NHL Gamecenter

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Yeah - I was marginally unamused when I looked at my checking account and saw that I had a $160 charge to "NHL GAMECENTER" when I had neglected to re-new my subscription. From "marginally unamused" I went to "kinda pissed" when I checked my e-mail and saw that they had sent me a message which stated that my membership had been automatically carried from last season (which is a little shitty, but it's not a huge deal) and that I was being enrolled into the same payment arrangement that I was in last season ($20/month).

How I went from being charged $19.99 on a monthly basis to $159.99 in one shot is beyond me. Now, I'm in a position where it isn't a HUGE deal and I had more than enough money in my checking account to deal with the unexpected $140 hit without it being an issue at all...but I have to imagine that there are probably quite a few hockey fans out there who live on a tighter budget and probably got dicked-over pretty hard when Gary Bettman hit them up for the service at once.

Hey, somebody's gotta pay for the Coyotes. <_<

[ts.krajewski 0]

I had to e-mail them to cancel mine.

[ddbowdoin 0]

I got a nice 42 inch 1080 samsung 6 series and I will tell you that centre ice was the WORST 180 and change I have ever spent. Normal broadcasts look like S+++T on my TV, and it always seemed that the one HD game a night was either LA or St. Louis (no thanks)

I am sure that eventually, not IF, centre ice will become ALL HD then I'd spend 300 on it for sure. I would love to be able to choose between 9 games a night all in HD, that is worth the money. As for the computer package, thanks to everyone for their reviews and feelings on the blackouts. I was unware of the issue and contemplated picking it up, no thanks though.

[Chadd 916]

I got a nice 42 inch 1080 samsung 6 series and I will tell you that centre ice was the WORST 180 and change I have ever spent. Normal broadcasts look like S+++T on my TV, and it always seemed that the one HD game a night was either LA or St. Louis (no thanks)

I am sure that eventually, not IF, centre ice will become ALL HD then I'd spend 300 on it for sure. I would love to be able to choose between 9 games a night all in HD, that is worth the money. As for the computer package, thanks to everyone for their reviews and feelings on the blackouts. I was unware of the issue and contemplated picking it up, no thanks though.

You have a better chance of getting HD games on center ice with a dish than with cable.

[camhockey16 5]

the whole point of having games blacked out is that they want you to watch the game on one of your local stations that carries the game instead of the center ice channel that would have had it right? I'm assuming they must be doing it for the neilsen ratings?

But if you are on a computer using gamecenter - how could they know if you have a tv nearby that you could watch the game on? Even if they were going by your ip address to figure out some general area of where you are - they shouldnt be assuming that you even have a tv.

Am i missing something?

[Chadd 916]

the whole point of having games blacked out is that they want you to watch the game on one of your local stations that carries the game instead of the center ice channel that would have had it right? I'm assuming they must be doing it for the neilsen ratings?

But if you are on a computer using gamecenter - how could they know if you have a tv nearby that you could watch the game on? Even if they were going by your ip address to figure out some general area of where you are - they shouldnt be assuming that you even have a tv.

Am i missing something?

I get blacked out of Penguin games despite the fact that they are the fifth closest team in terms of mileage and I am not able to purchase Fox Sports Pittsburgh from my cable company. I have been trying to get an answer as to why I can't see the Penguins for the last three years and still get nothing but the run around from the cable company.

And yes, Gamecenter uses your IP address. TV revenues are more important to the teams and the league than online revenues.

[camhockey16 5]

i think gamecenter has a lot of potential - but it just seems like they are crippling it when they start blacking out games for no real logical reason.

i mean if it was all in high def and you could watch multiple games at once it would be like you had a seat in the war room in toronto - but with the way it currently functions im just not interested.

i'm fine with them blacking out channels on tv if they do it in the correct geographical areas - but it doesnt sound like they are - and i have no interest in gamecenter if they are going to black out stuff online. that would be like me renting a dvd from the movie store and it being blank - why would i pay $ to not be able to watch something?

[acollette49 0]

so it looks like they fixed their billing "issues".

i looked this am and had a $159 deposit from the nhl and a $19.99 withdrawl....

[CAmmon 2]

the whole point of having games blacked out is that they want you to watch the game on one of your local stations that carries the game instead of the center ice channel that would have had it right? I'm assuming they must be doing it for the neilsen ratings?

But if you are on a computer using gamecenter - how could they know if you have a tv nearby that you could watch the game on? Even if they were going by your ip address to figure out some general area of where you are - they shouldnt be assuming that you even have a tv.

Am i missing something?

I get blacked out of Penguin games despite the fact that they are the fifth closest team in terms of mileage and I am not able to purchase Fox Sports Pittsburgh from my cable company. I have been trying to get an answer as to why I can't see the Penguins for the last three years and still get nothing but the run around from the cable company.

And yes, Gamecenter uses your IP address. TV revenues are more important to the teams and the league than online revenues.

It seems like the Pens are the team that the NHL picks for VS more than anyone except maybe the Caps. Could this be it or are you getting blacked out more than that?

[Chadd 916]

the whole point of having games blacked out is that they want you to watch the game on one of your local stations that carries the game instead of the center ice channel that would have had it right? I'm assuming they must be doing it for the neilsen ratings?

But if you are on a computer using gamecenter - how could they know if you have a tv nearby that you could watch the game on? Even if they were going by your ip address to figure out some general area of where you are - they shouldnt be assuming that you even have a tv.

Am i missing something?

I get blacked out of Penguin games despite the fact that they are the fifth closest team in terms of mileage and I am not able to purchase Fox Sports Pittsburgh from my cable company. I have been trying to get an answer as to why I can't see the Penguins for the last three years and still get nothing but the run around from the cable company.

And yes, Gamecenter uses your IP address. TV revenues are more important to the teams and the league than online revenues.

It seems like the Pens are the team that the NHL picks for VS more than anyone except maybe the Caps. Could this be it or are you getting blacked out more than that?

Nope, I get zero Pens games unless they are on VS or they are playing the Flyers

[CAmmon 2]

Nope, I get zero Pens games unless they are on VS or they are playing the Flyers

I found this through Google. It is someone on another forum complaining about the same situation and maybe it can at least explain their thought process behind it.

Can someone (anyone) explain Uverse's blackout logic... they can't be following the rules setup by the NHL.

I live in Cleveland, i've been told by NHL.com (the gamecenter folks who offer the same service as center ice except on your pc) that both the columbus blue jackets and the pittsburgh penguins are my local teams therefore neither is available via their service. By that logic I should be able to view penguin and blue jacket games on the local RSN however every penguin game is blacked out on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh!!!!!

Of course when I called uverse the customer service person didn't even know what blackout rules are or what NHL Center Ice is let alone when they might offer center ice.

[Chadd 916]

I'm waiting for someone from the NHL to return my call.

[number21 3]

damn it! I never got an email, but I got the charge.

Guess I'll have to try calling/emailing.

[rangers1234 0]

Just to add to this topic;

So far the games have been chopy as hell and the only way to watch on my computer is with the lowest resolution.

I have not been able to watch any of the games in archive, which last year I found was the best way to watch the games. Anyone else having this problem?

This could be a great product, but so far, it's not working out so well. The blackouts suck.

[LkptTiger 1]

$139 has been refunded to my account as of today. If the e-mail they sent me advised that they would be removing payment for the entire season, I probably would have let it go...but since I was (incorrectly) advised that my arrangement would be the $20/month I paid last year, I felt it was a matter of principle that I make sure the situation be taken care of properly. I nearly cancled my subscription altogether and had half-a-mind to request that the month of October be given free-of-charge as a measure of compensation.

[number21 3]

Screw this. I thought I would maybe let it ride since I don't have cable. But tonight I log in to watch part of the later games. I am blacked out from all three!

I am in Milwaukee and I can't watch Calgary v Edmon., Columbus v San Jose or Min v. L.A.

That's complete bullshit!

So I sent an email to them via the customer support page.

That service is crap. Like it's been said before, what a great way to alienate your fans NHL.

[rangers1234 0]

Screw this. I thought I would maybe let it ride since I don't have cable. But tonight I log in to watch part of the later games. I am blacked out from all three!

I am in Milwaukee and I can't watch Calgary v Edmon., Columbus v San Jose or Min v. L.A.

That's complete bullshit!

So I sent an email to them via the customer support page.

That service is crap. Like it's been said before, what a great way to alienate your fans NHL.

Not to mention the downloads suck. With the technology they have today like Netflix, you would think they would be able to stream a better quality version of the archived games. I tried playing one last night and it was un-watchable.

[number21 3]

Got an email response back telling me my subscription WAS NOT auto renewed and I was not charged. Even though I told them I was charged and that's why I was contacting them.

Now i'll have to try and call.

[rangers1234 0]

Does anyone know if you can use a blue-ray internet ready player to stream the NHL Gamecenter games directly on your TV? And if you can, what Blue Ray player?

Thanks

[gxc999 7]

I think the only option is to get regular center ice and then slingbox stream if you're not at home. Gamecenter sucks, the MLB game online program was much the same...

[Chadd 916]

Despite confirming my cancellation, they tried to charge my credit card an hour ago. If you canceled your account, make sure you check your credit card.

EDIT:

The funny thing is, the NHL denies making the charge

[number21 3]

Despite confirming my cancellation, they tried to charge my credit card an hour ago. If you canceled your account, make sure you check your credit card.

EDIT:

The funny thing is, the NHL denies making the charge

I got the same bullshit Chadd!

Any luck actually getting it canceled?

After several unanswered calls, one denial of charge email and one unanswered email, I sent another one this afternoon, since I checked my statement this morning and found another charge!

I told them if nothing happens, my next step was going to be speaking with my bank and denying any further charges to them.

Very frustrating.

[Chadd 916]

Despite confirming my cancellation, they tried to charge my credit card an hour ago. If you canceled your account, make sure you check your credit card.

EDIT:

The funny thing is, the NHL denies making the charge

I got the same bullshit Chadd!

Any luck actually getting it canceled?

After several unanswered calls, one denial of charge email and one unanswered email, I sent another one this afternoon, since I checked my statement this morning and found another charge!

I told them if nothing happens, my next step was going to be speaking with my bank and denying any further charges to them.

Very frustrating.

After denying the charge, I called and finally talked to someone. I'm guessing they actually fixed it at that point.

[number21 3]

I never got a response. But I see a refund in my bank account and I can't log-in to the games anymore.

So I guess it finally got taken care of.