MLB Extra Innings has their free preview from April 6th through April 12th this season, so if you want to watch the extra games, you get them for nothing the first week. This is particularly good if you have a team playing out of the time zone early in the season, or get crappy weather impacting your local team. Shitty thing is they raised the early bird/renewal price by $10. You'd think they'd be holding steady in this economy, but it still is only a buck a day during the season if you break it down that way.
I'm personally still debating whether or not I'll purchase the Extra Innings package this year. The main consideration is, of course, the economy. But an additional consideration this year is the launch of the MLB Network. Since they'll be running a studio highlight show every evening until the last out of the last game, it may be just as entertaining to follow the action via the MLB Network as it would be to view individual game broadcasts live. Factor in the savings, and I'm very tempted to pass on the Extra Innings package this year.
"Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." - Isaiah 58:7 (New Living Translation)
I get the MLB.tv package, the basic, for around $80/season. Watching the games on my laptop is a plus, as my fiance is not a baseball fan. This way, the TV is free, and I can have it to the side and follow the games on mute if I want to follow the games while other things are going on. It's a cheaper option, and if you travel with a laptop, it sure is handy.
There are blackout restrictions with the online as well as the cable package though, as I've learned to my chagrin. Central NC is apparently an Orioles market, so they black out most of the Yanks/Orioles games around here (well, most of the Orioles games period, but I concern myself with the 19 they play against my Yankees). That, coupled with our local cable company, Time Warner, not having an agreement in place to carry MASN (newsobserver.com) (O's/Nats), really eats it in years like this where the first three games for the Yankees are in Baltimore.
If you lived closer to the TN border, you'd be out of WAS/BAL range.
It seems odd to me that our teams "area" would extend so far south. I guess it's because there is such a big baseball void between here and Atlanta.
(edited by Zeruel on 7.4.09 0832)
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year --
"I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." � George W. Bush - June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.
I like how the purpose of blackouts is to get people to go to the stadium instead of watching it on tv, yet MLB insists on putting everyone in some blackout region. I don't think the blackout is going to get people from Jackson, Mississippi to go to a Braves game. And I like how people from Iowa are screwed out of 6 different teams.
The NFL blackout rules make much more sense, in my opinion.
Originally posted by Mr. BoffoI like how the purpose of blackouts is to get people to go to the stadium instead of watching it on TV, yet MLB insists on putting everyone in some blackout region. I don't think the blackout is going to get people from Jackson, Mississippi to go to a Braves game. And I like how people from Iowa are screwed out of 6 different teams.
The NFL blackout rules make much more sense, in my opinion.
Actually, getting people out to the ballpark is only part of the rationale behind MLB's blackout rules. Unlike the NFL, local television broadcasts of regular season games are a major source of revenue for MLB teams. What the blackout rules do is grant local broadcasting rights in every area of the country to specific teams, so that if you want to watch, say, an Atlanta Braves game on TV in Jackson, Miss, you have to tune into whichever local station/cable outlet is broadcasting the game in that area.
I do want to make it clear, however, that while I understand the thinking behind MLB's blackout rules, I do not agree with them. To stay with our example, the reality is that it's unlikely that more than a handful of Braves games (if any) are going to be broadcast by the Fox Sports station (or whoever holds the broadcast rights) in Jackson, Miss, which means that, rather than having to watch the games on a local station, Braves fans in that area just won't be able to see the games at all. I know the situation is similar here in Middle Tennessee with regards to Reds games; only about a dozen Reds games will be shown on the Fox Sports station in Nashville, but because of MLB's blackout rules, anyone here wanting to follow the Reds will have no way of watching the team's other 150 regular season games. It's just a horrible, horrible system; and, while it pains me to say this, I don't see it getting fixed without the U.S. Congress getting involved (which, by the way, was what it took to get the NFL blackout rules to where they are today).
"Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." - Isaiah 58:7 (New Living Translation)
Originally posted by odessasteps It also stinks when you want to see a team (Padres, Phillies) who have a tv package that isn't part of the Extra Innings program at all.
Unless they backed out after last season, the Phillies have had their feed shown since September '07. Padres are weird. Sometimes you get the Cox broadcast from them, but most of the time you just get the opponents broadcast.
Originally posted by odessasteps It also stinks when you want to see a team (Padres, Phillies) who have a tv package that isn't part of the Extra Innings program at all.
Unless they backed out after last season, the Phillies have had their feed shown since September '07. Padres are weird. Sometimes you get the Cox broadcast from them, but most of the time you just get the opponents broadcast.
I haven't had Extra Innings for a few years, and that was when Comcast blacked out the Phillies games.
MLB Network also played a big part in ending my subscription. I had Extra Innings from 2003 up through last year, but I'm backing out for this season. Over the last two years, I've found that only time I REALLY got psyched up to watch was during Opening Week. But since that's free (annually), I'll save myself the fee.
It's a cool novelty, as I love watching the local commercials ("Save big money at Menard's!!") But I'm also backing out for superstitious reasons. I've been signing up primarily to watch Pirates games, and they've continued to stink it up over the years. So, by NOT subscribing, I'm hoping they'll break .500 this year. If, by any chance, they happen to contend, then I'll feel alright about signing up after the All-Star Break (although I think Extra Innings usually runs a free preview around that time, as well).
If the Cox broadcast of the Padres was available I think we would be thinking a lot harder about getting the package... it REALLY sucks to get almost all games with the opposition's commentators. I miss Matty! I miss crazy "HockeySUIT!" calls. I don't miss it quite as much as California Burritos, but it is up there.
I hadn't thought about affecting local TV viewership, but I don't see why they can't do it the same way DirecTV does the NFL Sunday Ticket package, i.e. it's only blacked out if it's airing on your local FOX or CBS station.
I know baseball is a little more complicated because they don't always broadcast all games on the same channel, but it seems doable. Am I living in an area that has FOX Sports Wisconsin? No, then I should be able to see Brewers games. Here's a list of what channel(s) each team airs their games on, by the way. I'm bored.
ALL TEAMS-FOX, ESPN, MLBN Atlanta Braves-SportsSouth, Fox Sports South, WPCH, TBS Arizona Diamondbacks-Fox Sports Arizona Baltimore Orioles-Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Boston Red Sox-New England Sports Network Chicago Cubs-WGN, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WCIU Chicago White Sox-Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WGN, WCIU Cincinnati Reds-Fox Sports Ohio Cleveland Indians-SportsTime Ohio, WKYC Colorado Rockies-Fox Sports Rocky Mountain Detroit Tigers-Fox Sports Detroit Florida Marlins-Fox Sports Florida, TBS, Sun Sports Houston Astros-Fox Sports Houston, KTXH Kansas City Royals-Fox Sports Kansas City Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-KCOP, PRIME TICKET, Fox Sports West Los Angeles Dodgers-PRIME TICKET, KCAL Milwaukee Brewers-Fox Sports Wisconsin, WMLW Minnesota Twins-Fox Sports North, WFTC New York Mets-SportsNet New York, WPIX, TBS New York Yankees-Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network, WWOR Oakland Athletics-Comcast SportsNet California Philadelphia Phillies-Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Comcast Network Philadelphia, WPHL Pittsburgh Pirates-Fox Sports Pittsburgh St. Louis Cardinals-Fox Sports Midwest, KSDK San Diego Padres-4SD (cable-only Cox Communications channel) San Francisco Giants-Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, KNTV Seattle Mariners-Fox Sports Northwest Tampa Bay Rays-Fox Sports Florida, Sun Sports Texas Rangers-Fox Sports Southwest, KDFI Toronto Blue Jays-Rogers Sportsnet, The Sports Network Washington Nationals-Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Originally posted by Mr. BoffoChicago Cubs-WGN, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WCIU
I get ONE of those stations here in Oconomowoc, yet all Cubs games broadcast on any of them mean an ESPN broadcast is blacked out here.
Zeruel - Where'd that map come from regarding the blackouts (I don't mean website, what was the source of its creation)? It doesn't match the ZIP Codes that I've found on MLB.com in the past.
Zeruel - Where'd that map come from regarding the blackouts (I don't mean website, what was the source of its creation)? It doesn't match the ZIP Codes that I've found on MLB.com in the past.
That guy's blog from 2006. It was the only map I could find for some reason.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year --
"I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." George W. Bush - June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.
Or maybe he just realized he was never going to get $35M/year from anyone. The only teams that could dish that out were unwilling, had no obvious place for him, or were the Yankees.