Why We Should Pass On Pub Pass

The announcement earlier this week that NBC Sports is partnering with AEG to create "NBC Sports Pub Pass" is an alarming one for sports fans for a number of reasons.

Although this platform will start out with 140 Premier League soccer matches, additional cycling race coverage (such as Tour de France), and at least 185 Rugby World Cup and Premiership Rugby matches, this could lead to still more sports telecasts becoming a part of this.

Pub Pass is designed to only be shown in what it terms "retail pub and restaurant establishments providing live international sports for their patrons".

Here is NBC Sports telling fans that they will have to go to a restaurant or pub to watch certain events. Events we won't get at home? The same fans who pay rising cable, satellite, or streaming fees to see the live events they have the rights to. From one of the many sports networks which fill up hours every day of meaningless programing which is not always sports related.

Don't think for one minute that we have nothing to worry about since this is "only" for international sporting events. If this concept shows any degree of success, we all know this could expand to the major U.S. sports. It's not like NBC Sports (or any of the other networks that start doing this) will lower residential subscription bills to help with our restaurant costs.

This may seem unrelated, but it falls under the same heading of sports fans (and millions of consumers who are not) being gouged to be able to watch their favorite sports events at home. The L.A. Dodgers still lack TV coverage in 70% of their local market. They have added five late season telecasts to be simulcast on KTLA Channel 5. The Dodgers have no control over the YouTube live streams which include the Dodgers, which include the Sept. 17th home game vs. Tampa Bay.  The Dodgers vs. the Yankees upcoming on Aug. 23rd will be available via Facebook.

There has been little mention of how the Dodgers' TV Network does not even offer streaming of its telecasts to the few subscribers they have. Around the country, most of the Fox regional and NBC Sports regional networks offer free streaming to authorized subscribers. This includes the L.A. Angels, whose games can easily be streamed (locally) via the Fox Sports app.

As of now, Dish Network no longer carries any of the 21 Fox Sports regional networks. Dish chairman Charlie Ergen was quoted in Ad Age as saying that it "does not look good that the regional sports will ever be on Dish again". Although that is nothing but a bargaining plea, there is a point to be made.

While this takes place, the Chicago Cubs prepare to launch their own regional network, Marquee Sports, in February. A Comcast official was recently quoted as saying that the Chicago dominant cable provider "had nothing to report" regarding the possibility of carrying the new network.

Although Fox Sports does not get to begin its Thursday Night NFL package at the start of the season, part of its MLB deal includes airing baseball in prime time in September instead. Fox will air Atlanta vs. Philadelphia on Sept. 12 and St. Louis vs. Chicago Cubs on Sept. 19th. To get the jump on the night's NFL game, these games will begin at 7:15 ET.


NEW YORK: Two baseball play-by-play voices in the news. Congrats to Howie Rose on his upcoming induction into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 3rd. Howie now serves as the Mets radio voice in the first of the team's seven year contract with WCBS 880. His time with the Mets goes back to 1987 to 1995 when he hosted pre and post-game coverage on WFAN before taking over on TV from 1996 to 2003. In addition, Rose called Islanders hockey for Fox Sports New York from 1995 to 2016.

The N Y Post reports that Michael Kay is about to return to the Yankees TV booth upon his recovery from vocal chord surgery. Ryan Rucco will continue to fill in for Kay until his return.


CHICAGO: Talk about technical difficulties! During its August 14th telecast of the Cubs vs. Phillies game, NBC Sports Chicago was losing its feed, going to a black screen except for the NBC Sports Chicago Logo. After a couple of minutes of the game feed dropping in an out, a scroll came across the screen. It said "We apologize for the technical difficulties. Stand by for Blackhawks hockey". While their first Blackhawks telecast remains more than a month away, the baseball feed did return seconds after that.

VSiN, the sports betting network with Brent Musberger, will have its "Sunday Preview" show in Chicago on WLS 890 on Saturdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM along with airing weeknight updates at 6:58 PM. This will be unless pre-empted for University of Illinois football and basketball broadcasts. The VSiN programming expands and moves over from WSCR 670.

Bears fans will have NFL Network's Kyle Brandt on the play-by-play call for the Aug. 29th preseason local telecast. Adam Amin, who calls the other local pre-season games, will be calling the UCLA vs. Cincinnati game on ESPN that night.


DALLAS: KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan has scrambled its midday and afternoon lineup, which begins on Monday (8/19). Ben & Skin (Ben Rogers and Jeff 'Skin' Wade) shift to 10 AM to 2 PM. GBag Nation with Gavin Dawson, Jeff Cavanaugh, and Lucious Alexander will continue to air for five hours, now from 2 to 7 PM.


PHOENIX: After years of being shuffled to other frequencies due to play-by-play conflicts, the AZ Coyotes finally have a flagship station which makes them the priority. Bob Heethuis and Paul Bissonnette will be calling the games on KGME Sports 910.


CHARLOTTE: Just in time for the exhibition games, the Panthers radio network announced its new analysts, replacing Eugene Robinson. Former QB Jake Delhomme did not wish to do the entire season, but has been hired to do all home games and only the road games from Houston and New Orleans for this season. Former tackle Jordan Gross will serve as analyst for the remaining road games. Mick Mixon is beginning his 15th season on play-by-play. WBT 1110 continues as the flagship station.


SALT LAKE: Spence Checketts returns to the local airwaves after a year and one-half absence. Starting on Monday (8/19), he will be hosting 2 to 6 PM on ESPN 700. Checketts is the son of former Utah Jazz and N Y Knicks President Dave Checketts.


NASHVILLE: WSM 650 returned to full-time country music this week, dropping George Plaster's afternoon drive sports talk show experiment after only one month.


COLUMBIA SC: Chris Miller has been named new host for University of South Carolina football pre and post-game coverage. The pre-game show runs for three hours prior to kickoff. He replaces Jay Philips, who held the role for 17 years, but continues his weekday how on 107.5 The Game.


OMAHA: 1620 The Zone has brought back Mike Severe after a five year absence. He will co-host mornings with Damon Benning, the former University of Nebraska football standout. Gary Sharp moves out of mornings and into the midday spot. Also, University of Nebraska at Omaha basketball and hockey games will continue on 1180 The Zone 2 under a just extended agreement.


BANGOR: 92.9 The Ticket debuts a new early morning show with Wayne Harvey on Monday (8/19). Harvey will host "The Morning Line" from 6 to 8 AM, drawing from his 26 years of local radio and TV experience.