Possibly some progress on the stupid blackout restrictions

[inari]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoLnF9bEGWSwMlSsRi_iFXkRvLYF?slug=jp-blackouts050207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Possible progress on blackout issue

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports

May 2, 2007

 

Jeff Passan

Yahoo! Sports

 

Now is the time to right a wrong. Though sometimes I wonder if that is asking too much of Major League Baseball.

 

For the amount of hand-wringing it took to settle the Extra Innings-DirecTV brouhaha, I cringe to think how baseball will try to remedy a problem that affects millions of fans instead of thousands: The frustrating – and unnecessary – television blackouts.

 

 

As an Iowan, I really hope they get something done. I do get the Cubs here, but I'd love to watch some other midwest teams on MLB.tv.[/b]

 

(Edited by moderator for copyrighted material--posting entire article is against NSBB policy.)

[bhogg]

I'd volunteer to have all Yankee and Red Sox games blacked out in my area.

 

Seriously, it's good that they are trying to do something. Lord knows the blackout rules are dumb as dog crap.

[Guest]

Agreed. Had I realized every A's game would be blacked out I probably wouldn't have ordered EI. Its completely ridiculous.

[flynnhicks03]

I live in Des Moines, but since I have Directv with CSN, CSN+, and WGN, I don't have any problems with Cubs' games. However our local sports radio guys complain daily about how many games are blacked out in our area for the Extra Innings package. I would be furious if I bought that and all the Midwest teams were blacked out. Seems silly to me. If you pay for the package you should get every game, no matter what.

[circlecitycub]

Indianapolis is another blakc hole when it comes to mlb games. Cubs, Cards , Reds, and ChiSox are all blacked out here. I really hate it. I hope they change it.

[SouthSideRyan]

Jerry Reinsdorf is not a nice person, this isn't getting done.

[OleMissCub]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

[Bixby]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

 

 

I'm in Tulsa and I'm blacked out of Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Astros games. Should be considered a crime.

[jacey]

Wonder where we could find a link to what are considered black out areas based on where we live?

[Soul]

Wonder where we could find a link to what are considered black out areas based on where we live?

 

It wouldn't do any good. There was a zip code list posted before, and it was completely inaccurate. I can't tell you the frustration of sitting on the phone trying to figure out why my zip wasn't on the list but I was still being blacked out; the operator insisting I wasn't blacked out when I was.

 

Christ, it was like taking a sledgehammer to your head. Don't waste your time and brain cells.

[tulsacubfan]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

 

 

I'm in Tulsa and I'm blacked out of Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Astros games. Should be considered a crime.

 

While I agree the blackouts are ridiculous - I "understand" the Cardinals, Rangers and Astros in Tulsa. But Royals? I haven't seen a Royals game on Cox Cable in years! Am I mising something here?

[OleMissCub]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

 

 

I'm in Tulsa and I'm blacked out of Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Astros games. Should be considered a crime.

 

But surely you get to see Cardinals and Rangers games on your FSN channels, right?

 

The only team I get on FSN is the Braves on FSN South

[jersey cubs fan]

I get pissed when I'm forced to sit through Yankees and Mets games every Saturday (or Philly when I'm down the shore). Although I guess in the long run that's a good thing, because then I spend more time outside. But then again, that just means more time in the sun, which in the really long run could kill me.

 

But anyway, I guess I don't have it too bad compared to those who live in the tweener cities/states.

[texascub]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

 

 

I'm in Tulsa and I'm blacked out of Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Astros games. Should be considered a crime.

 

But surely you get to see Cardinals and Rangers games on your FSN channels, right?

 

The only team I get on FSN is the Braves on FSN South

 

In Oklahoma he's probably got FSN Southwest which gets you Astros and Rangers (more of the Astros than anything else though, unfortunately).

[tulsacubfan]

MLB.tv is worse. I'm blacked out of all games involving the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates, and I'm in Mississippi. That certainly makes sense...

 

 

I'm in Tulsa and I'm blacked out of Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Astros games. Should be considered a crime.

 

But surely you get to see Cardinals and Rangers games on your FSN channels, right?

 

The only team I get on FSN is the Braves on FSN South

 

In Oklahoma he's probably got FSN Southwest which gets you Astros and Rangers (more of the Astros than anything else though, unfortunately).

 

Yes we get FSN Southwest. Cox Cable also shows a majority of the Cardinals games and a lot of the Rangers games (that are not on FSN) on a couple local access channels.

[10man]

I live in Manila and nothing is blacked out :wink:

[NCCubFan]

To me the only acceptable progress on blackout rules is to get rid of the inexcusable Saturday blackout for Fox.

[TruffleShuffle]

what the crap is the deal with me having to get a "premium pass" to watch some footage on there? I tried to watch highlights from Wednesday's game, and got the message that I had to pay $30 more. MLB.tv is like a crack whore... give them money and they just want more.

[Bergy92]

No more. Most teams distribute their games on television through regional sports networks, like the Kansas City Royals with Royals Sports Television Network. The Royals' situation is a good example of how asinine the blackout rules can be. They have the fifth-largest blackout area, covering all of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of Missouri. Fans in those states whose cable or satellite providers do not carry RSTN will be blacked out from every Royals game.

 

For a franchise mired in a decade-long struggle, limiting the availability of the product seems counterintuitive to developing a fan base outside of the Kansas City metro area.

 

"You build a following by exposing an area to a team where they get to know the players," Royals owner David Glass said. "If you never, ever get to watch them, you wouldn't be as inclined to go and see them. I'm glad it's coming up, and I'm glad we're going to discuss it."

 

When DuPuy was in Kansas City last week, he and Glass discussed the blackout issue. Glass told DuPuy he had received a number of complaints from fans, and DuPuy relayed the same. At the All-Star break last year, Selig said he, too, had heard plenty of feedback – and had been a blackout victim at times as well.

 

 

I have been saying this for some time. I live in central Kansas and our provider does not have the RSTN and so my kids can never see a Royals game. It simply does not make sense. And they wonder why there are no fans that show up in the stands...Could it be that they have not done anything worthwile to develop the future fans.

 

I guess my kids are Cubs fans by default, because that is all I talk about. But if they were to be able to watch Royals games often, could they not learn to like them. That is how I became a Cubs fan when I was a kid - watching WGN everyday to see baseball. It is depriving my children of having that same opportunity that I have and it is stupid!

 

Maybe that should be a RANT!

[jersey cubs fan]

I guess my kids are Cubs fans by default, because that is all I talk about. But if they were to be able to watch Royals games often, could they not learn to like them. That is how I became a Cubs fan when I was a kid - watching WGN everyday to see baseball. It is depriving my children of having that same opportunity that I have and it is stupid!

 

Maybe that should be a RANT!

 

Or perhaps you should consider yourself lucky by not exposing the kids to the potential pain of being both a Cubs and Royals fan.

[soccer10k]

I live in Manila and nothing is blacked out :wink:

 

Well that's certainly one way around the blackout rules.

[cjbucks]

I live in Iowa - for those of you not familiar with my state I live 2 miles from the Field of Dreams - we also have no major leauge teams. Yet I believe we lead the league in blackouts. On EI we can't watch Cubs, Sox, Twins, Cardinals or Royals games - yet the closest major league team to me we can watch, the Brew crew. Ridiculous.

[Fro]

I live about 70 miles from Cincy, just out of the market of the Cincy TV stations, and we didn't get any Reds games at all here.

 

When Fox Sports Midwest started (the bizarre pairing of St. Louis and Indy) they didn't show any baseball at all in Indiana until they started showing some of the Reds games last year.

 

Thusly, I'm a Cubs fan, and so is most of Indiana now.