Valley Advocate Springfield from Springfield, Massachusetts • 39

39 THE VALLEY ADVOCATE NOVEMBER 10 1986 On the Tail of the Whale Despite the popularity of the Hartford Whalers you could have trouble finding the games on your TV set Celtics contract switched from Channel 4 to Channel 56 This not only gave the Celtics organization more money but also meant that twice as many games would be aired The Bruins have been a staple on Channel 38 another independent The same holds true in New York Even seemingly attractive properties like the Mets and Yankees find themselves on independent stations WOR and WPIX as do the Rangers and Knicks (WOR) happened is that television sports are no longer a gold mine Once TV sports were a hot property and because of that the NFL was able to work out a $60 million deal with all three networks while baseball cut a $10 billion contract with NBC and ABC But the deregulation of college football which often pits as many as 10 games per Saturday in any given market as well as the explosion of local sports channels such as SC-NE SportsChannel New York New England Sports Channel) has resulted in a saturation of televised sports Many advertisers have found it more cost-effective to pitch their products on less conventional mediums MTV CNN or WTBS Unfortunately for sports programmers and league executives that means the days of spiraling TV contracts are over In marketplace an increase in ratings does not necessarily mean an increase in ad rates and fees With hockey the problem is even more acute The sport so alive and vibrant when watched from the arena stands does not come off well on a small screen Trying to follow the puck can be likened to watching a small fly dart back and forth across a white background Even ESPN the Bristol Conn cable sports channel has been getting less than a 1 percent rating for its NHL cablecasts (And the cable channel desperately needed a major sports attraction after losing the profitable NBA to SPORTSCARD Tuesday November 11 Basketball Celtics at New Jer sey 7:30 WTIC-61 Basketball: Suns at Knicks Hockey: Oilers at Islanders Soccer (m): AIC at UNH 2:00 Wednesday November 12 Basketball: Milwaukee at Celtics 7:30 SportsChannel Hockey: Whalers at Vancouver Hockey: Bruins at Pittsburgh 7:30 WSBK 38 Hockey: Buffalo at Rangers Thursday November 13 Basketball (m): Australian National Team at UConn 8:00 Hockey: Whalers at Calgary 9:30 WHCT 18 Hockey: Oilers at Bruins 7:30 NESN Friday November 14 Basketball: Celtics at Bulls 8:00 WTIC-61 Basketball: Knicks at Milwau kee 9:00 WOR-9 Hockey: Flyers at Rangers Hockey: Maine at Springfield 7:30 Saturday November 15 Basketball: Bullets at Knicks Basketball: Celtics at Pistons 7:30 WTIC-61 Crew (w): Smith at the Foot of the Charles Boston Cross Country (m): UMass at IC4A's (Lehigh) Football: New Hampshire at UMass 1 :00 Football: Springfield at AIC 12:30 Football: Westfield at WNEC 1:00 Hockey: Oilers at Whalers 7:30 SportsChannel Hockey: Devils at Bruins 7:30" NESN Hockey: Islanders at North Stars Hockey: Binghamton at Spring-field 7:30 Soccer (m): Springfield at AIC 10:30 Swimming Cw): Keene St at Smith 1 :00 Volleyball: Northeastern at UMass 7:00 Sunday November 16 Football Bills at Patriots 1 :00 WWLP-22 Football Giants at Vikings 1 :00 WFSB 3 Hockey: Islanders at Jets Hockey: Oilers at Rangers Hockey Springfield at New market Teams organizations univer sities: Send sports schedules and info to Sportscard The Valley Advocate 87 School St Hatfield MA 01038 By Bob Philips After a spectacular season and march through the play-offs last year the Hartford Whalers can well expect sold-out crowds at the Civic Center and high ratings on the tube But while gate receipts may be up chances are the Neilsen ratings a situation caused not so much by lack of viewer interest as to vagaries in the television contracts SportsChannel New England will again be the primary video outlet The cable channel has the right of first refusal on all of the games and has chosen this season to carry all of the home games While this may sound like an impressive commitment it bode well for most fans Available only on cable the service costs about $12 in addition to a regular cable television bill And in many locations throughout the region you simply cannot subscribe to SC-NE For those fans who are not hooked up to or the right cable the Whalers this year have chosen WHCT Channel 18 in Hartford to televise the games that SC-NE The team chose not to renew its contract with Hartford station Channel 30 an NBC affiliate Last year as the Whalers made their run for a Stanley Cup berth the station at times pre-empted games in favor of network programming One contest against St Louis was not televised until the beginning of the second period The reason: The game was unfortunately scheduled on a Thursday night opposite the mega-popular Bill Cosby Show WVIT management was not about to sacrifice for the Whale The conflict points up an interesting dilemma concerning local sports programming The network affiliates which traditionally have stronger signals than the independent stations are reluctant to commit to a large number of games for fear of having to pre-empt the more lucrative prime time sit-coms and dramatic series Channel 30 was willing to cut into regular programming this summer for the Red Sox but the occasions were sporadic In other markets the trend is clear Ten years ago Channel 4 in Boston relinquished its rights to broadcast Red Sox games to Channel 38 for essentially the same reason Channel 30 refused to broadcast the full Whalers to protect its network lineup And a few years ago the Alive and vibrant when watched from the arena stands hockey does not come off well on a television screen (Lacy photo) United Cable Cox Cable Continental Times-Mirror Storer Valley Cable and Northwest Adds Planell: are certain areas we are not Like half the state of Connecticut Channel 18 cannot be reached in New London Windham County Middlesex County hopeful of adding Danbury says Planell "And Cablevision in Fairfield County has indicated that we probably be on by the end of the hope for Whalers fans in that WHCT is constructing a new transmitting tower in Avon Conn be increasing our wattage from about 550000 to over three says the general manager Rich Ramirez The height will be increased from 900 feet to 1300 feet And pending FCC approval the station hopes to raise it again to 1425 feet For the layman that means Channel signal can be received with a standard loop UHF antenna 55 to 60 miles from the transmitter If all goes according to plan the signal boost should occur sometime by late December or early January you warns Ramirez can happen in this WTBS) Even though the Whalers are bound to be popular in Connecticut and Massachusetts what with the Red Sox and Mets in the Series this year Channel 18 has not been able to reap any ratings bonanza so far this season Even without the Series little hope that Whalers games will bring in the big numbers that national advertisers like The problem is not ratings but weak signal signal routinely goes about as far as North says Terry Planell station manager even gone into New Haven But it all depends on the weather We have a problem with the Meriden mountains Then again had viewer mail from as far away as Montauk Long One suspects that primary motivation in acquiring the Whaler contract was to increase its exposure throughout the region via cable Right now though difficult to pick up Channel 18 outside the Hartford area So far Group of Middletown Conn has picked up the a direct result of the Whaler deal concedes Planell Also the station can be found on WHALE WATCH Upcoming Whalercasts on Channel 18 (WHCT) include Calgary November 13 at 9:35 pm Islanders November 22 at 7:05 pm Montreal November 29 at 8:05 pm All Whaler home games will be cablecast on SportsChannel New England Call your local cable company to find out if SC-NE is available in your area But be prepared to ante up at least $10 a month for the service Bob Philips Cfuofold N(S Is looking for a Masseuse or Two Full or Part Time No Experience Necessary Excellent Atmosphere Security Excellent Income NOVEMBER SALE Final Weak Sale Ends Nov 15 DON otters you lie best in quaMy outerwear at sale prices with super values in EXPANDED CLOTHING DEPARTMENT and SPECIALS on other camping and backpacking items Listed below are some of the specials: 20 tl 40 ff al WOOLRICH ITEMS 20 40 tf al FLEECE JACKETS ft VESTS 20 tl 40 Iff INSULATED PARKAS JACKETS ft VESTS 20 to 50 Off al SWEATERS 20 50 Off al DUOFOLD UNDERWEAR ft T-NECKS 20 aff al "THERMAXU UNDERWEAR AM T-NECKS 20 off al NORTH FACE WINDY PASS RAINWEAR Shop early tor best selection MASTERCARD and VISA accepted FREE COPY OF OUR 1986 CATALOG WITH A COPY OF THIS AD CAMPERS SUPPLY INC 9 PEARL STREET NORTHAMPTON MASS PH0 STORE HOURS: WEEKDAYS 9 TO 5:30 SATURDAY 9 TO 5 (413) 584-4895 Call after 11 am (203) 247-2737 37 Webster St Hartford Cl ADVOCATE Classifieds Guaranteed to Work.