When the Behind the Vegas Ice television show was first announced it was dubbed a docu-drama, not a documentary. I wondered what that meant, but after watching Episode 2, I now know.

Late in the episode there is a scene discussing the trademark denial and how the organization is handling the issue. Feel free to judge for yourself, but despite the team claiming otherwise, to my untrained eye, the scene is staged, and possibly even scripted.

**Video from Behind The Vegas Ice, Episode 2. Aired by Cox Communications, Produced by Levy Productions. In conjunction with Vegas Golden Knights.**
**For full clip go to BehindtheVegasIce.com, Episode 2, start at 23:11.**

(Camera pointed at an empty door, enter Kerry Bubolz, Vegas Golden Knights Team President. Enters into the office of Peter Sadowski, Chief Legal Advisor, sitting behind a cluttered desk and a pair of computer screens.)

BUBOLZ

Hey Peter, normally I’d say happy Friday, but I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest version of the Review Journal here, but the sports section… this thing is not going to go away.

(Bubolz sits down a copy of the RJ with the headline “Amateur hour needs to end in Las Vegas”) [Here is that article]

SADOWSKI

Well, we’ll just have to defend our name, and I’m really confident we’ll keep it.

(The scene continues into a game of Sadowski quizzing Bubolz on professional team names that are shared with collegiate ones. Chicago/Baylor Bears. Philadelphia/Boston College Eagles. On and on they go, playing the game.)

SADOWSKI

The one I really like, the Grizzlies, Memphis Grizzlies

(Sadowski removes his glasses, cracks a wry smile)

SADOWSKI

University of Montana.

SADOWSKI

This is not going to go anywhere, and once we respond to the trademark office, and we’ll make a nice response quickly, this will get resolved. It’s not something we should worry about.

BUBOLZ

Ok, then I’ll get with the business team and let them know that it’s business as usual, and we’ll start getting ready for next October.

(End Scene)

The official word from the team.

We are pleased with the passionate fan response to Behind the Vegas Ice. While docudramas do allow for reenactments of actual events, this was not one of them. It was a real-time conversation that occurred between our team president and chief legal counsel. With each episode, we will continue to show the inner workings of our organization, on both the hockey operations side and the business side. -Nehme Abouzeid, Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer

That was a real-time conversation? I guess I could be wrong, but to me, that sure looked like a staged conversation to me. It definitely wasn’t behind the scenes, it was just a scene and it was a clear attempt to control the message about the situation, right smack in the middle of what everyone watching thought was a real life documentary about the creation of a real life hockey team. To be fair, there is a part of this that’s on us, they did call it a docu-drama, but it was being mascaraed as something completely different.

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Tomorrow night marks the first air date of the second episode of Behind The Vegas Ice, the documentary series chronicling the genesis of the Golden Knights.

The first episode went through the early stages when hockey in Vegas was just a pipe dream to when the team was finally announced. Tomorrow’s is titled “Making A Name for Itself” and its focus is on the ever scrutinized naming of the team.

Photo Courtesy: Cox Communications

The focus of the show is likely to be on the process of naming the team, but a press release about the episode also highlighted the Practice Facility groundbreaking and one other thing, which I think most readers of this site will find particularly interesting.

In “Making a Name for Itself” the yet-to-be-named Las Vegas NHL team celebrates the groundbreaking of their practice facility in Summerlin with Golden Knights’ owner Bill Foley and community leaders in attendance. Unveiling of the team name and logo during a grand celebration front of T-Mobile Arena. The team’s chief legal counsel provides insight into dealings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. -Cox Communications Press Release

That’s right, they are actually going to tackle the trademark issues and show behind the scenes of what went on the night the news broke, and ironically the night Episode 1 premiered.

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**CLICK THIS TO SEND AN EMAIL TO COX ASKING FOR THE LOCATION RESTRICTIONS TO BE LIFTED**

UPDATE (12/15/16 11:49 AM) – Cox has issued a statement on the restrictions not allowing fans outside of 50 miles of Las Vegas’ inability to watch the show. 

Cox is thrilled by the positive reaction of hockey fans after their viewing of the first episode of Behind the Vegas Ice. We are currently looking at options to expand the viewing availability of the docudrama series beyond the metropolitan Las Vegas area. -Mike Parisi, VP of Cox Media Las Vegas

ORIGINAL STORY – One week ago today Cox Communications, in conjunction with Levy Productions, partnering with the Vegas Golden Knights (sorry, had a Peter Griffin moment there), premiered the first episode of a ten-part documentary series called Behind The Vegas Ice.
At Born and Raised with members of the organization, I watched the episode and have to say it was incredibly well done. Mostly a recap of what loyal SinBin.vegas readers already know, but it gave us a taste of what type of access the camera crew will have, and it’s certainly going to be can’t miss stuff moving forward.

That’s the good news. But unfortunately, the show being so good is also bad news.

Behind The Vegas Ice aired on Cox channel 1096 and could be streamed online at Cox96.com. It has since re-aired multiple times and it’s available for streaming right now if you click here… assuming you fall within their guidelines.

That’s where the problem comes in. On TV, only current Cox subscribers are able to watch the show. On the web, only if they are within 50 miles of Las Vegas can view the episode.

So you up in Reno, and you over in Phoenix, and you down in New Orleans, you’re all SOL.

That’s a problem, and one that quite frankly in inconsistent with the vision of the Vegas Golden Knights organization. The Creator has all along claimed he wants this team to be loved be everyone, all across the world. He’s attempting to create an international brand, and some even believed certain hirings were made to cultivate the thirst for Vegas NHL hockey in China.

But now, when presented with an enjoyable TV show which shows the behind the scenes of what’s expected to become their new favorite team, fans outside of an arms length of Clark County are told, this one’s not for you.

In this case, it was not a decision by the Vegas Golden Knights, but instead by the provider of the content, Cox. This is where you come in. I’ve talked to the people over at Cox, and told them why I believe it should be available world wide, but my voice is petty as a Cox subscriber and someone who ate free fried mac and cheese balls while watching the premier on a 150 inch screen with team CMO Nehme Abouzeid.

However, I’ve done the work for you to make sure you, non-Vegas local, have your voice heard by the folks over at Cox in hopes of them changing their minds. CLICK THIS TO SEND AN EMAIL ASKING FOR THE RESTRICTIONS TO BE LIFTED (Don’t be a jackass, make sure you change the name and location on the bottom.)

There’s strength in numbers and I hope they receive hundreds of emails from fans who want to see the show but can’t. And if you have the time and the passion, write your own comment down below, and I’ll send all of them in an email as well.

The next episode doesn’t air until the first week of January. We’ve got time to get this turned around. Let’s stand up together and make this happen!

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In case your computer doesn’t work, here’s the layout of the email so you can just cut and paste. Please send it to me as well so I can see have an accurate number of how many were sent.

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