Is Bell TV Planning anything special for the Olympics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter bartlett
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I may be off-base but I was thinking maybe the reason Bell is doing this is so that they can technically offer the programming "PPV" under their PPV license and offerings? Otherwise if it was available in the open, would they need CRTC blessing to be able to broadcast this en mass?

Other reasons may include needing viewship metrics (as someone already pointed out). Or enticing folks to plug in their phone lines.

Anyhow, glad to see that it's a 1-time phone call this time around... becuase if I recall for summer olympics I think you had to phone for each 24 hour block?
 
But how are we supposed to know how the Canadians are doing?
Or if they are moving their shoulders from side to side too much, or if an athlete has trained since they were 8 years old?

I for one need all the extra information the CTV commentators are providing for us!

*eye roll*
 
What I would expect for sure...is for Bell-TV to group the (duplicated) Olympic HD Channels together as they have done in the past...to make it easier for us to fly up and down the channels.
 
Thoughts so far:

1. If there's any period of the day when CTV should have decided not to broadcast from the Olympics it is the morning especially in the more eastern time zones. Also, using the usual morning crew has resulted in the most fluffy, empty-headed and insipid coverage. This morning at one point they were actually discussing Valentine chocolate making! It is simply not worth watching and detracts from the fairly good quality (so far) of the rest of the day.

2. With CTV, OLN, TSN and Sportsnet all broadcasting at the same time, it is a ludicrous situation when one or more of these stations is covering exactly the same event when at least one other event is available. What's the point of all this diversity?

3. He did it! A few minutes ago Brian Williams said we were "watching the Olympics on CBC"! He did acknowledge his mistake but it was still funny.

4. A positive. Ads are not cluttering up the broadcasts on CTV. Nothing like Barcelona.

5. I'm sick of hearing the musical refrain from "I Believe" after each break. Am I the only one who misses the iconic CBC Olympic theme? (At least you can hear a few bars on CBC's Radio 1 just before the hour).

6. Speaking of CBC I'm surprised CTV is letting CBC act like an official Olympic broadcaster. Their programming and preview reports on the National on Thu. night must have encroached on CTV's rights as do their hourly updates on the radio. Why isn't CTV reacting?

After two days I have to say CTV is doing quite well. Hopefully they'll keep it up.
 
if CTV is showing things live which I think mostly they are then you can look at the Olympics website for teh schedule. If they arent live then at least you know it can't be any sooner than that.
 
Bell has made this super easy.

You call 1 866 68-ORDER (67337) and enter your phone number. The automated system says something to the effect that many of our customers are calling to order the 2010 Olympic games. Is this why you are calling? You say yes and then it says the order has been successfully placed.
 
Bell TV now has French channels V, RDS, and RIS on free preview during the Olympics. I've heard (but haven't confirmed) that this is a CRTC requirement to have French broadcasts of the Olympic events available to all.
 
Thanks Stan,

I did have PPV locked out. Everything is working fine now.

I have the Ski Jumping scheduled for this afternoon, if it goes. I wasn't going to record anything until the finals, but apparently, my wife's niece is a volunteer right at the Starter for the Ski Jumping events, so we are going to try to catch a glimpse of her.

Russ
 
Bell is going to have:

# Five commercial-free HD channels of uninterrupted live competitions.
# Up to six events on a single interactive screen.

http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPromo_Tv_HDCoverage.page?INT=TV_hmpg_BAN_olympicskier_Acq_080110_BRS_ENG
 
Any idea what the below bolded part means? I'm assuming they will just name the program titles in a certain way in the program guide to allow the viewers to PVR "All" Episodes or Events of that kind?




To help viewers navigate their Olympic Games experience, CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca offer an all-encompassing interactive digital Viewers' Guide, presented by Bell.

Launching February 1 at CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca and as a mobile application, the Viewers' Guide is fully customizable offering Canadians complete control over their Vancouver 2010 experience.

The Viewers' Guide also enables and instructs fans to set reminders and alerts as well as program their Bell TV PVR by specific sport or event, ensuring they don't miss any of the action or results.
 
As I speculated in one of my original posts in this thread, the only thing that I really wished Bell could have provided would have been the feeds from the medal ceremonies and concerts. The medal ceremonies are usually entirely missed by the broadcasters, and watching the concerts on Muchmusic leaves a lot to be desired (not to mention that they are only airing 1 of 2 shows each day).

But overall kudos to Bell... these channels are great.
 
so how do i get this to work, do i have to call bell to activate it, if so when do I call, or when i want to watch it on channels 995-999 i just go when its on. Do I have to live in Ontario or is it available in Quebec as well ?
 
I just followed this procedure. Since I was calling from the phone number registered on my account, it did not even ask me to enter a phone number. It asked me if I was calling regarding the Olympic games. I said "yes". Then it just confirmed that the event was successfully placed, free of charge. It couldn't be easier.
 
MrGrinch if you mean the Bell ppv channels I saw Nellie Furtado the other night and also last night the end of a medal ceremony. I hope they will show BNL tonight!
 
According to Bell's promo page, you will be able to place an order to view those channels up to 48 hours before the event (i.e., not before Feb 10), using the phone number given on that page. If your receiver is hooked up to a phone line (or to the Internet, for 924x models with the latest firmware), you will probably be able to order them directly through your receiver, rather than phoning.

That page also says that all Bell TV customers will be able to order those channels. i believe the Ontario-specific statement in the footnote applies only to the "Save up to $300" offer.
 
i wondered that too, maybe its because some people only get one of those channels so they want to make sure that everybody can see it?

LOL! Did he just say "I meant CTV' or did he laugh or what?


Well they arent showing events live, only CTV can do that. Its real news to say who won, so anybody can report that. And theres no law against talking to people on public property. I do think its funny how big a deal CBC has been making about the Olympics for weeks, like nobody told them theyd lost the contract. :)
 
Wow I'm impressed. Just as dawger and BlueX mentioned, you just call the Bell number, say to the automated hottie that you want the Olympics, and its done.

Pretty sweet.
 
Hey everybody tnx for the info. We went to the bell website last nite and ordered this and today all the channels are on. so I dont know if we have to do this everyday but at least its working now. Thanks!
 
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