News » Angry Raps fans caught in middle
Angry Raps fans caught in middle
Mike Flicht believes he speaks for a lot of Toronto Raptors fans. Judging by emails and phone calls arriving at the Star, he's not alone. FOXSports.com - Page Not Found

Flicht's anger has been fuelled by the battle between TSN and Rogers Cable that has deprived Rogers customers of TSN2, a new digital channel with up to 24 Raptors games this season.

The standoff, which sources say has little to do with TSN2's asking price and more to do with other business issues, is about to enter its sixth month with no end in sight. That means Rogers subscribers have already missed 10 Raptors games.

"We're not happy about this and we're doing everything in our power to get TSN and Rogers to resolve it," said Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chief operating officer Tom Anselmi. "It's certainly not what was planned when we sold the rights to TSN almost a year ago."

Advertisers can't be too happy.

Despite a disappointing season, Raptors ratings are up 14 per cent on TSN (193,000 average) and 26 per cent on The Score (146,000). They're down 14 per cent on CBC (155,000) but up overall - until you factor in TSN2.

TSN won't release the channel's ratings, but Wednesday's game against New Jersey attracted a paltry 31,000 viewers. That wasn't the highest Raptors audience on TSN2, but it certainly wasn't the lowest. One game drew only 14,000 viewers.

Some of Rogers' other customers are also unhappy.

Those who subscribe to the Rogers sports packages such as NBA League Pass and NHL Centre Ice have lost games since TSN2 began because anything scheduled to air on that channel is removed from those packages.