David Barron checked in on the CSN Houston negotiations yesterday, and we find that Mayor Annise Parker has invited all the major players in the ordeal to meet for a Summit.
Parker:
“The proud followers of our Houston teams – many of whom have paid for
the venues where the Astros, Dynamo and Rockets compete – have been
patient as your negotiations with Comcast SportsNet Houston have
unfolded. That said, as the Rockets push toward the NBA
playoffs and the Astros and Dynamo seasons get underway, the situation
is intolerable.”
How did they respond? CSN Houston is, of course, in. So is Suddenlink (who has submitted a new offer to CSN Houston to carry the channel as part of a sports tier. CSN Houston said it's not consistent with Suddenlink's treatment of Fox Sports Southwest). DirecTV is in. AT&T said they'd participate, but not before a shot at the fanbase:
We’d love to make the channel available to our customers, but the
proposed cost is not fair to pass to all of our customers across Texas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, especially based upon our subscribers’
historical lack of viewership of Rockets and Astros games.
AT&T is a bag of genitals.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
