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Watching the Jazz: A Tale of Frustration.
Posted by: KCJones on October 12th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Last year (in about June) I tried an experiment. I cancelled ALL my TV service and bought a big screen TV that could connect to Wi-Fi, had a Netflix app, and had a built in UPNP/DLNA client. I also subscribed to Playon.tv, a service that runs on your computer and connects to all sorts of online content and videos (ESPN3, YouTube, Hulu, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, Nickelodeon, Netflix, etc.). It then makes that content available over Wifi via UPNP, which my TV can pick up. I also set up utorrent via an rss feed read to download content I wanted, which Playon can also see on the hard drive and serve up. Along with that it can serve up my Home videos, family pictures and my ripped DVD library off the hard drive. All of a sudden, I have all the on-demand television content I would ever want at the tip of my remote control without paying for any TV service!! I loved it. There were also iOS and Android apps for playon so I could easily watch everything on my phones and tablets too.
It was too good to last, however. October arrived. Jazz season.
I had to watch my Jazz. So let’s see. NBA has league pass, which makes games available online. Maybe playon could somehow connect to that stream and make it available to my TV, right? Wrong. Ok, ok then. I’m willing to sign up for NBA league pass to watch my Jazz! Might not be on the TV, but my computer screen is decent. That’s perfect, right? I really don’t want a huge sports package when the only team I want to watch is the Jazz, and I really don’t want to pay for all the other TV that I already have access to for free. Thank goodness for this League Pass, right? Let’s just sign up here on League Pass…wait, what?! What is this!? EVERY Jazz game is BLACKED OUT on NBA LP in my area because I’m in the local Jazz market??? WTF?
Thanks for ‘male chicken-blocking’ (edited for content) technological progress, NBA. So now my options are to pay Dish Network some money, pay DirectTV some money, pay Comcast some money, and/or pay way too much to sit way too far away while I get sponsorships stuffed down my throat every possible second that the game action is not happening. Awesome.
And even while I gave in to the evil schemes of the price-fixing moneygrubbers and signed up for Dish Network, I’m holding on to my resentment. And just a warning to those out there that force this choice upon me: resentment builds over time, and I’m not blind to the facts of what you’re doing, you bastages.
But wait, there’s more. So I got my Dish Network HD and DVR set up for the Jazz season. Besides watching every game on TV, I attended two games last year. One on row 8 versus the Clippers (the game we won) and one in the upper bowl. And again, times are changing and I think the NBA is slow to keep up with the times and are holding on to what they are used to rather than embracing the future. The gap has become considerably narrower in the quality of the game-watching experience between staying home versus going to the game. IMO, I think watching at home (at least in the regular season) has edged ahead of attending the game. Here’s why:
1. Giant HD TV – better view than all but closest seats
2. Avoid commercials – start game off the DVR halfway through
3. Comfy couch, not hard plastic chair with no foot room
4. Less expensive food right in your own fridge
5. No annoying Celtics fans sitting next to you getting drunk and clacking their clackers non-stop that someone in the Jazz organization thought would be a good idea to give away
6. No drive through traffic and paying for parking
7. You control instant replays, you can pause the game to pee or whatever
8. Interact with other fans/analysts on twitter > moron fans next to you at games
9. Fast wifi access for checking up on other league scores and games online
The biggest problem IMO of the live game? It seems like the Jazz organization doesn’t give a crap about the game. It’s like the game has become second fiddle to telling you about this product, or that product, or this company or that company. It’s like attending an infomercial with breaks for some sport action in between plugging different sponsors and their products. I got more commercials shoved down my throat than watching on live TV. Honestly, it was terribly off-putting. Now, I realize the two games I attended were in the regular season. I’m sure the playoffs have a little bit more focus on the importance of the actual game action, right? Right?
So truth be told, I’m pretty frustrated with the lack of vision here. If it were up to me, I’d make the game experience top-notch. Differentiate it from the home experience on DVR TV. Make it more intimate, more comfortable. Make it be about the game and the game experience, NOT a constant stream of product and sponsor plugs with little or no mention of the game. The key to all that is the sense of belonging to a group of fans as passionate about the game as you are. With TV these days, I question the need for an upper bowl at all. Make analysis content and fan-sharing available over wifi in real-time during the game. Who doesn’t have a smartphone or a tablet these days? Broadcast the play-by-play of David Locke or at least a headphone jack on the seats where you can get it. Make it worth the drive, the parking, the higher price to attend a game rather than watch it in HD at home on your comfortable couch.
Anyway I’ve ranted/rambled on for a bit too long about my frustrations with watching today’s NBA and my Jazz. But I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
Replies: 7
Views: 857
7 Responses
I have went through a similar change in my tv viewing habits in the past couple of months. It was kind of forced upon me when Dish dropped AMC and I could no longer watch Breaking Bad. That and the Jazz and a few other channels here and there was pretty much the only reason I put up with paying $98 a month when everything about my frugal Scottish up bringing said ‘thats freaking crazy!’
At the time when AMC was dropped I thought about moving over to Direct TV, even though that seemed to be even more expensive than Dish, but then I did some online research and they were having some disputes of their own with other channel providers. Is it a coincidence that both Dish and Direct are are having legal issues with their content providers? It seems to me that they might be tackling prices whenever their respective channel contracts are up and are in agreement with one another to take on half of the fight, so that both may benefit. Anyway I didn’t want to switch from Dish to Direct just to get a whole new problem. Living in Emigration Canyon I can’t even consider Comcast.
I really don’t watch that much tv but the tv I do watch tends to be on the more expensive packages, go figure, and I wasn’t willing to only watch some of what I like to see and pay full price. I therefore bought a Boxee, and reduced my dish package from a rate of $97 to $71 a month. That saving a month more than made up for the price of the boxee.
The only reason I still pay that much is because I have to watch my Scottish football (took me 2 and half seasons of living in Utah before I was able to do just that), Champions League football, and the Jazz. I was hoping over time I would discover a way that I could watch the Jazz games and the football on the boxee but in the meantime we caught up on Breaking Bad and my wife was able to watch shows like Downton Abbey a day after it was shown in England instead of waiting 5 – 6 months for PBS to show it. I can watch sport live but sport back home (with a 7 hour time difference) can be played when I am working.
I have to agree with you I like going to a game live but I do love watching the game at home. I have thought about getting a season ticket but I could only afford the Upper Bowl, some of the earlier starting games I might miss due to work commitments. I would probably still consider a season ticket but I do agree with you the convenience and the viewing experience at home is a large factor behind me staying at home. The Jazz and other sporting teams here need to work harder at providing an interactive match day experience in the arena for all the money that ticket buyers provide. Its not like European sport where the game is only interrupted at half time. American sports have stoppages throughout the game and tv is very good at proving something to keep the viewer interested during those moments. When I watched a game at the ESA I didn’t see too many people paying attention to the dancers and I didn’t care too much about what the Bear was doing. Now if they used technology they could put something in the back of the seat in front of you that could provide stats, close up views or even Jazz radio, that provide the ESA goer with something extra.
Cool points but for me personally I love going to games and have no complaints about the atmosphere when I go. It’s electric and always a great time. Ya I guess there is a little fluff on the side but they have to make money and try to keep the kids entertained. I don’t really care to have play by play or analysis when I’m attending a game. For me that would be hard to focus on with all the noise. All I care about is our team competing.. which our front office does an outstanding job with every year.
Thank you for this post, KC. I really feel the same way as you. I really hate all the gimmicks at the game that aren’t really related to the game. I love the BEAR but when he is the star of the night and when that team of people that entertain the upperbowl are more visibile than the game itself, something is wrong.
I liked the front row experience with greg, because it was just watching the game, you were kind of separated from the upper-bowl team, the jumbotron etc.
HAHAHA!! Damn great vent @KC!!! Like 70% of channels are pure trash; I wish I could pay for like 15 channels and LP, and thats it. I cannot wait to spend hours and all my phone minutes on arguing with inept Time Warner customer service reps, that apparently know more about when Jazz games are on than me?! The best line was when one rep told me: “are you sure the season has started???” hahaha. oh hell. Can’t wait for that.
I don’t know why know one (that I know of) has started a “Kobe Rapes…Kobe Rapes” chant. I know its somewhat outdated, but can someone start that, he is a damn rapist after all. If Joe Average tried to rape a girl, hed be jailed; superstar Kobe does that, and captains US Olympic Team….huh?!
I was going to purchase LP to watch games on my computer–thereby dodging a ridiculous cable bill (already pay $60 for internet). So thanks for the info KC. Did they at least refund your money?
I strongly disagree with you that watching games on TV is better than seeing them live. Are you crazy? That’s why basketball is a spectator sport. Being there is half the fun! It’s not about the overpriced beer and bad food. Plus, you don’t have to sit through the same freaking commercial 50 times. If there’s no game going on, you can just do whatever. No one’s forcing you to stare at the jumbotron.
I find the at-game experience to be far, far less commercial than TV. ANd i’m a guy that hits the mute button every time a commercial happens.
Even nosebleeds beat TV. There’s just something about the energy that can only be had when you’re actually there. There’s a certain immediacy to it, because there’s no middleman. You’re right there. Sure, it’s harder to see the players and the subtleties, and they don’t do enough instant replays, but that stuff is replaced by the actual experience, the exhiliration of a dunk, steal, or other great play when you’re actually there blows TV out of the water.
When there are obnoxious people around you, sure, it can be annoying, even infuriating. But you can always move, or ask them to tone it down.
The energy is amazing. Being part of a huge crowd like that is electric and exciting. If I screamed in my apartment as loud as I do at ESA I would get arrested.
For me, being there for the player introductions alone makes it worth the price of admission. And don’t forget KC, it’s not just about you, the fan. It’s about the team. You have a duy to support them. Showing up to games and cheering is the best way to do that.
But yes, the NBA is like any corporation. Their first and only concern is the money, and they only care about us in so much as we affect their cashflow. How much can they screw us over, how much money can they bleed for us before we give up and just stop watching?
A LOT. Advertisements on uniforms is only the newest disgrace to the sport of basketball. And in a decadce, basketball players will look like NASCAR drivers.
In principle, we should stop supporting it. But we can’t, because we’re completely obsessed. I for one am hopelessly addicted. I grumble and complain, but I’ll be damned if I don’t find myself watching every game.
I do love the game action portion of going to the game, and sharing the experience with other passionate fans. Its all the other crap that, IMO, takes away from that experience, that I was ranting about.