On DirecTV and Kobe
I couldn't get around to all of the Jazz players before Friday's game in Los Angeles, but you might be interested to learn the results of my informal survey of their cable and satellite television preferences.
Of the 11 players I asked, eight are DirecTV customers, two have cable and one has Dish Network. One of the cable subscribers said he would prefer DirecTV, but he lives in a condo and would have to install the dish indoors.
I bring this up because thanks to KJZZ's spat with DirecTV, at least eight Jazz players won't be able to get their own games at home. A couple of the players said they'd gotten e-mails from friends and family asking what was going on.
It's a pretty tough sell asking DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast or anybody else to pay a programming fee for any reason beyond the Jazz games. In case you haven't watched KJZZ recently, here's a rundown of the channel's regular programming schedule.
You've got the KJZZ morning show, Montell Williams, Matlock, The Bonnie Hunt Show, People's Court, The Insider, Fraiser, Friends, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Dr. Phil, the 9 p.m. news (produced by Channel 2), Powerhouse and Scrubs.
If anything, KJZZ might want to start paying you to watch their station. To its credit, KJZZ has increased coverage of Utah sports - - everything from high school football to the Rocky Mountain Revue - - but it still has a long ways to go.
The issue boils down to whether DirecTV (or any provider) should pay a programming fee to what is a free broadcast station over the air. Especially one that in the case of KJZZ is not affiliated with a major network, let alone in a major U.S. market.
Roger Mercer, a DirecTV spokesman, said such things are evaluated on a "case by case basis" but "by and large we do not pay unaffiliated stations."
I have to imagine if you're running DirecTV, you'd be hard pressed to see KJZZ as the station worth making a rare exception. Whatever the cost is in lost subscribers to DirecTV, I would expect the cost of lost advertising is potentially much greater to KJZZ.
* * *
Kobe Bryant had quite possibly the quietest 40-point game I've ever seen Friday against the Jazz. So much so that I wanted to go back through the box score and play-by-play to see just where he scored all those points.
Bryant went 13 of 23 overall, hit two three-pointers and went 12 of 14 at the foul line. He scored 10 points in the first quarter, seven in the second, 12 in the third and 11 in the fourth.
What was remarkable was how many points Bryant scored on run outs and by getting in the lane for runners, layups or trips to the foul line. In fact, he had only a handful of really notable plays on the way to 40.
He opened the game by hitting a 9-foot turnaround over Deron Williams in the post. In the second quarter, Bryant hustled after a rebound, spun on Kyle Korver and knifed down the lane for a dunk.
The third quarter saw Bryant hit his biggest shot, a 19-footer over Ronnie Brewer after the Jazz had closed to 65-62. Bryant also ran ahead for a dunk after Korver had an inbounds pass tipped and stolen.
Otherwise, Bryant had a pretty unremarkable 40-point game. At the same time, it might be hard to pay him a greater compliment than saying such a thing.
--Ross Siler
Of the 11 players I asked, eight are DirecTV customers, two have cable and one has Dish Network. One of the cable subscribers said he would prefer DirecTV, but he lives in a condo and would have to install the dish indoors.
I bring this up because thanks to KJZZ's spat with DirecTV, at least eight Jazz players won't be able to get their own games at home. A couple of the players said they'd gotten e-mails from friends and family asking what was going on.
It's a pretty tough sell asking DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast or anybody else to pay a programming fee for any reason beyond the Jazz games. In case you haven't watched KJZZ recently, here's a rundown of the channel's regular programming schedule.
You've got the KJZZ morning show, Montell Williams, Matlock, The Bonnie Hunt Show, People's Court, The Insider, Fraiser, Friends, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Dr. Phil, the 9 p.m. news (produced by Channel 2), Powerhouse and Scrubs.
If anything, KJZZ might want to start paying you to watch their station. To its credit, KJZZ has increased coverage of Utah sports - - everything from high school football to the Rocky Mountain Revue - - but it still has a long ways to go.
The issue boils down to whether DirecTV (or any provider) should pay a programming fee to what is a free broadcast station over the air. Especially one that in the case of KJZZ is not affiliated with a major network, let alone in a major U.S. market.
Roger Mercer, a DirecTV spokesman, said such things are evaluated on a "case by case basis" but "by and large we do not pay unaffiliated stations."
I have to imagine if you're running DirecTV, you'd be hard pressed to see KJZZ as the station worth making a rare exception. Whatever the cost is in lost subscribers to DirecTV, I would expect the cost of lost advertising is potentially much greater to KJZZ.
* * *
Kobe Bryant had quite possibly the quietest 40-point game I've ever seen Friday against the Jazz. So much so that I wanted to go back through the box score and play-by-play to see just where he scored all those points.
Bryant went 13 of 23 overall, hit two three-pointers and went 12 of 14 at the foul line. He scored 10 points in the first quarter, seven in the second, 12 in the third and 11 in the fourth.
What was remarkable was how many points Bryant scored on run outs and by getting in the lane for runners, layups or trips to the foul line. In fact, he had only a handful of really notable plays on the way to 40.
He opened the game by hitting a 9-foot turnaround over Deron Williams in the post. In the second quarter, Bryant hustled after a rebound, spun on Kyle Korver and knifed down the lane for a dunk.
The third quarter saw Bryant hit his biggest shot, a 19-footer over Ronnie Brewer after the Jazz had closed to 65-62. Bryant also ran ahead for a dunk after Korver had an inbounds pass tipped and stolen.
Otherwise, Bryant had a pretty unremarkable 40-point game. At the same time, it might be hard to pay him a greater compliment than saying such a thing.
--Ross Siler
5:40 PM
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2 Comments:
I was at the game and completely agree about his 40 points being quiet. I checked the stats while sitting around for a few at Staples and saw he "only" took 23 shots. Was like, wow.
Like Bhi Bhiman says... I hate Kobe, I hate Kobe!
i was also at the game, and i didn't think his 40 were "quiet" ones at all. if anything, i and others around me -- mostly laker fans, obviously -- marveled at how kobe got rewarded with free throws for plays with next to no physical contact.
deron's 3rd quarter technical was understandable -- while he was getting knocked down on no-calls time and time again while trying to be aggressive and go at laker bigs, his olympic teammate was going to the line on touch fouls. no wonder he scored almost 2 points per shot with all those FTs mixed in. *sigh*
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