Uverse could black out up to 20 Cardinals games

[Skitt5]

I would understand AT&T deciding not to air the 20 games if AT&T had not charged the consumer $5 more per month to go to the premium tier in order to see the Cardinals and other baseball teams. I could no longer get 748, and I was told by AT&T that I had to subscribe to the premium tier in order to get 1748 and the Cardinals. That extra $5 per month per customer should certainly be sufficient to cover the costs of 20 more games. When I talked with someone at AT&T yesterday, I was told that I was the 718th person he had talked with about this since Monday. Sounds to me like they have plenty of customers who paid that extra 5 bucks!

[oufanindallas]

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bmwscooter wrote:

"Apparently you do not understand the situation" 

Actually I do understand.  ATT backed out of our understanding of the service to be provided - period.  As I said before, in my business I still have to provide what I've agreed to with my clients.  If my suppliers / vendors raise their rates without notice it is not my problem, I pay it to fulfill my obligation.  I'm not trying to be a bad guy about it, this is the way business is.  It's all about ethics. 

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So you're saying if you have a signed contract in place for an order of say 5000 widgets at a cost of $2.00 per widget, and when it shows up you are told that you have to now pay $4 per widget because we felt like raising the cost you would just go ahead and pay it?

You wouldn't be in business very long doing that.

[oufanindallas]

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bmwscooter wrote:

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texasguy37 wrote:
Why does FSMW not "eat the costs" to maintain their agreement with U-verse? Answer: They are counting on customers like you to put pressure on U-verse so that they will give into FSMW's demands.

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  Once more, I (the customer) do not care about FSMW's "counting."  It appears that U-verse is counting on their customers to roll over and ignore what looks like their lack of concern for them.  Why doesn't U-verse put their customers first, and then negotiate with their supplier (like most reputable businesses do).  Throwing the blame on someone else rather than taking their responsibilities seriously comes to mind.

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Because AT&T already has a SIGNED CONTRACT with FSMW.  This is over an increase in cost to all providers who already have contracts in place.  FSMW is robbing people blind in this.

[bmwscooter]

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oufanindallas wrote:

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So you're saying if you have a signed contract in place for an order of say 5000 widgets at a cost of $2.00 per widget, and when it shows up you are told that you have to now pay $4 per widget because we felt like raising the cost you would just go ahead and pay it?

You wouldn't be in business very long doing that.

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It happens all the time (look at today's gas and food costs).  Yes, I pay it.  And yes I've been in business a long time and expect to continue.  Again, it's called ethics.

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[oufanindallas]

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bmwscooter wrote:

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oufanindallas wrote:

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So you're saying if you have a signed contract in place for an order of say 5000 widgets at a cost of $2.00 per widget, and when it shows up you are told that you have to now pay $4 per widget because we felt like raising the cost you would just go ahead and pay it?

You wouldn't be in business very long doing that.

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It happens all the time (look at today's gas and food costs).  Yes, I pay it.  And yes I've been in business a long time and expect to continue.  Again, it's called ethics.

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It happens all the time (look at today's gas and food costs). - Doesn't apply, you don't have a signed contract for a certain price.  Food and gas prices vary.  If you had a signed contract for a years worth of gas at $2.50/gln and two months into the contract the vendor said you now have to pay $4.50/gln regardless what our contract says, what would you do?  That's called breach of contract {Keep it Relevant: The forum is not a venue for legal discussions}. What FSMW is doing is called breach of contract as well

As for ethics, FSMW has none as they already have a SIGNED CONTRACT in place and now they want more money.

[cddoyon]

At this point we have already lost 5 games with our 6th one on Sunday afternoon!  This is about nothing but the Almighty Dollar.....We are paying for the Fox Sports Midwest Service and not receiving 100% of the service due to AT&T's lack of care/concern/interest for their customers! 

As of now, AT&T IS THE ONLY SERVICE PROVIDER IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA  to NOT pick up these games.  There was a small company, Grafton Technologies, that had also not picked up these "20" games, but guess what.....This small player has now decided to provide this service to THEIR customers!  As far as I am concerned....AT&T is the Grinch Who Stole Baseball! 

When I contacted the CSR Department, they first tried to pin the blame on Fox Sports...Well, guess what...When I informed them I could walk to my neighbors house and watch the baseball game on their CHARTER provider, they changed their tune....Now all I'm getting is please send your complaint to the Executive Offices...

C'mon AT&T, buck up the bucks!  You have them, it will go a long way to customer satisfaction and maybe in the process stop me from thinking of switching to back to DISH NETWORK! 

[oufanindallas]

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cddoyon wrote:

At this point we have already lost 5 games with our 6th one on Sunday afternoon!  This is about nothing but the Almighty Dollar.....We are paying for the Fox Sports Midwest Service and not receiving 100% of the service due to AT&T's lack of care/concern/interest for their customers! 

As of now, AT&T IS THE ONLY SERVICE PROVIDER IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA  to NOT pick up these games.  There was a small company, Grafton Technologies, that had also not picked up these "20" games, but guess what.....This small player has now decided to provide this service to THEIR customers!  As far as I am concerned....AT&T is the Grinch Who Stole Baseball! 

When I contacted the CSR Department, they first tried to pin the blame on Fox Sports...Well, guess what...When I informed them I could walk to my neighbors house and watch the baseball game on their CHARTER provider, they changed their tune....Now all I'm getting is please send your complaint to the Executive Offices...

C'mon AT&T, buck up the bucks!  You have them, it will go a long way to customer satisfaction and maybe in the process stop me from thinking of switching to back to DISH NETWORK! 

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You are correct, you are paying for FSMW, just as AT&T is paying for FSMW.  FSMW now wants more money for a contract they already have in place.  Blame FSMW not AT&T.

[Aleppo]

My business relationship is with ATT, not Fox Sports Midwest.  ATT is not providing the service that was promised.  That's a very good reason to go to another provider.  I'm not crazy about Charter, but at least you can get what you pay for.

[Aleppo]

ATT promised us the Cardinal games, not Fox Sports Midwest.  I also think it strange that some of these little companies go ahead and provide the extra games, but a company the size of ATT won't.

[dwinth]

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Aleppo wrote:

My business relationship is with ATT, not Fox Sports Midwest.  ATT is not providing the service that was promised.  That's a very good reason to go to another provider.  I'm not crazy about Charter, but at least you can get what you pay for.

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I have never had Charter, but from what I have seen and heard, yes, you do get what you pay for on Charter: slower channel changing, a confusing system to find HD channels, less HD channels, no service during serious storms, and non-Americans in customer service whom you cannot understand (at least U-Verse still has a lot of Americans.

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Owning a computer and not having the internet is like buying a refrigerator and not stocking it with food.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

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Aleppo wrote:

My business relationship is with ATT, not Fox Sports Midwest.  ATT is not providing the service that was promised.  That's a very good reason to go to another provider.  I'm not crazy about Charter, but at least you can get what you pay for.

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And AT&T's business relationship is with Fox Sports Midwest, and FSMW is not providing the service that was promised.  That's a very good reason for AT&T to tell FSMW to shove it.

See how the door swings both ways?

[bigcardinalfan]

     I find it interesting that some posts are referring to "ethics" and state that they know what exists in a contact between AT&T and Fox Sports Midwest.

     I don't know what is in the contract either, but this is what I suspect:  Up until this year, Fox Sports Midwest had an agreement with the Cardinals to broadcast 132 games.  KSDK had an agreement with the Cardinals to show 20 games.  The remaining 10 games were either on FOX Broadcast stations on Saturday afternoons as part of the "Game of the "Week" or on ESPN Sunday night baseball.

This year, the 20 games that had been on KSDK were now sold to Fox Sports Midwest, giving them a total of 152.  Obviously Fox Sports Midwest had to pay the Cardinals for these additional 20 games.  The contacts between FSM and the Service Providers, AT&T U-verse being one of many, only contained the original 132 games.  The newly acquired 20 games that FSM now had the rights to were being offered to all of the Service Providers at an additional cost.  Most of the Service Providers agreed to pay the additional cost, but a minority, of which AT&T is by far the largest, did not.  Neither side is being "unethical".  It's just a business negotiation that has not been resolved.

A few points:

Customers like myself have an agreement with AT&T, not Fox Sports Midwest.  If there was any communication between AT&T and it's customers that 20 Cardinal games were not going to be shown, I certainly missed it.  As others have stated previously, we were not told when we signed up for U-verse.  Yes, previous posts have stated that if you call AT&T, you will be given a discount, although they didn't say how much.  Why should I have to call AT&T to get this discount?  If they agree that all customers are not being given what they paid for, then all customers should be given the discount, not just the relative few who take the time to get through the maze of voice prompts to actually speak to a person.

AT&T U-verse has been around for a few years now, but they are still considered the "new kid on the block".  Is this the kind of reputation they want?  Not showing 20 Cardinal games is a "big deal" to a lot of people in St. Louis and the surrounding areas.  Rightfully so, this story has made the newspapers and local TV news.  While there may be a few who applaud AT&T for holding down subscriber fees, the vast majority view this as a negative for AT&T U-verse.  I don't see anyone switching providers TO AT&T because of this, but I do see some switching FROM AT&T.

Do I want to pay more for U-verse?  Obviously not.  Would I pay more to be able to see the additional 20 games?  Yes, but I'm not being given the chance.  More and more sporting events are moving from broadcast TV to cable/satellite/telco.  This is just one more example.  As this takes place, I'm sure customers' cable/satellite/telco bills will continue to rise.

Please AT&T, do yourself and your customers a favor and settle with Fox Sports Midwest, hopefully before Sunday when the next game is to be blacked out.

[Skitt5]

We already are paying more. I don't know about you, but I had to pay $5 more to see the Cardinals because, in Arkansas at least, 748 no longer exists, so I had to pay for the premium tier in order to get 1748. I believe they got our money. They should now be able to show those 20 games without charging us any more.

[dwinth]

While everyone is all up in arms about losing 20 Cardinal games, I want to ask this question. I live in St. Louis so the Cardinals are the only Major League team that I can watch via an RSN, even though I have the Premium Package. I fully understand the Major League blackout rules, and the map shows that I should only receive Cardinal telecasts.

Looking at the map of the RSN's it appears there is a lot of places where one can watch more than one Major League team if you upgrade to the Premium HD level because of overlapping for regions of Major League teams.

How many of you are able to receive telecasts of more than one team when you have the Premium HD channels? I know that people in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco-Oakland do anyway because they are in the same region. I am talking about more than one Major League team in different cities because of regional overlapping on the RSN map.

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Owning a computer and not having the internet is like buying a refrigerator and not stocking it with food.

[Skitt5]

Texas Guy, you are so wrong. I live in Arkansas. The Braves were blacked out for me on Fox Sports but were available on Fox Sports next door. My neighbor has Comcast. I talked with someone at AT&T who finally admitted that we buy the sports package but they don't always pay for the game. That is why it says it's blacked out. It has nothing to do with the location. Often, I am unable to watch San Francisco or New York. I live a far cry from there. I am always blacked out of the Cubs but can usually get them on WGN. When I first bought the sports package for $10 extra a month, I told them I was interested in seeing the Cardinals. Usually, that is the only game I can get. The others are blacked out. One time I was blacked out of FSMW but was able to see the game that was playing on FSSW. I called. They realized they had made some sort of mistake. All of a sudden, I was able to see FSMW and was immediately blacked out of FSSW. AT&T makes the decision as to which games we will see most of the time. Now we are forced to the Premium Tier and can't see all the Card games. By the way Fox Arizona disappeared the other day. Check it out.

[cddoyon]

Very well put bigcardinalfan!!

Thanks for a well thought out post! 

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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cddoyon wrote:

At this point we have already lost 5 games with our 6th one on Sunday afternoon! 

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There have been 3 games lost due to the dispute.  The 4th game will be this afternoon.

Here is the list of the 20 affected games:

• Sunday at San Francisco 3:05 p.m.
• Monday at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
• Tuesday at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
• April 17 at Los Angeles 3:10 p.m.
• April 19 Washington 7:15 p.m.
• May 1 at Atlanta 12:35 p.m.
• May 2 Florida 7:15 p.m.
• May 13 at Cincinnati 6:10 p.m.
• May 15 at Cincinnati 12:10 p.m.
• May 22 at Kansas City 1:10 p.m.
• June 12 at Milwaukee 1:10 p.m.
• June 14 at Washington 6:05 p.m.
• June 22 Philadelphia 7:15 p.m.
• June 23 Philadelphia 7:15 p.m.
• June 26 Toronto 1:15 p.m.
• July 10 Arizona 1:15 p.m.
• July 17 at Cincinnati 12:10 p.m.
• Aug. 7 at Florida 12:10 p.m.
• Aug. 14 Colorado 1:15 p.m.
• Sept. 4 Cincinnati 1:15 p.m.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_16903232-623d-11e0-84dd-0019bb30f31a.ht...

[Cardinals_fan]

Obviously, there is no consensus as to who is to blame - AT&T or FSMW.  Quite frankly, the point is moot to me.  I have a choice of media provider and I expect to see all the broadcasted games.

I do not see DirecTV blowing their tops over this, and they have obviously agreed to pay FSMW's stepped-up rates, without passing along rate increases to subscribers.  FSMW obviously has AT&T over a barrell on this one, and it's my opinion that AT&T should step up and make it happen for their customers. 

It is very unfortunate that I have to move on from AT&T, but I am a huge Cardinals fan and being denied access to the games by either party is unacceptable.  I was hoping there would be a resolution to this issue by today's game.  No such luck.  Since I am quite aggravated about being unable to watch this afternoon's game, today is the day I make the switch.

Again, I don't care who is to blame.  I have a choice in my media provider and that choice will include a broadcast of every Cardinals game.  I understand the situation and I don't hold AT&T fully responsible.  I hope this issue is resolved in two years when my contract expires - I will be glad to return as a customer at that time.

[Aleppo]

Absolutely - ATT has not been upfront about the whole thing. 

[Aleppo]

Don't know about you, but I pay ATT, not FSM.

[Cardinals_fan]

My thoughts exactly.

[oufanindallas]

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Skitt5 wrote:

Texas Guy, you are so wrong. I live in Arkansas. The Braves were blacked out for me on Fox Sports but were available on Fox Sports next door. My neighbor has Comcast. I talked with someone at AT&T who finally admitted that we buy the sports package but they don't always pay for the game. That is why it says it's blacked out. It has nothing to do with the location. Often, I am unable to watch San Francisco or New York. I live a far cry from there. I am always blacked out of the Cubs but can usually get them on WGN. When I first bought the sports package for $10 extra a month, I told them I was interested in seeing the Cardinals. Usually, that is the only game I can get. The others are blacked out. One time I was blacked out of FSMW but was able to see the game that was playing on FSSW. I called. They realized they had made some sort of mistake. All of a sudden, I was able to see FSMW and was immediately blacked out of FSSW. AT&T makes the decision as to which games we will see most of the time. Now we are forced to the Premium Tier and can't see all the Card games. By the way Fox Arizona disappeared the other day. Check it out.

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1. I live in Arkansas. The Braves were blacked out for me on Fox Sports but were available on Fox Sports next door  - Either he has EI or is watching the Cardinals and the Braves, because in Arkansas, the Braves are not the local team.

2. I talked with someone at AT&T who finally admitted that we buy the sports package but they don't always pay for the game. The csr who told you that was 100% wrong

[dboston1128]

I can't believe you are not showing 20 of the Cardinal games this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHY ARE YOU MAKING US SUFFER??????

[donmc]

Another Sunday without Cardinals Baseball on U-verse in STL.

I paid for two tickets to the game one ticket on FSMW and

one ticket with "the sports package". The guide has the Cardinals

playing on FSN Prime Ticket but it is blacked out in my area.

U-verse won't honor either ticket.

I am wondering what we get in the sports package that is

worthwhile if all the baseball games are blackouts.

My customer satisfaction rating for U-verse has dropped

from a 10 to a 0.  

[bigtoe0910]

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO mad right now that I pay more for Uverse VS Charter and Uverse is blocking the St. Louis Cardinals game?  WTH????  I have had Uverse less than 1 year and this is the 1st time I have noticed the Cardinals game blocked.  I may not renew at the end of my contract in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is baseball season and I could care less about the basketball game that is airing.  Strike 1 for Uverse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rick2325]

Been a customer for a whole three weeks and already not happy about the "blacked out" games.  When I called "customer care" the rep told me it was because they didn't want to push the extra cost to the customer.  What he forgets is that my bill is already locked in at a specific rate as long as I don't subscribe to additional services.  Thus Uverse ultimately does not want to lose the profit margin by having to pay the extra being charged by FSMW.  He had nothing to say when I brought this to his attention and then said they had no plans to fix the situation.

[Skitt5]

I have had the sports package for 3 years now. I live in Arkansas, and I never got any channel but the Cardinals because I told them that was what I wanted to see and they denied me any other games. That was $10 a month extra. Now I have gone to the Premium Tier for another $5 a month in order to see the Cardinals, and I am losing 20 games. AT&T knew when they charged us the extra $5 that they were not going to pay for those 20 games. All this time we have been paying for channels we never got. I sucked it up because I got the Cards. If AT&T doesn't want to pay for the extra 20 games, I would like to know what they are doing with that $5 per person per month. It seems to me that they have pocketed that money. When I talked with someone at AT&T and he said that I was the 718th person he had spoken with since this past Monday, I assumed that there were quite a few people who had also paid the $5. What happened to that money, and why can't they pay for those games with it? That is a LOT OF MONEY that they have charged A LOT OF PEOPLE! TexasGuy keeps taking up for them, but he has yet to touch on this subject. Where are you TexasGuy? You are helpful and you do explain things that I need to know, but I need someone to explain this one to me.

[Skitt5]

You are wrong. He has Comcast, out local provider.

[Skitt5]

Can you speak to the extra $5 and where it went? Can anyone answer that question? Am I the only one who is curious about it? Why did they take that extra money if they weren't going to show those 20 games, or is that the fault of Fox Midwest and the Cardinals? Did Fox and the Cardinals MAKE them do it? Someone PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION!!

[willblaylock]

I'm with you.  My wife asks me frequently why we even have cable.  It is becoming hard to justify when I try to turn on Cardinal baseball only to find that AT&T is too tight to pick up the additional games.  They see fit to limit our broadband and continue to jack up prices...  Might be time to turn to a competitor.