The Blazers aired last night's Game Two of their
playoff series against the Jazz on PPV in the Portland area,
according to Katy Muldoon of the Portland OREGONIAN, who
wrote that fans could either order the game on BlazerVision
at a cost of $24.95 or pay $5-7.50 to watch the game at one
of five "fan sites" that carried the broadcast. Muldoon
noted that the Blazers "decide on a game-by-game basis"
whether to air home games on PPV or to offer them free on
KGW-NBC. Blazers Senior VP/Marketing Harry Hutt "knows the
cable-only situation rankles some fans," but he said the
suggestion that the move is a "greed play on the part of the
Blazers is far from true," as the team's No. 1 obligation is
"to protect the home gate ... to provide a sold-out crowd
atmosphere." Hutt: "People get the idea there's an
obligation on the part of the team to televise a game, but
there isn't. ... If we said it would be on KGW, we might not
sell out. Who knows?" Hutt also stressed the team's
"generosity" in providing free BlazerVision to 100 Portland-
area "long-term care facilities" (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/9).
Last night's game was announced as a sellout (THE DAILY).
NO LONGER FREE TO DO WHAT THEY WANT? MULTICHANNEL NEWS'
R. Thomas Umstead writes that some industry execs now
believe that the idea of PPV games "will become commonplace"
in the future, as networks and teams "may look to move
games" currently running on basic cable to PPV in order to
generate revenue. One MSO Operator: "I don't know if it's a
pay TV or PPV model, but something has to be done to curtail
the rising cost of sports. It can't remain within the basic
package." But Comcast SportsNet CEO Jack Williams "ruled
out any possibility" of offering local games on a PPV basis,
and FSN Senior VP John Heidtke said, "When you look at a
regular-season schedule, it would be difficult to go back
and put games on a PPV basis. There's also a public
relations issue when you take back something that you've
given virtually for free." But some cable execs feel that
once digital boxes are in a majority of homes, "viewers will
not have as many objections to paying for specialized
programming" (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 5/8 issue).
