1
2009
An Open Letter To Major League Baseball
An article by Former Writers
Dear Bud Selig, Jimmy Lee Solomon, and all other MLB Suits:
Modern technology has come a long way in recent years, and with it cable television offers us better entertainment options such as On Demand and premium sports packages. Your MLB package is one such premium option. I grew up on Long Island a diehard Mets fan, and still am a diehard Mets fan. But I went through a few years of limited access to my team when I moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1992 and then to Nashville 2003. The MLB package has been around for a while, but it wasn’t until last season that I thought I would get my money’s worth, because my wife and I had a baby boy in 2007 and we sure were going to be home on the couch in the evenings a lot more than before.
So in 2008, I took the plunge, and felt like a re-born New Yorker. Not only were many of the Mets’ games on the package the feed from SNY with the great Gary Cohen as well as the insightful Ron Darling and the less-than-enthused-most-of-the-time-unless-he’s-talking-about-himself Keith Hernandez, but I even got all those great Giuseppe Franco commercials. You know, he doesn’t own the company….he doesn’t own anything about it! But I digress. My connection to New York grew even more the last few seasons when I realized I could listen to WFAN online as I work. What a country, right?
Well, here is my only beef with you guys. When my Mets play the Braves or Reds, there is a wonderful blackout rule that your company has imposed. Since Atlanta and Cincinnati are what you call driving distance to Nashville (each is 4 hours away), I do not get any Mets’ games played in those cities, because you want me to drive to the games instead. Yeah, like that’s realistic. I don’t mind a weekend trip once in a while, but not when those games are during the week, and not every series. But it gets worse. The Reds’ and Braves’ road games are not shown either, so not only do I not get the games at Shea when the Mets play those teams, but if I’m up late and for some strange reason want to watch the Reds or Braves play in Dodger stadium, surprise–that is blacked out too! Tell me, please…who is so lazy that they can’t at least lift that part of the rule? Is it MLB or Comcast? Regardless, it’s beyond stupid.
So a few days ago, I called Comcast to order the 2009 MLB package. I want my Mets and I want them now. And I thought I read that the blackout rule would be lifted because of something to do with the new MLB Network. But I was wrong. The dude who took my order wanted to make sure I understood the blackout rule. That was at least better than last season when I was caught completely by surprise. But regardless, it’s still there, and I’m not happy about it.
Sincerely,
Mikey J. a.k.a. Blacked Out in Nashville
P.S. Still, I am looking forward to this season as the Mets look to overcome the pesky Phillies and get back to the World Series for the first time in almost a decade. Now, If only I could order some New York potato salad online…..
About the Author: Former Writers
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I’m in a similar situation. I live in Tallahassee, FL, which is in the panhandle for those of you who aren’t college football fans, but grew up a die-hard Mets fan (born on Long Island). ALL Florida Marlins (and Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays) games are blacked out, despite Miami being an 8-hour drive from Tallahassee. So, I missed Johan’s Met debut (at Dolphin Stadium) AND I missed the Shea Goodbye. Here’s how the Final Game at Shea went down:
-FSN Florida had exclusive in-state broadcast rights to the game, so the TBS feed was blacked out across the state.
-FSN Florida does not operate as a one-region station (most Florida Panthers games are not shown in Tallahassee, for example, when south Florida shows about 70-80 of them), so FSN Flordia – Tallahassee opted to show FSU Women’s Soccer over the Marlins/Mets.
-Because of the FSN exclusivity in the entire state, the game was blacked out on my MLB Extra Innings package.
3 strikes, and I couldn’t see a single one of them. Thankfully, there were a bunch of people in the MMO chat room during the game, and they kept me posted constantly. I had 3 different ways of watching the game, all of which I payed a premium to get (cable, digital cable/MLB X.I. pkg), and wound up reading people’s comments on the game instead.
These blackout rules are based on the assumption that everyone within the state can view games of the in-state team on their normal broadcast, but that’s false. It also assumes that anyone within a 4-hour or 5-hour radius can see the normal broadcast, or go to the games, but THAT’S false. What I can’t understand is how I can be blacked out from the Florida Marlins’ games (8-hour drive), but I get every Atlanta Braves game (Atlanta is less than a 5-hour drive)?…not that I’m complaining about not being blacked out of Braves games.
i agree with you both.
i’m living in concord NC near charlotte and i too was born on long island and am a die hard mets fan. i’m with direct tv and if its not a blackout or a rain storm i’ll get the game. I missed maybe 10-20 games last year due to it being locally on tv in ny or blackout so i have to resort to watching it on espn.com gamecast is pretty slow but atleast i can go and look at the lineups and see where the ball was hit. Its lame and if i could i’d still be in ny going to games. I make one a year in august when i’m on vacation. i get every braves game also and might i add that the marlins, nationals, and braves announcers are the worst in the biz. i could care less how much you don’t like the mets and when i hear “we need a hit here” it really makes me mad because they aren’t employed by the nationals and its not their team either. Keep your bias for the commercial breaks
the MLB blackout rules – both online and for Extra Innings – have beend F’d up for years. It keeps coming up in the owners meetings, and nothing gets changed.
Online, I believe you get a choice of which broadcast you can see, except when it’s blacked out.
You could live in Las Vegas and get blacked out for 6 teams, none of which you could go see without probably having to spend a night (away) somewhere.
Hey you could be like me living in CT and have absolutely no way to see games except on Wtxx once a week if I am lucky. Otherwise Espn, Mlb network, and Premium package games get blacked out. Cox sucks
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
PAT, I LIVE IN MATTHEWS,NC & CERTAINLY FEEL YR PAIN. I FIRST CONTRACTED FOR XTRAINNINGS UNDER TWC AND WAS BLACKED OUT OF ALL NATS, REDS GAMES. WHEN TWC WAS DOING IT’S MAYBE DANCE ON CARRYING THE PKG, I CALLED DIRECT-TV & GOT THE HARDWARE BOLTED ON MY HOUSE, TO MY WIFE’S CONSTERNATION. AS A MET FAN, SIMCE DAY 1,’62 I’VE LIVED IN NJ,DE,GA,NJ,CA,NC & MUST SAY, I WASN’T TOO DISCOMODED BY ALL THIS BS UNTIL RUPPERT MURDOCK MADE A FUSS ABOUT THE SUPERSTATIONS THUS KNOCKING OUT WOR-TV’s SUPERSTATION BROADCASTS ON MANY OUT OF STATE PKGS. RUPPERT SHOULD GAG ON HIS MONEY & BURN IN HELL ALONG WITH HITLER,STALIN,MUSSOLINI,AMIN & THE FIRST CAVEMAN WHO THOUGHT A PATCH OF GRASS OUTSIDE THE CAVE WOULD BE ‘NICE’.
BY PAYING FOR THE PKG CARRYING SNY, I GET MASN BROADCASTS OF GNATS GAMES, WHICH AREN’T TOO BAD WHEN SUTTON IS ELSEWHERE. I CAN’T BELIEVE I’LL BE “SEEING” THE OPENNER VIA THE MOVING DOTS ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN & SINCE RADIO COVERAGE SUPPOSEDLY COMES WITH MY CLUB METS MEMBERSHIP, I’M HOPING TO GET THE RADIO PLAY BY PLAY TO ACCOMPANY THE DANCING DOTS. OH! THE ADDED MISERY TO BEING A NYM FAN; BUT GOD CERTAINLY HAS ONE HELL OF A SENSE OF HUMOR. SELIG SHOULD ENSURE MLB CLUBS REIN IN THEIR GEOGRAPHIES TO REALISTIC DISTANCES NO GREATER THAN 100 MI. OR NO MORE THAN AREA REACHED BY LOCAL TV COVERAGE(CABLE AREA PKGS THAT INCLUDE CH IN BASIC)
THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE ACCESS IF HE WANTS TO RECAPTURE THE “AMERICA’S GAME” TITLE!
Good Afternoon guys….I agree with you all, I’m from Queens, NY living in the hell hole Miami lol, I’ve had DirecTv since moving from NY and had the MLB Extra Innings. If I can recall I’ve experience a blackout about 20 – 25 games a year. Majority when the game is at 1pm on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays. These blackout rules need to be lifted, taken off, and canceled especially the way the economy is currently. When I had DirecTv I was forced to have Comcast cable service because it came with the internet since I work from home. Now I needed to cut one or the other, so DirecTV is off and Comcast will be my main source. I hope the MLB Innings package isn’t worse via Comcast…..I wish all of you the best and Let’s Go Mets!!!!!!!!!!
Does anyone know if the extra innings is going to show the game tomorrow against Boston? I know Saturdays game is on MLB channel but not sure for Friday
Go to Mlb.com to check out the game
I have Comcast too…..it’s pretty bad. That Saturday afternoon thing is bad too….I think Fox has the rights to all games at that time, so there are no games on via the package, at least on Comcast. Seriously, they should charge less or something.
I agree. Tonights’s baseball game (4/8/09) Rays at the Red Sox is blacked out in Tallahassee. This is total BS on someone’s part (either Comcast or MLB). It shows up in my Comcast listing as being on Sunshine (Sun Sports) AND ESPN2. But it’s not being broadcast on either channel!They’re showing ESPN News on ESPN2 and women’s MMA on Sun Sports. That really sucks…
So I decide to check it out on MLB.TV (of which I paid $110 for) and it’s eff-in blacked out there too!
So I beg to ask, how the heck am I supposed to watch the games I want to watch? How is a game being broadcast in Boston Mass being blacked out in Florida helping baseball? This is 2009 folks. We’re not talking about having to adjust the rabbit ears anymore or maybe catch your team on Saturday afternoon baseball…
Frustrated and disappointed in Tally!!!