So I decided to plan my entire night around the Islanders-Devils game tonight. I timed my dinner so that I could park in front of the TV and eat just as the game started. My wife was going out, so I could watch the entire game unfettered. I was pumped, and I was excited. A good old-fashioned preseason fightfest between two divisional rivals at the Coliseum. What could be better?
I got home around 7 and turned on MSG Plus. The Devils were on... but it wasn't a game. Nope. Instead, we were treated to a season preview. Over on MSG, they were showing a collection of Ranger games, followed by a scintillating episode of The Game 365 with Fran Healy. And at 8 PM, MSG is showing a replay of the game the Rangers played in Europe today. MSG Plus, you ask? Apparently, the Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour trumps Islander hockey, because that's what's on tonight. Adding insult to injury, it's a taped rodeo! How do you get lower on the totem pole than a taped rodeo program in New York?
So, MSG, I ask you this - where's the beef?
I must have read a dozen articles over the past calendar year by Newsday's Neil Best stating how committed MSG Plus is to beefing up (their words, not mine) Islanders and Devils coverage. And yet, the season starts in a week and all Islander fans have seen of their team is whatever they show on Islanders Illustrated. What the hell?
OK, the Islanders aren't the biggest draw in the world. We all know that. But the fans are out there, ready and willing to watch their team. They just don't get the opportunity. Look, I'm trying hard not to bite the hand that feeds the Islanders; everybody knows that it was their lucrative deal with MSG that saw them through their darkest days. We all owe the Dolans a debt of gratitude for keeping the team on Long Island. But if they're paying tens of millions of dollars to the Islanders each year, wouldn't they want to at least show their games?
That's the part I don't understand. I know it costs money to air these games, and I know Howie Rose hasn't been available, but they air the Rangers with GiaWigs when Sam Rosen is doing the NFL for Fox. Is it too much to ask for MSG to bring like three cameras to the Coliseum and do the one home game the Islanders have this preseason? (Note: Islanders TV isn't showing the game either, which could be part of a ploy to get people to go to the Coliseum. In that case, they should throw some pretzel twists in the deal. I'd go then.)
It seems like each year, we hear some MSG executive say how they're going to ramp up Islanders coverage. And this would be a good time to do so; in 2007-08, Islander ratings were up significantly from the previous year. Yet here we are again, bemoaning the fact that the Islanders' own network doesn't care about our team, even though they have absolutely nothing else to show that constitutes a better draw. Maybe the Dolans are trying to give the appearance of the Rangers as the top team in town. If so, mission accomplished. They went to Europe to show the Rangers. Meanwhile, they won't go to Uniondale to show the Islanders. Go figure.
I got home around 7 and turned on MSG Plus. The Devils were on... but it wasn't a game. Nope. Instead, we were treated to a season preview. Over on MSG, they were showing a collection of Ranger games, followed by a scintillating episode of The Game 365 with Fran Healy. And at 8 PM, MSG is showing a replay of the game the Rangers played in Europe today. MSG Plus, you ask? Apparently, the Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour trumps Islander hockey, because that's what's on tonight. Adding insult to injury, it's a taped rodeo! How do you get lower on the totem pole than a taped rodeo program in New York?
So, MSG, I ask you this - where's the beef?
I must have read a dozen articles over the past calendar year by Newsday's Neil Best stating how committed MSG Plus is to beefing up (their words, not mine) Islanders and Devils coverage. And yet, the season starts in a week and all Islander fans have seen of their team is whatever they show on Islanders Illustrated. What the hell?
OK, the Islanders aren't the biggest draw in the world. We all know that. But the fans are out there, ready and willing to watch their team. They just don't get the opportunity. Look, I'm trying hard not to bite the hand that feeds the Islanders; everybody knows that it was their lucrative deal with MSG that saw them through their darkest days. We all owe the Dolans a debt of gratitude for keeping the team on Long Island. But if they're paying tens of millions of dollars to the Islanders each year, wouldn't they want to at least show their games?
That's the part I don't understand. I know it costs money to air these games, and I know Howie Rose hasn't been available, but they air the Rangers with GiaWigs when Sam Rosen is doing the NFL for Fox. Is it too much to ask for MSG to bring like three cameras to the Coliseum and do the one home game the Islanders have this preseason? (Note: Islanders TV isn't showing the game either, which could be part of a ploy to get people to go to the Coliseum. In that case, they should throw some pretzel twists in the deal. I'd go then.)
It seems like each year, we hear some MSG executive say how they're going to ramp up Islanders coverage. And this would be a good time to do so; in 2007-08, Islander ratings were up significantly from the previous year. Yet here we are again, bemoaning the fact that the Islanders' own network doesn't care about our team, even though they have absolutely nothing else to show that constitutes a better draw. Maybe the Dolans are trying to give the appearance of the Rangers as the top team in town. If so, mission accomplished. They went to Europe to show the Rangers. Meanwhile, they won't go to Uniondale to show the Islanders. Go figure.
Agreed. They showed all 8 of the Ranger preseasons games and should have shown most of the Islanders' ones, if only so some fans are familiar with the team when the real deal starts.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete