Caps & Wizards fans, Verizon FiOS has “solution for the ‘over flow’ games”

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Here’s some promising news on the Verizon FiOS/CSN+ situation…

I’ve been exchanging messages with Verizon Director of Product Management Joseph Ambeault on Twitter over the past week and on Friday afternoon he said: “Caps & Wizards fans – you have been heard & we have a solution for the ‘over flow’ games – hustling implementation plan.”

Those are the only details I have from them at this time, but I will post any updates I get.

According to the schedules on each team’s website, the next game that is set to air on CSN+ is Saturday, December 12 for the Caps, when they play at Toronto, and Friday, December 18 for the Wizards, when they play at Golden State.

12/11/09 Update — as I’ve noted in the comments below, a Verizon official has said that the affected FiOS customers will not have CSN+ in time for this Saturday (12/12/09) night’s Caps game in Toronto.

Further updates have been posted in the comments below.

Previous posts on the FiOS/CSN+ issue:
11/18/09 – Verizon Fios Frustrating Some Caps Fans in D.C. Area
11/19/09 – An update on the Verizon FiOS & CSN+ situation
11/24/09 – FiOS Update…Why Some Get Two MASNs But Not Two CSNs

28 thoughts on “Caps & Wizards fans, Verizon FiOS has “solution for the ‘over flow’ games””

  2. Thanks for your efforts and for keeping us informed.

    The reason I love Caps hockey is because I grew up watching them. From the day the late Mr. Pollin brought them to Washington, my mother watched every game when the Caps were on TV or listened on the radio when they weren’t. I was exposed to a lot of Caps hockey.

    This past summer I convinced her to switch from Comcast to FiOS and I assured her she’d still see all the Caps’ games.

    The last thing you want to do is get between my Mom and her Capitals. Ever since she missed the first CSN+ game this fall I’ve heard about it every time I’ve talked to her. She’ll turn 80 before the season is over but I think she’s fed up with missing games and is about ready to drop her gloves….

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  3. I’m really glad to hear that Verizon is listening, especially since they’re so hard to communicate with. I just hope that Richmond and Hampton Roads aren’t forgotten about when “plus” is launched.

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  4. Thank you Mike for working on this and getting a substantive response. I too hope that Richmond and Hampton Roads are remembered when the the plus plan is launched. Any new word on when we might expect CSN+ to be available for the affected areas?

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    • I haven’t heard anything new yet on when CSN+ will be available in any of the affected areas, but I will post an update as soon as I hear something. Thanks, Ben and all of you who have read and commented.

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  5. My family and I appreciate what you are doing here. Very frustrating that Anne Arundel does not get CSN+, while 2 miles from my house in Crofton, my sister in law in Bowie does. Also, not to get away from the task at hand, we tried to pick up the games on NHL Center Ice only to find the Caps games blacked out. Black out rules say Center Ice cannot carry the games if they are available on any channel in your provider area. If they are available on CSN+, which we do not get in my area, why is it blacked out? I’m betting this whole thing comes down to MONEY.

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  6. It’s blacked out so fans will put pressure on our video provider to carry the local (or regional) channel that has the games. In this case, CSN has exclusive rights so the Caps cannot be shown here on any other outlet.

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  7. Here’s an update and it’s not the one people were hoping for…

    There will not be CSN+ for the affected FiOS customers by this Saturday’s Caps game in Toronto.

    When asked by a Caps fan on Twitter if the solution would be in place in time, Joe Ambeault of Verzon replied: “Unfortunately it is not… my apologies… I understand this is sub-optimal” — http://twitter.com/FiOSTV/status/6577892538

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    • There is a CSN+ game on Saturday in EDM. Any indication they will have it on by then?

      Thanks for your digging on this issue. I’ve been a FiOS customer ever since it was available in Annapolis, and this has been my biggest gripe.

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      • Here’s the latest I have…

        I asked Joe Ambeault from Verizon, via Twitter, if he could provide a time line and specifics on what it is they need to do. He said, “don’t get to give out dates here (sorry)- but basically we are doing the plumbing to get the signal from CSN to us.” That was on Dec. 11. http://twitter.com/FiOSTV/status/6584230443

        I’ll keep you posted on anything else I hear. Thanks for reading!

  8. CSN has more programming tonight, Friday, and Saturday. I wonder how long it takes to get “plumbing” done to deliver the signal.

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  9. Still nothing two weeks later. This really stinks. I live outside the radio broadcast area, but at least the NHL allows us to listen for free on the internet.

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  10. Mike,

    Thanks so much for your incredible effort on this. I wasn’t aware of the problem until today, when I found that tonight’s Maryland basketball game is to be broadcast on CSN+. I live in Howard County and just switched to FiOS two months ago, so it’s unfortunately a no-go for me. My wife is also starting to get into watching the Caps (I’m a life-long Flyers fan, sorry! :-p), so this will be important in the future as well. It’s good to know that someone is out there, digging for answers, and talking to the right people to get things done. Thanks again!

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  11. Mike,

    If you hear anything new about what Verizon is doing about the CSN+ problem, let us know when you can. I would hate to lose any momentum that has been generated regarding this issue.

    Thanks so much!

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    • Ben,

      I don’t have anything new since the update I posted above in the comments about Verizon not giving a time line for when the work will be completed. I’ll post as soon as I hear anything new.

      As far as keeping momentum going, I think people need to keep the pressure on them by discussing it in as many public forums as possible, trying to get more media/blog coverage for the issue and letting Verizon know that they want to see this addressed in a timely manner. It’s nice that Verizon has made a statement on Twitter about fixing this problem, but it’s unfortunate that they haven’t been more transparent about how long the fix will take and why it can’t be done faster, what’s involved, etc.

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  12. Thanks for all your efforts, Mike. I’m a Howard County Fios subscriber, and I’m wondering if you have any advice regarding who I should be calling/ emailing/ bothering about the CSN+ issue. Thanks!

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  13. A quick update — I exchanged a couple of messages with Joe Ambeault from Verizon on Twitter.

    As I’ve mentioned before, they do not give out expected completion dates but I asked him if they could give “any details so people know what is involved & if it could be days, weeks, months?”

    Joe responded and said it: “requires fiber cxn from CSN to FiOS video net, then “grooming” the content into the channel lineup + biz deal & franchise stuff”

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  14. So…it’s taking nearly a month to get this done. By the time it’s done, the Caps’ CSN+ schedule will be done. And it won’t matter, because I’ll be switching back to Comcast before next season. Already “doing the plumbing” for that switch…

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  16. A quick update with some new information…

    When asked about the CSN+ issue by a Caps fan on Twitter during Tuesday night’s game vs. Montreal, Verizon’s Joe Ambeault responded and said “We have a few more weeks of work – again my apologies”

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  18. Ironically my sister in BARBADOS got to watch last nights game while those of us in Anne Arundel County had to practically play with the “rabbit ears” for a picture of the Brady Bunch.

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  19. Wow, glad to see so many people trying to make a change. Think we could all work as hard to change the government 🙂 Let’s get our priorities straight! Ha, kidding. Anyway, as a new Fios customer as of last week, I just realized I will be missing the game tonight up here in Baltimore County. I wonder if Verizon has the ability to give Fios customers some type of viewing rights on Center Ice on days where CSN+ is broadcasting the game. Or would the game be blacked out?

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