Blackout issues to be addressed

[mul21]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AiY3JjKi7lpDYaTtKEty4jwRvLYF?slug=jp-blackouts040608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Sounds like Bob Sanders may actually get to watch a few games now if he gets the EI package.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Dear MLB,

 

Don't blackout any baseball games ever.

 

 

Sincerely,

People everywhere who don't want to pay a couple hundy to watch out of market games during the season

[Clem Fandango]

at least they recognize that it is a problem. The whole blackouts on Saturday thing is a joke. If I live in Alabama, and I have EI, and I want to watch a game between Seattle and Oakland, but can't because Fox blacks out all the games, that's just dumb. I had MLB.tv last year and they blacked out all Devil Rays and Marlins games too. Blackouts are the dumbest thing ever.

[OleMissCub]

CINCINNATI Reds games are blacked out for me in MISSISSIPPI.

 

Enough said.

[Derwood]

apparently the Pirates are blacked out here

 

sometimes

[Soul]

CINCINNATI Reds games are blacked out for me in MISSISSIPPI.

 

Enough said.

 

That's just because MLB knows Mississippi sucks.

[bhogg]

all blackouts suck.

 

I've not read or heard one good reason to have any kind of blackout.

[Little Slide Rooter]

The best part is how the blackout started just before the Cubs 3 inning, and ended just before the Pirates 4th inning rally.

[David]

The best part is how the blackout started just before the Cubs 3 inning, and ended just before the Pirates 4th inning rally.

 

wat?

 

Is this a joke or are you totally misinterpreting the topic at hand?

[Soul]

The catalyst behind MLB’s sudden action is president Bob DuPuy, who at last year’s meetings took a hard-line stance on the blackouts. Aware of the outrage among baseball fans and torrent of letters pouring into MLB offices over an issue with a fairly painless remedy, DuPuy told the owners they had to stake legitimate claims to their territories or risk losing them.

 

Seriously, it's about damn time. People have only been complaining about it for nearly a decade (or whenever they started offering out-of-market broadcasts on a large scale).

[apete6]

all blackouts suck.

 

I've not read or heard one good reason to have any kind of blackout.

 

A good blackout after a night of drinking and taking home a "slumpbuster" is definitely a good thing, especially if she leaves before you wake up.

[CyHawk_Cub]

all blackouts suck.

 

I've not read or heard one good reason to have any kind of blackout.

 

A good blackout after a night of drinking and taking home a "slumpbuster" is definitely a good thing, especially if she leaves before you wake up.

 

Definitely...it saves you from having to chew off your arm to escape

[Derwood]

all blackouts suck.

 

I've not read or heard one good reason to have any kind of blackout.

 

advertising and their guaranteed territorial coverage

[Bixby]

The best part is how the blackout started just before the Cubs 3 inning, and ended just before the Pirates 4th inning rally.

 

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1951/monkeylol1oi4pw0pdna8.jpg

[Soul]

all blackouts suck.

 

I've not read or heard one good reason to have any kind of blackout.

 

advertising and their guaranteed territorial coverage

 

They think they are guaranteeing coverage because sports fans won't be able to tune into another game.

 

Yeah, this is why. But I think it's become more & more of an outmoded idea as the sports (and entertainment in general) landscape has evolved.

[CubbieBum]

The NFL blackouts if the regional team doesn't sell out for that weekend's game. I would assume MLB believes blackout will get more fans to go to the games as the NFL does.

[Soul]

This is a different kind of blackout though. Baseball teams don't black out their games even if only a couple hundred show up. They do ask MLB to black out weird zip codes and their own games on alternate sources though. It's kind of a strange web, and it's not intuitive -- which is why people complain.

 

The NFL is just like, "hey did you buy a ticket to this weekend's game? No? Then shut yer yap, nobody else did either which is why it isn't on."

[RynoHawk23]

I also don't like the network/local channel blackout. I have DirecTV HD, and WGN doesn't come in in HD here in Des Moines, so if the game is on ESPN - its blacked out because I am getting the game on WGN. I pay to have ESPNHD and WGN, so why am I not getting the programming. Makes no sense.

 

Maybe that's a new wrinkle that MLB will deal with as well.

[Derwood]

I also don't like the network/local channel blackout. I have DirecTV HD, and WGN doesn't come in in HD here in Des Moines, so if the game is on ESPN - its blacked out because I am getting the game on WGN. I pay to have ESPNHD and WGN, so why am I not getting the programming. Makes no sense.

 

Maybe that's a new wrinkle that MLB will deal with as well.

 

i've talked to DirecTV about it and they say it's 100% on MLB, and they (DTV) are just following the rules given to them

[crazycooter]

I also don't like the network/local channel blackout. I have DirecTV HD, and WGN doesn't come in in HD here in Des Moines, so if the game is on ESPN - its blacked out because I am getting the game on WGN. I pay to have ESPNHD and WGN, so why am I not getting the programming. Makes no sense.

 

Maybe that's a new wrinkle that MLB will deal with as well.

 

i've talked to DirecTV about it and they say it's 100% on MLB, and they (DTV) are just following the rules given to them

I did the same thing and got the same answer. The agent I talked to agreed to forward the complaint, but I doubt that will actually happen.

 

I live in KY so the Reds are the only team affected by the blackouts (except the Saturday Fox stuff) and I don't give a crap about watching them anyway. The way it works for Reds fans is VERY stupid, however. The local FSN in Cincy doesn't carry all of the Reds games. As far as I know several of their games go un-televised in their local market. I looked at their schedule a while back and I think I counted five games this month that weren't scheduled to be shown in Cincy. So, MLB could market EI to Reds fans (and other small market fans as well I am sure) as a way to see all of their team's games since all of them are carried by the other team's TV network. Of course, they choose to black the games out instead. Makes absolutely no sense, IMO.

[Derwood]

I also don't like the network/local channel blackout. I have DirecTV HD, and WGN doesn't come in in HD here in Des Moines, so if the game is on ESPN - its blacked out because I am getting the game on WGN. I pay to have ESPNHD and WGN, so why am I not getting the programming. Makes no sense.

 

Maybe that's a new wrinkle that MLB will deal with as well.

 

i've talked to DirecTV about it and they say it's 100% on MLB, and they (DTV) are just following the rules given to them

I did the same thing and got the same answer. The agent I talked to agreed to forward the complaint, but I doubt that will actually happen.

 

I live in KY so the Reds are the only team affected by the blackouts (except the Saturday Fox stuff) and I don't give a crap about watching them anyway. The way it works for Reds fans is VERY stupid, however. The local FSN in Cincy doesn't carry all of the Reds games. As far as I know several of their games go un-televised in their local market. I looked at their schedule a while back and I think I counted five games this month that weren't scheduled to be shown in Cincy. So, MLB could market EI to Reds fans (and other small market fans as well I am sure) as a way to see all of their team's games since all of them are carried by the other team's TV network. Of course, they choose to black the games out instead. Makes absolutely no sense, IMO.

 

i believe FSN-Pittsburgh only showed 110 Pirates games last year, meaning 52 couldn't be seen by anyone, EI or not

[mul21]

I also don't like the network/local channel blackout. I have DirecTV HD, and WGN doesn't come in in HD here in Des Moines, so if the game is on ESPN - its blacked out because I am getting the game on WGN. I pay to have ESPNHD and WGN, so why am I not getting the programming. Makes no sense.

 

Maybe that's a new wrinkle that MLB will deal with as well.

 

i've talked to DirecTV about it and they say it's 100% on MLB, and they (DTV) are just following the rules given to them

I did the same thing and got the same answer. The agent I talked to agreed to forward the complaint, but I doubt that will actually happen.

 

I live in KY so the Reds are the only team affected by the blackouts (except the Saturday Fox stuff) and I don't give a crap about watching them anyway. The way it works for Reds fans is VERY stupid, however. The local FSN in Cincy doesn't carry all of the Reds games. As far as I know several of their games go un-televised in their local market. I looked at their schedule a while back and I think I counted five games this month that weren't scheduled to be shown in Cincy. So, MLB could market EI to Reds fans (and other small market fans as well I am sure) as a way to see all of their team's games since all of them are carried by the other team's TV network. Of course, they choose to black the games out instead. Makes absolutely no sense, IMO.

 

i believe FSN-Pittsburgh only showed 110 Pirates games last year, meaning 52 couldn't be seen by anyone, EI or not

 

Wouldn't you be able to see them on the other teams broadcast on EI? In that case, would the EI games be blacked out in Pittsburgh even though it wasn't being broadcast locally?

[jersey cubs fan]

Wouldn't you be able to see them on the other teams broadcast on EI? In that case, would the EI games be blacked out in Pittsburgh even though it wasn't being broadcast locally?

 

When the Cubs play on WCIU, or whatever weird station that is, and Pittsburgh doesn't broadcast the game, it hasn't been on EI in the past.

[Derwood]

Wouldn't you be able to see them on the other teams broadcast on EI? In that case, would the EI games be blacked out in Pittsburgh even though it wasn't being broadcast locally?

 

When the Cubs play on WCIU, or whatever weird station that is, and Pittsburgh doesn't broadcast the game, it hasn't been on EI in the past.

 

correct. all 162 Pirates games were blacked out for me (in PA) despite the fact that 50 of them weren't available locally.

 

speaking of which, i'm curious to see if tonight's game is blacked out for me. the game on Monday was, but that might have been because it was on WGN. we'll see.

[Soul]

I think one of the important things here is that *somebody* has been listening to all the complaints, so keep complaining :)