UH fans will have to buy the PPV package from Oceanic or miss UH football games on TV

About having all the football games (except for the USC game) on PPV, UH fan Derrell Saul said:
"UH is a public institution, something just isn't right about dealing exclusively with Oceanic. I'm extremely disappointed that UH is ignoring me as a broadcast consumer." (HSA)


About how he is surprised to hear complaints because PPV is being handled the same way as previous years,JD said:
"I'm a little bit surprised that there would be any comments in that regard because that's exactly how it was last year and the year before and the year before that. I mean, there's been no change since ... 2002, maybe?" (HSA)


About how PPV insures that many people cannot see UH games, Jon Cole (who lives in Mountain View on the Big Island) said:
"... the contract with Oceanic purposely excludes thousands of homes across the state -- and none that I know think kindly about it." (HSA)


About how Oceanic is not an option for him on the Island, Cole (who has DirecTV) said:
"The cost to get cable on our street ... is still around $7,500, and that is out of our indulgence range in the best of times." (HSA)


HSA Note: "A UH spokesman said the athletic department has fielded "few" complaints about the arrangement. In past years, some of UH's most attractive games -- home and away -- have been picked up by ESPN under the Western Athletic Conference TV agreement, which satellite customers can receive. The number of ESPN games averaged almost three each regular season over the past seven years. But coming off a 6-7 finish in 2009, only the USC game was selected this year, making this Oceanic's most extensive UH offering."


HSA Note: "UH's football games this season, with the exception of the first three (USC, Army and Colorado), which Oceanic said it does not have replay rights to, will continue to be shown delayed free on Sunday mornings on KFVE."


HSA Note: "The UH contract, along with its proprietary OC 16 high school sports channel, gives Oceanic Time Warner a local sports niche that other cable outlets and satellite providers DirecTV and DISH Network are unable to match. Studies indicate that while satellite subscriptions have grown on the mainland, Hawaii is one of the markets least penetrated by satellite providers. Less than 10 percent here are satellite customers, compared with as much as 30 percent on the mainland."


About how sports fans in Hawaii decide between Oceanic and satellite, Jason Gardner (President of The Satellite Guy, Inc. who monitors TV trends in Hawaii) said:
"People that have satellite weigh having UH games compared to the other sports packages, especially pro ball, and decide which is best for them. Some go with UH and sacrifice NFL, MLS, NHL or NBA on a full-time schedule. However, most choose to get satellite and watch UH at a sports bar as it's still a PPV event that costs extra." (HSA)


HSA Note: "There is a clause in the current UH contract that allows Oceanic the option of keeping or dropping KFVE as a production partner beginning in 2011. The window for negotiation begins in two months and there has been speculation that Oceanic could choose to keep everything in-house or continue the mix of over-the-air and cable offerings that total more than 100 events per year that KFVE currently presents."

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