Phillies fans may have wanted to miss the baseball team's most recent late-season collapse, but if you live in a college house, it is not like you had a choice.
Comcast SportsNet, the premier network for all things Philadelphia sports, is currently not offered to anyone living in a college house at Penn.
That means no Ryan Howard home runs, no Allen Iverson crossovers and no Michael Barkann yelling "Johnny Marsh!" on Daily News Live.
While the technical reasons behind not having the channel are complicated and intricate, it all comes down to one primary problem: CSN is provided by Comcast Cable.
"It is a problem with the way that we are offered," a CSN spokesperson said. "It's how our signal is transmitted. [Other companies] have to come and pick up our signal."
All cable on Penn's campus goes through Penn's own provider, the Penn Video Network. At this time, PVN is unable to make the necessary upgrades to pick up Comcast's signal.
"We acquire all of our signals via satellite and not by connection to any outside cable or fiber plant," PVN IT Project Leader Mayumi Hirtzel said.
PVN's Web site has an entire question on its FAQ page devoted to the issue.
"We are very aware of the strong interest many residents have for Comcast SportsNet," the site says. "Unfortunately, we cannot offer CSN at this time."
PVN seems to be optimistic, however.
"Anything is possible. New technological advancements and changes - such as the analog changeover scheduled for 2009 - could have a bearing on what happens to PVN's channel lineup," said Hirtzel.
Meanwhile, it seems as though Comcast has acknowledged the fact that it is losing potential viewers not only at Penn, but nationwide.
"We are the most highly demanded network in [the Comcast] family," the CSN spokesperson said.
Many find it outrageous that one could live in the middle of Philadelphia and not be able to view major local sporting events.
Fisher-Hassenfeld College House resident Ben Yucha, a College freshman and lifelong Phillies fan, agrees.
"I think it is a shame that you cannot watch the Phillies in the heart of Philadelphia, yet you can watch back-to-back episodes of the Coach Bagnoli show," he said, referring to a program that the Quest Network airs frequently.
However, it is fair to say that some people feel indifferent about having CSN at Penn. Many people are not interested in sports or are fans of different teams. College freshman and Ware resident Kiley Hart is one example.
"I don't follow sports, and I don't have a TV. I am not personally invested in this issue," Hart said.
But passionate sports fans feel that their demographic should not be ignored.
To add insult to injury, the lack of sports television seems to be a problem primarily limited to Penn. Other local schools have drastically different cable services.
Villanova, for example, has a contract with Comcast Cable and receives CSN along with it.
Other schools, like Drexel, have relationships with other major cable companies. Drexel has an agreement with Time Warner Cable.
So why does Penn have its own cable network?
"PVN, in its original incarnation, was designed as an academic video network," Hirtzel said. "What would become the PVN began during the ResNet wiring project of the early 1990s."
PVN soon became the source of cable television at Penn. This was during a period of strong competition in the cable market. For many years, Philadelphia was controlled by several major cable companies. But in recent years, Comcast has become the dominant cable force.
This past summer, City Council approved a proposal that allowed Comcast Cable to take over the remaining areas of Philadelphia. This includes West Philadelphia and, with it, Penn.
However, PVN officials are remaining optimistic that the Council's decision will not directly affect their company.
"I am not aware that the City Council's decision to allow Comcast to expand will have any bearing on how PVN receives or distributes our cable signal," Hirtzel said.
While the true ramifications of Council's decision are not yet known, it is unlikely that University residents will be seeing CSN anytime soon.
And should Comcast somehow gain control over Penn's cable, it would be months before programming changes are effected.
If PVN maintains control over Penn's cable, which is most likely, it would have to agree to make the changes necessary to receive the network. And that is something it has not shown an intention of doing.
Either way, it looks like Penn students will have to dish out big money to go see Ryan Howard and Allen Iverson live.
Michael Barkann and John Marzano will just have to wait.
