Verizon scores! Will air all Capitals games
Howard hockey fans had complained of missing games here
By Luke Broadwater
lbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 2/04/10
Responding to concerns from sports fans, Verizon cable on Wednesday said it’s adding a channel that will allow Washington Capitals’ fans in Howard County to see every Caps game on FiOS.
“Hey Wizards and Caps fans — we’ve heard your cries and we’re answering,” Verizon wrote on its Web site. “Starting today, FiOS TV customers in Maryland and Virginia will have Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus (CSN+), the CSN Mid-Atlantic overflow channel that gets you your Caps and Wizards games.”
Verizon was not carrying the channel CSN+ in Howard County, which broadcasts about a dozen of the Capitals games a season. It can now be seen on channel 334.
With the Washington Capitals in first place in the National Hockey League’s Southeast division, a legitimate Stanley Cup contender with one of the league’s best records and the NHL’s two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, Caps fans from Howard County took to message boards and blogs to express their frustration that they couldn’t get all the team’s games on Verizon’s FiOS cable service.
Although other hockey games can be seen on CSN, Versus, the NHL Network and the league-wide pay-per-view subscription service Center Ice, the absence of CSN+ in Howard meant 15 percent of the Capitals’ games were unavailable — unlike in neighboring Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, which offer the channel.
“As many of you know, we’ve been offering these games on FiOS1 — a local channel that’s available in the D.C. metro area, but does not include parts of Maryland and Virginia,” the Verizon message posted Wednesday said. “We’ve worked closely with Comcast on this, and found a solution that gives FiOS TV customers all of the Caps and Wizards games they want.”
Columbia resident Justin Carlson, who describes himself as an “old-school fan” of the Capitals, called the announcement a “great first step.” He added that he now wants to make sure the Caps games are delivered in high definition on FiOS.
Mike Holden, who grew up in North Laurel, raised awareness of the issue on his blog, mikeholden.wordpress.com.
With the Capitals enjoying tremendous success and the team being marketed north of Baltimore, Holden argued that fans here wanted to see all of the Caps games.
After Wednesday’s announcement, posters on Holden’s blog were celebrating and thanking Holden.
“That’s great news,” one wrote. “Mike and everyone who has been keeping this alive should be congratulated.”
“Hey Wizards and Caps fans — we’ve heard your cries and we’re answering,” Verizon wrote on its Web site. “Starting today, FiOS TV customers in Maryland and Virginia will have Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus (CSN+), the CSN Mid-Atlantic overflow channel that gets you your Caps and Wizards games.”
Verizon was not carrying the channel CSN+ in Howard County, which broadcasts about a dozen of the Capitals games a season. It can now be seen on channel 334.
With the Washington Capitals in first place in the National Hockey League’s Southeast division, a legitimate Stanley Cup contender with one of the league’s best records and the NHL’s two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, Caps fans from Howard County took to message boards and blogs to express their frustration that they couldn’t get all the team’s games on Verizon’s FiOS cable service.
Although other hockey games can be seen on CSN, Versus, the NHL Network and the league-wide pay-per-view subscription service Center Ice, the absence of CSN+ in Howard meant 15 percent of the Capitals’ games were unavailable — unlike in neighboring Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, which offer the channel.
“As many of you know, we’ve been offering these games on FiOS1 — a local channel that’s available in the D.C. metro area, but does not include parts of Maryland and Virginia,” the Verizon message posted Wednesday said. “We’ve worked closely with Comcast on this, and found a solution that gives FiOS TV customers all of the Caps and Wizards games they want.”
Columbia resident Justin Carlson, who describes himself as an “old-school fan” of the Capitals, called the announcement a “great first step.” He added that he now wants to make sure the Caps games are delivered in high definition on FiOS.
Mike Holden, who grew up in North Laurel, raised awareness of the issue on his blog, mikeholden.wordpress.com.
With the Capitals enjoying tremendous success and the team being marketed north of Baltimore, Holden argued that fans here wanted to see all of the Caps games.
After Wednesday’s announcement, posters on Holden’s blog were celebrating and thanking Holden.
“That’s great news,” one wrote. “Mike and everyone who has been keeping this alive should be congratulated.”
user comments (1)
user raj08 says...
WooHoo! This has been a source of frustration for me all season, as the Caps have been getting bumped off of HoCo FiOS TV in favor of the lowly Wizards. Good to know I won't have to come up with other plans on the CSN+ game nights (even though I think that there is only one of those games left anyway). GO CAPS!
Posted 5:19 PM, 02.04.10 | Permalink
Advertisement
most popular
- read
- emailed
Advertisement
Advertisement