tennis channel

[jb3710]

Is it possible to purchase the tennis channel alone, or only as part of a sports package? We do not get it (except I think it is a free preview now during the French Open). When I log into my account, it is only list as an option under the $15/month Sports Package.

Does anyone know how much it is by itself?

Thanks!

[mikhail_m]

Verizon seems to be the only major provider where the Tennis Channel is offline. Apparenty, Verizon and the Tennis Channel can't agree on new terms. Still, both Comcast and Direct TV do have the channel available. What's wrong with Verizon? This is shame; my main reason to swith from Comcast to Verizon was the Tennis Channel avaialbility. Now I have to consider going back to Comcast.

[tns]

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@mikhail_m wrote:

Verizon seems to be the only major provider where the Tennis Channel is offline. Apparenty, Verizon and the Tennis Channel can't agree on new terms. Still, both Comcast and Direct TV do have the channel available. What's wrong with Verizon? This is shame; my main reason to swith from Comcast to Verizon was the Tennis Channel avaialbility. Now I have to consider going back to Comcast.

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Comcast is in dispute, but its current agreement is not up.

Cablevision, Frontier and some others have dropped it and are not even in discussions with Tennis Channel.

[plh5]

Why cannot Verizon and The Tennis Channel come to an agreement about carriage? Is it about money or a place on the

tier? I pay $163 a month and watch the news, sometimes the weather and Turner Classic Movies, PBS, and--until September--the Tennis  Channel. Now, for this hefty charge, half of my viewing has vanished. At least 90 percent of the 400 plus channels are junk, eyewash, or worse. The two parties seem to be emulating Washington politicians. Is there any wonder that there is spreading discontent with big corporations, big banks, and big politicos whose attitude is that the public can drop dead, we're

going to do what we want to do.
 

[sherylg123]

Anyone else sick of waiting?  Bad enough it went out the week of the US Open.  To still not have it on is almost more than I can take.  Getting ready to dump FIOS if they don't figure it out soon. 

[Caps09]

I can't fault you for that since this is obviously something you love to watch. Just keep in mind that this is only the beginning. If you switch to Comcast or DirecTV, they are bound to have lengthy disputes too when their carriage agreements expire. The Tennis Channel is going to fight for better placement with every carrier, and the bigger carriers are going to fight it more and more.

[mm112]

After a long hard fought negotiation verizon fios has decided that they are not going to be carrying the tennis channel anymore after the tennis channel demanded that they be added to the basic packages that people already have rather than being included with the sports package. If you were to look at the guide you will see that what was once the tennis channel in sd on channel 303 and in hd on 592  those two channels have now disappeared. There is another channel by the way that has been temporarily discontinued since july 31 of this year that still has a temporarily discontinued message there and that would be the channel that was once mega tv channel 466. Verizon is still in negotiations with mega tv to bring it back but it is not verizon's fault that mega tv is not there. The affiliate WRNN decided to drop it and go with al jazeera english which is what will be on channel 466 at some point while mega tv will eventually come back on another channel on the guide. The fact that there is still a message there on channel 466 means that they are still speaking to both mega tv and al jazeera english to add them to the fios guide. Zap 2 it already has channel 466 of the fios guide on their website listed for those in new jersey and new york as al jazeera english with the schedule along with the logo there for everyone to see. Big changes are coming for verizon customers i have been able to find out where a lot of spanish channels are about to be added along with msg hd and more channels in hd. I have been able to find out that over the next few weeks these changes will be made that will be to the benefit of the customer. Changes to the 1.9 IMG will also be made where they will be looking to make the guide bigger for those who have issues with it.

[Arnaldo1]

The Tennis Channel is still part of my guide on channels 303 and 592, with the old "... is continuing to negotiate..." message. Would it be possible to provide a link to the information that negotiations have indeed been terminated? If that is truly so, I'm out of here for good. The funny thing is Verizon letting go of the Tennis Channel but talking to Al-Jazeera. Go figure...

[Caps09]

If both sides refuse to budge, this is just the beginning of the Tennis Channel losing a lot more distribution. There is no way Comcast will budge either when their agreement is up, but I don't know about DirecTV. I just can't see things getting any better for TC if they can't get a deal done like this. It's not like Verizon just refused to talk to them like Cablevision did.

[JanP1]

Hi - - what good is having a great picture and you can not watch the programs you want or pay for.

[JeremyN]

The ironic thing here is that Tennis Channel was pushing to move their channel to the basic tier to get more viewers and therefore more ad revenue. In turn, they just lost a large portion of viewers and have now possibly shot themselves in the foot. I'm quite disappointed for sure. I had just gotten back in to tennis when they pulled the plug, during the US Open no less.

[PDF2]

I had gotten FIOS originally for Tennis Channel (Cox didn't have it).  This has me seriously thinking about dropping cable TV --streaming TennisTV.com through a media streaming device, getting movies through netflix and AOD, and getting a digital antenna for local channels....

[jeanius1]

For those of you who think that tennistv.com is an alternative, you may be disappointed.  32 US tournaments will not be streamed. At $20 a month, you don't get much. This information shows up only in the FAQ. The tournament schedule on the site is not  a list of  the tournaments they stream; it's a bit misleading. I'll be returning to Comcast soon. You might try www.fromsport.com and www.espn3.com for matches.

[Nanda1]

This is ridiculous! Tennis Channel and Verizon should figure out a compromise for the greater good of the consumers!

[DavidMu]

As of today, I have noticed that The Tennis Channel has been completely removed from the guide. I have been extremely patient, especially when The Tennis Channel was taken down without advance notice DURING the U.S Open. I have been hopeful that Verizon would be able to finally work out their "dispute" but it appears that this will no longer be possible. 

The only reason I purchased the "Sports Package" was for The Tennis Channel and during it's down time from September through November, I have not noticed a decline in my bill for compensation for it's removal from the air. Will customers be compensated for Verizon's inconvenience to its customers and lack of notice of the removal of The Tennis Channel? Is there any chance that The Tennis Channel can come back to FiOS? These are questions that I need to be answered for my consideration whether to continue to do business with Verizon FiOS. 

[2Day]

The problem is when a company gets too big, it stops caring about small pockets of customers. Verizon is at the point of not caring with their misguided arrogance. Verizon had the exact same arrogance when they refused to negotiate with Apple....look where it got them...AT&T was give exclusive rights for 5 years. Way to go Verizon.

Tennis Channel is right in that Verizon was forcing tennis enthusiasts to pay more money by lumping it with premium channels.

Verizon has tried to act like they are negotiating... Verizon is REPEATING their errors of the past. Very frustrating.

I will be cancelling my service this week. They have led me on for long enough....then i will take my wireless service elsewhere too.

[tns]

Don't believe the Tennis Channel claims. 

They want a huge increase from the various companies that deliver the programming to their customers.  Verizon is one of the few that is still talking to them.  Cablevision and Frontier dropped them without further discussion.  Comcast, whose agreement is not yet expired, is also talking of dropping them.

The increase in requiring it to be carried in the most common package, which is what they want, will increase the cost for verizon by about 20x the prior cost. 

[noTennisAnyone]

I filed a complaint with the BBB when Verizon dropped TC in the middle of the US Open.  They refused to compensate me in any way, quoting the small print in our "agreement" that said that they do not have to provide any specific programming to me, which, taken to its logical extreme means that they really don't have to provide *any* programming, just a bill to me.  Verizon, PLEASE RESTORE the TENNIS CHANNEL!!! 

[ekelks1]

A few weeks back a Verizon customer service agent told me by phone that Verizon & the Tennis Channel had worked out a deal.

But on December 2nd, a new message was posted on my set-box: The Tennis Channel had been removed completely. They're working on a deal.

Please. Once the channel is actually removed, how can we believe anything will ever happen?

We're already paying, since November 1, 2011, the 8-cent/month fee for FCC Regulation "the FCC imposes on Verizon to cover the cost of FCC Regulation."

Why not pass the problem carriage fee The Tennis Channel must want to charge you on to your customers too? Include it on the package, or ask customers their opinions. Do something.

Tennis is a great sport, excellent exercise for people of all ages, surely costs less than the zillions of  football/basketball/college sport packages Verizon offers -- mostly sports played by men, by the way.

Put the channel back on the air and give people the option to subscribe. Otherwise, I can'y believe that you're bargaining in good faith.

[SantaW]

I subscribe to the ultimate plan primarily to get the tennis channel on time for the last US open. I couldn't believe it went dark in the middle of it. It has been 3 months now and still no resolution. Regardless on what is going on in the negotiation, as a Fios customer, I am not getting what I paid and continue to pay for. Last time I checked the tennis channel is still listed in the channel lineup. I think it is appropriate for me to demand a refund for the service not delivered. It is ashamed as Fios is otherwise a solid product. Good thing my town has two other providers to choose from. I might return to my previous provider of this is not resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner.

[menho94121]

I too signed up with ultimate bundle just for tennis channel. It had been a while now since tennis channel was pulled. If this problem doesn't get resolve soon before the next big grandslam. I am probably going back to my old provider also. This is getting ridiculous as we are not getting what we are paying for, and there is no update regarding the problem. 

[franekg]

Verizon plays hadball with the customers. They killed Tennis Channel. When I asked the agent what my options are they told me to stay on the current plan, i have a bundle with 30mbps internet and home phone, or loose the options I have. Specifically, if i opt out of the ulitimate package to drop to the lowest, I would also loose features on my other services. I told them the only reason i have the ultimate HD is for tennis. They told me I would loose my faxing capability on the phone line and my internet speed would be dropped to 15/5. Bait and switch? Ruthless corporate behavior, absolutely no intent to take care of the customer. LOOKING for other options NOW.