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Metro Sports says ESPN pulled plug on tape-delayed broadcast
By JEFFREY FLANAGANA bout that tape-delayed broadcast of Saturday’s Kansas-Missouri game that Metro Sports had promised all last week: At the last minute, ESPNU apparently pulled the plug on Metro Sports.
Metro Sports general manager John Denison said that Metro Sports had been under the impression for months that it would be allowed to tape delay the game at approximately 9 p.m. Saturday night. That tape-delay broadcast was critical for fans with Time Warner Cable who didn’t have the upgraded tier that would have allowed them to get ESPNU.
The inability to broadcast the game on tape delay also was critical for Comcast customers, who get Metro Sports but not ESPNU.
“We got notified on Friday that ESPNU would be doing the game on an exclusive basis,” Denison said. “It’s embarrassing for us and obviously disappointing.
“We tried to get the word out late Friday, and we apologize to the fans.”
The tape-delay broadcast was removed from The Star’s sports TV listings Saturday morning, and there was a story of the “cancellation” of the tape delay at the top of page D4, where all the “Border War” stories appeared.
“We have an agreement with ESPN that we can tape delay any games with ESPN, and that includes ESPNU,” Denison said. “But obviously ESPN has the final say, and any tape delay is subject to their approval. In this case, ESPNU wanted the game exclusive.
“It was an oversight on our part not to have made sure about it earlier. All we can do is promise it won’t happen again.”
Why did ESPN decide to pull the plug on the tape delay?
ESPN spokesperson Talia Coleman did not return a call Monday.
But you can bet the decision to go exclusive has to do with putting a little more pressure on cable systems such as Comcast to make ESPNU available.
Sundvold’s Heat
Former Tiger great Jon Sundvold was recognized last week at halftime of a Miami Heat game.
Sundvold was one of the original Miami Heat members on a team that lost the first 17 games in franchise history.
Coincidentally, this year’s version of the Heat isn’t very good, either — the Heat has the second-worst record in the NBA.
Sundvold’s advice for the current squad?
“You can’t point fingers,” he told the Palm Beach Post. “You can’t say ‘I have to do it all.’ It’s a tough, tough thing to get through. Coaches lose sleep. Players lose sleep. You have to get through it.”