Houston Rockets: Is There A Reason For Concern? by Bryson Jones

The moment is here.

The culmination of what seemed to be an endless mess of a business venture with good intentions has finally been reached.

I talked about a possible end to this hodgepodge of a dilemma a few months back, take a look here.

Houston sports fans alike will be able to watch their favorite sports teams on TV once again and the battle of the have’s and have-not’s will cease.

Everybody will now have equal access and the right to see their teams again.

It almost felt criminal what this blackout was doing to fans — as if our rights had been abridged.

Today, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the reorganization plan of the beleaguered Houston Regional Sports Network or what Houston sports fans know as CSN Houston, a joint venture of the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets and Comcast Sports Group.

The two-year old network had been operating under bankruptcy protection since September of last year because not enough revenue was generated to support the operations of the network.

The network had been losing nearly $9 million a month and there’s absolutely no business that could sustain survival with those kind of dreadful numbers.

The reorganization plan calls for AT&T/DirecTV to gain ownership of the network and to re-brand it under Root Sports, their regional sports network banner.

Jul 23, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Members of the Houston Astros celebrate after defeating the Oakland Athletics 5-4 at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Root Sports affiliates are becoming more prevalent nationwide as AT&T looks to grow their telecom business and gain more of a foothold in metropolitan markets.

AT&T is still in the process of merging with DirecTV to accomplish this goal which gives the company access to their vast array of their lucrative regional sports affiliates.

The Houston market will be none the exception.

This news is bittersweet because it’s also pure coincidence that I’ve been a long-time Comcast subscriber and enjoyed the high-quality newscasts the on-air talent would provide.

Many of the talented employees behind and in front of the camera lost their jobs as the AT&T/DirecTV did not want to operate a network of that size.

75 of the network’s 115 employees were given the unfortunate pink slip.

SportsNet Central or what I’d like to refer to it as “Sportscenter Houston,” provided content that was homegrown and delved deep into stories that other networks wouldn’t have time to touch.

It truly was a product that obviously emanated the heart and hustle the size of the Lone Star State.

It’s a tragedy, a story that should’ve not been and it was the result of greed gone wild.

The near-defunct network earned five Lone Star Emmys last year for their programming with seasoned reporters Sebastian Salazar and James Palmer being recognized as being a part of their award-winning coverage.

Apr 14, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; CSN broadcaster Sebastian Salazar interviews Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis (11) after a match against the Chicago Fire at BBVA Compass Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

They’ve been nominated for 16 Lone Star Emmys this year…

I’ll miss the people that had gotten to know through my television set such as Leila Rahimi, Tiffany Blackmon and many others.

It was awesome watching the solid chemistry of Bill Doleman and Calvin Murphy on Rockets Live, CSN’s pre- and post-game shows.

It was tough to see them tear up on their last newscast together last Wednesday as they reminisced about the good times they had together on the air.

I also used to love reading Dave Zangaro’s work because it was clear, concise and always hit the nail on the head.

I’ve used him as a source for countless posts that I’ve made over time.

I wish everybody there the very best and their talent will shine through as they move to the next step in their budding careers.

With that being said, how will Root Sports look?

All of the broadcast teams will be kept because either Root Sports retained them or they were already team employees — the names you’ve come to recognize over the years like Bill Worrell, Clyde Drexler, Matt Bullard, Bill Brown, Alan Ashby and Geoff Blum aren’t going anywhere.

AT&T/DirecTV will cling to three CSN Houston on-air reporters in Kevin Eschenfelder and Bart Enis as well as Astros’ field reporter Julia Morales.

September 6, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Astros field reporter Julia Morales before the game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Astros 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Eschenfelder will go from hosting his own prime-time sports show — SportsTalk Live — to going back to juggling a multitude of duties as he has done over the years as our regional sports coverage would change hands.

Remember HSE and Prime Sports Houston back in the day?

Kevin Esch was there and was doing jobs that would normally be segmented over several people.

It makes business sense for that company to retain him.

I’m actually convinced that he can operate the camera from the front while he’s delivering the news as well. No need for a cameraman — ha!

Most of the game production crew from CSN Houston will be carried over as well because that’s all Root Sports really does — it will be a shell of its predecessor. Pre-game show, post-game show, the actual telecast of the game and that’s it.

So when will we all get to see our teams once again?

Apr 30, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; A Houston Rockets fan yells at an official during the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers in game five of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports

Well, CSN Houston has been operating on a shoestring budget since the layoffs severely limiting the coverage to the game cast itself and has scheduled games to air on the channel through Nov. 9.

That would sound about right because it’s going to take that long to get the new network up and running.

According to my calculations, that would mean that the last game on CSN Houston would be a home game against the Golden State Warriors and the first Root Sports broadcast to be the Nov. 12 global game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Mexico City.

Perfect fit.

We shall see, so keep your eyes peeled — it’s only a matter of days before the shackles of the blackout will be taken off fans and we all can be happy knowing that we can once again see our favorite sports teams from just about anywhere in the Houston area.

R.I.P. CSN Houston, hello Root Sports Houston…