A faithful reader of the blog, HockeyRiz, e-mailed me a petition the other day to get the Buffalo Sabres off MSG Network.Apparently, when MSG reached their deal to televise Sabres games in certain areas it included non-Sabres markets such as Albany and Utica. Meaning when the Rangers and Sabres have a home and home conflict, the Sabres are put on over the Rangers as well as the Devils and Islanders.
In response, a petition for Rangers, Devils or Islanders fans who are sick of seeing the Buffalo Sabres on MSG Network over the teams who were previously on it for decades before has been created.
The petition asks for name, e-mail address, town and state. To sign the petition click here.
18 comments:
It probably won't go anywhere with Dolans in charge but if this petition can get some ground maybe they will change.
Its spreading like wildfire. Thank god.
More people need to sign it. Utica and Albany arent Sabres markets.
Actually, I am from Albany and my wife is from the Utica region (Herkimer), and we are both Sabres fans. I know we aren't alone either. Ever since the Albany River Rats broke their affiliation with the Devils, there have been more and more Sabres fans in these areas. It is the upstate NY team. Devils and Islanders games come on Fox Sports Network instead. Not sure about Rangers games, but I've never heard complaints. Now we both live in Rochester, so this won't affect us, but my family back in Albany will be very upset if they cannot watch the Sabres. Just thought I'd add a new perspective.
Of course there are Sabres fans, but theyre in the minority in these areas. Theres Flyers and Penguins fans too, and Bruins, etc.
This map shows fanbase affiliation. The Sabres are only popular from Buffalo to Syracuse, thus only should be shown from Buffalo to Syracuse.
http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nhl_1280.gif
Also, the Buffalo Sabres are Western NY's team, not Upstate's.
Sorry.
Sorry, David, but we're 2 and a half hours from Manhattan in Albany and closer to 5 hours away from Buffalo. This is Ranger Nation. Not to mention, you're not just talking distance. The New York Rangers are an original 6, Stanley Cup winning team. Their fans date back decades before the Sabres were dreamed up. Most of us were born to Ranger bloodlines of devout fans. And the mere principal of the matter, is it's called MSG, as in, where the Rangers play, not the Sabres. If Buffalo Memorial Auditorium had a network and gave NYR precedence over the Sabres, you'd be pissed too. I'm not saying Sabres fans don't exist, but they're outnumbered by at LEAST 10-1 in New York State, not just the city. Upstate NY and CNY are NOT the same as WNY. I've lived in Albany all my life and I've never EVER seen a Sabres jersey walking the streets.
David, your family will be upset if they cannot watch the Sabres back in Albany?
How about all of the Rangers fans in Utica and Albany that cannot watch the Rangers? The MAJORITY team? 30 years of them on television, then some team from Western NY gets shown? Ever think of that?
The Sabres are not the majority, thats the point. The Rangers need to go BACK on MSG, not just because we want them on. They need to go BACK on.
I dont think Sabre fans understand this, and I think if the Rangers are put back on, the Sabre outrage is far minimal than Rangers/Devils or even Islanders on this state of the state.
PS - the Sabres are Western NY's team. Not Upstate's. You REALLY think people in Utica and Albany are going to root for Buffalo when they're closer to NYC?
One more thing.
It skews Sabres ratings on this side of the state. when Rangers/Devils/Islanders fans watch their team play the Sabres, its on the Sabre feed, which gives them good ratings, when in actuality, which majority in fans are watching the game?
So much for those great TV Ratings Sabre fans love to brag about, or that loyal and diehard fanbase they have yet are being protected by the NHL and both NY senators because 20-25% of their fans are from Southern Ontario and a team in Hamilton would threaten it.
Ryan,
You really think the reason the Sabres have good ratings is because the games when they play the Rangers/Islanders/Devils are shown on the Sabres feed? They play those teams a total of 12 times. One of those games is on Versus. So what you're saying is that the Sabres have good ratings because of 11 games out of an 82 game schedule? I find that hard to believe.
I live in Western NY and live closer to Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Toronto than I do to NYC. Do I complain because I get the Ranger games instead of these other 5 teams? And I can tell you there are more fans of those teams in this area than there Ranger/Islanders/Devils fans. There must be some logic behind the decision to do this. I don't know what it is, but the network people are not stupid.
If you had some actual proof of the claims you're making, I may take a different point of view.
Mike, those 12 games get more ratings than most of the Sabres other games. Think of when the Rangers/Devils/Islanders play eachother. Thats where a majority of ratings comes from for NYC.
Also, I hope you know geography.
http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nhl_1280.gif
The percentage increase for those 12 games is extremely widespread.
You're basing the entire premise on it just being 12 games, but during those games, the entire state is tuning in. You're nearly doubling the ratings just from Sabre feeds from the eastern side of the state.
PS - I said it skews their ratings.
Lets see what the Sabres real ratings are when you take away games against the Rangers, Devils and Islanders and lose feeds from the other side of the state.
No question itll be much less than what it is.
Devils fan in the Albany area here. The petition is much appreciated, but misdirected. It doesn't really matter what channel the Sabres are on. For once, this isn't the Dolans' fault. The real culprit here is the NHL itself. For whatever reason, it sees fit to declare pretty much all of upstate New York Sabres territory. Because of that, all other teams get blacked out (except national broadcasts) when the Sabres are home. The MSG thing really just affects road games, where a Sabres road game might bump a Rangers game off of MSG or a Devils or Isles game off of MSG Plus. It used to be even worse here in Albany; most of the area didn't get Empire (it was only available in Schenectady), so when the Sabres were home, we didn't get any hockey at all. At least now we can watch the Sabres if nothing else (for those of us who don't subscribe to Center Ice).
To respond to some of your points, I am not suggesting that it is fair to block out Rangers games in favor of Sabres games on MSG, I was just stating that there are plenty of Sabres fans in Central NY and the Capitol Region and the games should be aired. I thought this was the whole idea behind MSG Plus? If I'm not mistaken, the Rangers games air on MSG and the Sabres games air on MSG+. Time Warner offers both channels in the digital cable package, and it is my understanding that TWC digital is the most popular plan in these regions.
Hey David,
This is actually the problem we have. In theory, that is how it's supposed to happen. However, because the NHL has improperly "zoned" this area as Buffalo Sabres territory, their games are shown over Rangers games. This is why we are up in arms. In my opinion, all fans should have the option of seeing ALL their favorite teams games. But in this case, the added fuel, is that the network in question is MSG, the Rangers network. This is the problem we have. We feel we should be able to see out team on our teams network, uninterrupted, the way it was for nearly 40 years before the Rangers signed the Sabres programming rights.
Yes when the Sabres and Rangers play the Sabres game will always override the Rangers game. Even with 3 MSG Channels MSG, MSG(HD), MSG+. It makes me crazy as a life long Rangers fan to have the Sabres on when until 3 years ago they were never on here. They are 5 hours away!!! There are literally 6 other teams closer than The Sabres to us here. Montreal, Boston, Rangers, Islanders, Devils and, Philly. Why am I watching some upjumped AHL team. It's all a ploy of the NHL to make you buy Center Ice.
If this bothers the rest of you as much as it does us, help the cause and sign the petition. And tomorrow night when yet anothe Rangers game is blacked out in favor of the Sabres, call up Time Warner or your local service provider and tell them how pissed this makes you as a customer. Urge them to put pressure on the NHL to "re-zone" this area and give it back to the Rangers. If we ALL put our money where our mouth is and thousands of angry fans call Time Warner tomorrow night and complain, theres no way they can continue to ignore us!
Again, here's the link to the petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/sabres-off-of-msgnetwork/signatures.html
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