Response from Jeremy Hartigan on Princeton broadcast issue

He's one of the good guys! And also asks that you contact CSTV and complain to them (emphasis mine).

Fred - Thanks for your note. We are very much with you... we tried as best we could to voice our displeasure with the wording of the release, particularly the message at the bottom to contact CSTV with questions/problems. We are currently in negotiations with several web site companies, and one way or the other there will be changes next year for whatever audio/video we will use. The timing comes from CSTV as well. As soon as CSTV made its decision, our office crafted the release and had it up the same day. It was not Cornell holding off making an announcement on this charge. We've spent several hours dealing with the issue on the phone with CSTV, and that was the final decision. We did spend a great deal of time talking about the ways we will be offering the contest live that day, including audio of the contest through the All-Access service. I suggest you voice your displeasure with CSTV [www.cstv.com]. It could help us in our fight to have this game become part of the all-access service. Thanks much!
Jeremy

I emailed him back to ask if I could post this letter, and, besides saying yes, his response contained some more interesting information (emphasis mine).

Fred - please do. I know that many of the E-Lynah people will be unhappy with this situation. It's a little frustrating because there isn't a whole lot we can do about it. I'm hoping that if our friends and fans over there continue to voice their displeasure to CSTV (rather than to us, where they really are preaching to the choir), it might make a difference. We made several efforts, including using our own camera feeds of the game for All-Access, but because they have the rights to the game, we weren't allowed to do that either.

Also, the multi-platform broadcasts is a non-negotiable for next year. If we stay with CSTV, they will have to provide service for Macs, on Safari, Explorer, Firefox and the like. Hopefully we'll have news on that in the coming weeks. Thanks for your understanding of this unbelievably frustrating situation for everyone and for helping us fight the good fight. Feel free to contact me (phone and e-mail below) anytime you want to discuss this, or any other situation. Hope all is well!
Jeremy

Jeremy Hartigan
Fred - Thanks for your note. We are very much with you... we tried as best we could to voice our displeasure with the wording of the release, particularly the message at the bottom to contact CSTV with questions/problems. We are currently in negotiations with several web site companies, and one way or the other there will be changes next year for whatever audio/video we will use. The timing comes from CSTV as well. As soon as CSTV made its decision, our office crafted the release and had it up the same day. It was not Cornell holding off making an announcement on this charge. We've spent several hours dealing with the issue on the phone with CSTV, and that was the final decision. We did spend a great deal of time talking about the ways we will be offering the contest live that day, including audio of the contest through the All-Access service. I suggest you voice your displeasure with CSTV [www.cstv.com]. It could help us in our fight to have this game become part of the all-access service. Thanks much!
Jeremy

Jeremy Hartigan
Fred - please do. I know that many of the E-Lynah people will be unhappy with this situation. It's a little frustrating because there isn't a whole lot we can do about it. I'm hoping that if our friends and fans over there continue to voice their displeasure to CSTV (rather than to us, where they really are preaching to the choir), it might make a difference. We made several efforts, including using our own camera feeds of the game for All-Access, but because they have the rights to the game, we weren't allowed to do that either.

Also, the multi-platform broadcasts is a non-negotiable for next year. If we stay with CSTV, they will have to provide service for Macs, on Safari, Explorer, Firefox and the like. Hopefully we'll have news on that in the coming weeks. Thanks for your understanding of this unbelievably frustrating situation for everyone and for helping us fight the good fight. Feel free to contact me (phone and e-mail below) anytime you want to discuss this, or any other situation. Hope all is well!
Jeremy

Jerk.

FYI, after a second email, CSTV said they credited me back for the last month. I'll believe it when I see it on the statement, but it seems good thus far. I'd rather they would have chosen to include the game instead, but at least I got one.

If anyone else is in the same situation where the Princeton game or the primary, or even sole, reason you extended for a month, give it a shot, and be a polite, but firm/forceful (I did warn that I'd be willing to dispute this with my credit card company for services not rendered, but that I'd really rather work this out with them).

P.S. The way it sounds, I may even still have access for the remainder of the month anyway. Not sure if thats true or not, I'll have to test it when I next get to a PC.

ugarte
Jerk.

In case Jeremy read this. That's a running joke around here. He really likes you

Out of curiousity, what email are others using to contact CSTV?

Edit: This is what I ended up using: [www.cstv.com]

Yeah, that's what I used to (the link in Jeremy's email brings you to a page, that if you click on account services page, brings you to Liz's link).

DeltaOne81

ugarte
Jerk.

In case Jeremy read this. That's a running joke around here. He really likes you

This is exactly what is wrong with doing this. Yes, I was wrongly pulled into this earlier, but here we have someone who is really trying to help and we call him a jerk. Unless someone let him in on it, there being no way in He** he would understand it. All we need is to piss off the hand that feeds us. Thanks for letting him in on it.

I wrote an email to CSTV as well, and got back a perfunctory email:

CSTV Drone
Thank you for your inquiry,

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that all home games will be available without being PPV. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you,

Desire W.
CSTV Customer Support

"Fortunately, we're happy to charge you once for an annual subscription and then charge you again to see the content we'd promised you. Whee!"

DeltaOne81

ugarte
Jerk.

In case Jeremy read this. That's a running joke around here. He really likes you

Do I have to even bother?

pfibiger
I wrote an email to CSTV as well, and got back a perfunctory email:

CSTV Drone
Thank you for your inquiry,

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that all home games will be available without being PPV. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you,

Desire W.
CSTV Customer Support

"Fortunately, we're happy to charge you once for an annual subscription and then charge you again to see the content we'd promised you. Whee!"

Ditto for me. I replied with:

[q]Desire,

Thank you for your prompt response. It is appreciated.

However, I signed up in Fall 2005 with the understanding that all Cornell events televised by CSTV would also be webcast and I confirmed with a customer service representative that service would continue this season before signing up again.

From Cornell's press release about All-Access (9/14/2005): The All-Access pass will include live streaming video that will include dozens of home events as well as contests televised by College Sports Television (CSTV).

If this game is to remain a PPV event, I still want a refund for this month's subscription.[/q]
and got back:
[q]Thank you for your inquiry,


Unfortunately, we cannot offer you a refund for this months fee. We certainly do our best to ensure that you will have access to most events, however this is not something that we can guarantee. We apologize for any inconvenience.


Thank you,

Desire W.
CSTV Customer Support[/q]

Liz '05
From Cornell's press release about All-Access (9/14/2005): The All-Access pass will include live streaming video that will include dozens of home events as well as contests televised by College Sports Television (CSTV).

Thanks, Liz. I was nearly certain I remembered that statement, but it's nice to see I was correct. Someone ought to remind Hartigan of that.

Liz '05
Thank you for your prompt response. It is appreciated.

However, I signed up in Fall 2005 with the understanding that all Cornell events televised by CSTV would also be webcast and I confirmed with a customer service representative that service would continue this season before signing up again.

From Cornell's press release about All-Access (9/14/2005): The All-Access pass will include live streaming video that will include dozens of home events as well as contests televised by College Sports Television (CSTV).

If this game is to remain a PPV event, I still want a refund for this month's subscription.
and got back:
[q]Thank you for your inquiry,


Unfortunately, we cannot offer you a refund for this months fee. We certainly do our best to ensure that you will have access to most events, however this is not something that we can guarantee. We apologize for any inconvenience.


Thank you,

Desire W.
CSTV Customer Support[/q]

Liz,

The one thing that I did further is that I told them that if they did not refund me the month, I would challenge it with my credit card company for service not rendered. I said I would rather not have to do that far, and would rather solve it via customer service, but if I had to dispute it for 'services not rendered', I would.

Might be worth a try.

The other thing I did have to my advantage is that its a new subscription. So its quite believable that I signed up for this event primarily (which, I did). A longer standing account may be a problem.

Edit: I haven't yet seen the refund, but I know these things can take several days to appear.

Fred,

I did use the term "services unrendered" in my initial email to CSTV; they didn't even bother to respond to the request for a refund.

I think, like you do, that my annual (instead of monthly) subscription hurt me in my attempt to recover some money. I'm not willing to put in the effort of challenging it with my credit card company and arguing for another few hours with CSTV to recover $6, though, and I'm sure they realize that.

While procrastinating this afternoon, the following page was brought to my attention by my housemate: CSTV Case Study

So maybe CSTV was just a bit too ambitious with their idea (they gave the company 4 months to design everything), but in any case it is interesting to see that they are outsourcing All-Access to another company.

"Launching a project of this complexity in four months was nothing short of miraculous. Akamai Professional Services was instrumental in helping us pull this off."
—Ed Talvy, VP of Client Services, CSTV

...or not.

BCrespi

"Launching a project of this complexity in four months was nothing short of miraculous. Akamai Professional Services was instrumental in helping us pull this off."
—Ed Talvy, VP of Client Services, CSTV

...or not.

Is that Kyle's company?

nr53
While procrastinating this afternoon, the following page was brought to my attention by my housemate: CSTV Case Study

So maybe CSTV was just a bit too ambitious with their idea (they gave the company 4 months to design everything), but in any case it is interesting to see that they are outsourcing All-Access to another company.

I wouldn't say they're outsourcing, if you're talking about Akamai. Akamai typically provides the bandwidth abilities and scale, but the content and concept would still belong to CSTV.

To use an old-tech analogy, Akamai would be the phone company that provides the ability to make all those calls, but CSTV would still own the phones, employ the callers, and be responsible for the content of the call.

And yes, that's Kyle's company. They do a lot.

The company delivers comprehensive coverage


The company’s innovative All-Access broadband channels—first launched in 200—have long set the standard for streamed sporting events.

Some might disagree.

Jim Hyla

The company delivers comprehensive coverage


The company’s innovative All-Access broadband channels—first launched in 200—have long set the standard for streamed sporting events.

Some might disagree.

The author of that bullshit should become a Bush-Cheney speechwriter.

Jim Hyla

The company delivers comprehensive coverage


The company’s innovative All-Access broadband channels—first launched in 200—have long set the standard for streamed sporting events.

Some might disagree.

Perhaps the problem is that they are using the same computers from when they launched the service in 200.

Jim Hyla

The company delivers comprehensive coverage


The company’s innovative All-Access broadband channels—first launched in 200—have long set the standard for streamed sporting events.

Some might disagree.

Didn't Dean Wormer say Delta House set standards for grade-point average, sobriety ... ?

Along these lines, one could say CSTV sets standards that would be difficult to go beyond.

Al DeFlorio
Is that Kyle's company?

I will not speak for my company in any official capacity.

Akamai distributes the bits from one or two well-connected servers, through our network, to media servers distributed around the globe. All of that infrastructure is used by hundreds of companies every day, and is *rock-solid*: it is public information that all of MLB.tv, for instance, is served by us.

Now, if there is a problem with the bitstream coming into our one or two well-connected servers (hypothetically speaking, of course), there's not a whole lot we can do about it.

Kyle

krose

Al DeFlorio
Is that Kyle's company?

I will not speak for my company in any official capacity.

Akamai distributes the bits from one or two well-connected servers, through our network, to media servers distributed around the globe. All of that infrastructure is used by hundreds of companies every day, and is *rock-solid*: it is public information that all of MLB.tv, for instance, is served by us.

Now, if there is a problem with the bitstream coming into our one or two well-connected servers (hypothetically speaking, of course), there's not a whole lot we can do about it.

Kyle

I didn't mean to say that Akamai is at fault for any All-Access problems. I should have mentioned that they also provided infrastructure for NCAAsports.com and delivered free streaming coverage for March Madness which must have a ton more demand than Cornell vs. Harvard no matter what our own personal views are. I was just surprised to see a company associated with that sort of success also being related to something as glitchy as AA