrent site out there that was capturing some games off MLB tv early in the season, but not quickly enough for my needs. However, they might have this game if you're a completionist.. If anyone needs more info, contact me..)

Overall, I've been pretty happy with MLB TV. Maybe 7.5-8/10. They always screw up at the beginning of the season, the whole "NexDef" plugin thing was annoying, but even standard def is reasonable, and this year (and some years in the past, can't remember which ones), it even works on Linux/Flash, so I can watch the game while catching up on work at home (deadline coming up).. This year I just got the "Basic" subscription, and there are way more features than last year. They (mostly) let you skip from AB-to-AB, so it's easy to catch one particular part of an inning, etc. As well, they let you skip to a particular top/bottom half of an inning (I usually watch just the Jays batting, and 1 or 2 pitching innings, depending on the time I have that day, etc..). The only annoying thing (sometimes) is the "you have completed this much of the total time" scale bar at the bottom. It's useful to see how much time is left, but if you're hoping the Jays come back to tie it up, it can also be a soul-crusher because you know there's no way they did in 5 minutes. But, overall, I'm glad it's there.

btw, I think the standard delay for MLB.TV is maybe 45 minutes instead of 90 as someone mentioned? Then again, I'm also allowed to watch live, so it may be different for me..

Yeah. The 90 mins is for in-market games, and as soon as possible for out of market games according to the FAQ. That seems to jive with what I see, though I haven't paid too much attention.

I haven't logged into BB for a longtime, frankly the team was losing me and I know longer felt it was an appropriate use of time to closely follow the team.

However they won me over again this year with their commitment to youth and rebuilding. So much so that my son and I drove from Vancouver to Toronto to catch a recent series. I wanted to pass along my team to him as he is only a casual baseball fan at age 16. He really wanted to see the team live in Toronto so we struck out on the 4500 kilometer drive. It was a great trip in so many ways.

And now we are back in Vancouver and only now realize that the BlueJay broadcasts are no longer available to us on the westcoast.

I must say this is very demoralizing. Particularly when its a direct decision by the owners of the ballclub.

I want to thank Gwyn for posting the CRTC link. I have written to them.

As others have said, its such a shame that Rogers has sought to cut off perhaps 75% of the fanbase. I'm old enough to remember the strike and the damage it did. Unless Rogers gets its head screwed on straight and quickly BlueJays broadcasts will become a thing of the past and a dim memory.

Finally I have a company account with Rogers Wireless for our Blackberry's. You know, a guy can only be ripped off and pushed so far. I'm not going to go out and break my contract as they have done with their fans and customers, but when it expires I will give serious considerations to other carriers and services. I mean really, why do I want to do business with this company?

All the best to BattersBox faithful The site looks gook and the discussion is fresh, well done.

Through 5, thanks again Rogers Sportsnet One.

Glad to see a returning fan Lefty! I'm working on getting my girls into baseball.

As to the TV games - as a kid I was so happy when TSN appeared - Jay games on TV shifted from about 30 a year to 80! It was possible to see a few games a week every week with the radio in-between (no internet in the 80's). Listening to the radio with my Dad while on drives to whatever is a great memory.

Maybe it is time for people to start building up those radio memories again. I know I was frustrated when I finally had a chance to watch the game live yesterday and it wasn't on, but the internet covered me then. The radio does the trick other times (mowing the lawn, etc.). Might not be an option everywhere, but it is nice.

However they won me over again this year with their commitment to youth and rebuilding. So much so that my son and I drove from Vancouver to Toronto to catch a recent series. I wanted to pass along my team to him as he is only a casual baseball fan at age 16. He really wanted to see the team live in Toronto so we struck out on the 4500 kilometer drive. It was a great trip in so many ways.

Good man.

Maybe it is time for people to start building up those radio memories again.

I'd love to, except Rogers owns the radio rights too. I've made a personal protest of not supporting Rogers until they stop showing games on channels I can't receive.