With the weekend upon us, many of you are thinking, “I’ll catch some games on MLB Extra Innings, or on MLB.TV”, well... not really.

Today, on Baseball Prospectus, I go over the national and local blackout policy for those stuck with MLB Extra Innings, MLB.TV and blank screens today. As I write in Blackout Blues: Not Quite Catching All the Action:

Let's start with MLB's pure money grab: national exclusivity deals. Every Saturday, from 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET, all games are blacked out due to an exclusivity agreement with FOX, which typically broadcasts one game starting at 3:55 Eastern. That means in a six-hour window in which games are being played, six today, you can watch two at most--the Fox game and your local team if it's playing on TV in that window and isn't the Fox game. On a day such as April 5, the Fox blackout means just four games show up on Extra Innings. On Sundays, ESPN holds the rights to night games, so any games that start after 5 p.m. ET are blacked out. In practice, this only affects a handful of games, as almost all Sunday games are played in the daytime. To add more hair-pulling to the mix, TBS is now in the fray. TBS airs 26 Sunday afternoon games this year which are blacked out in local markets--TBS can air an alternate game in those areas, and as many as 13 of any single team. So those of you in Boston and New York may barely be aware of TBS' new arrangement by the end of the season.

There’s plenty more to scratch your head about for you DirecTV and iNDemand with EI, or MLB.TV customers. MLB may be looking to address the blackout policy in advance of the MLB Network launch, but if you’re thinking about something like the NFL has, forget it. You’re still going to be hit with blackouts, this year and next. Fans are hit in the head with a scorching foul ball when it comes to blackouts.

OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

• NBA.com Shatters Traffic Record. Kobe Bryant & Pau Gasol Lead in Rankings - The Biz of Basketball
  
• CBS’ ‘Shinning Moment’ Down 6% from Last Year - The Biz of Basketball
• Nike and Kobe Bryant Launch Hyperdunk Basketball Shoe - The Biz of Basketball
• Walsh: Isiah Thomas To Coach End of Season. Any Changes Before Draft - The Biz of Basketball
• Emails Show Sonics Ownership Pushed as Early as April '07 to Relocate to Oklahoma City - The Biz of Basketball
• Bobcats Trade Stadium Naming Rights for New TV Deal – The Biz of Basketball 
• Are NCAA Final Four Teams Actually Losing Money? - The Biz of Basketball 
• It’s Awesome Baby! Vitale, Ewing, Olajuwon Among 2008 Naismith Hall of Fame Class - The Biz of Basketball 
• Biz of Football Editor of Content Bill Jordan's 2008 NFL Mock Draft – The Biz of Football
  
• Bears and United Airlines Reach Naming Deal for former Cadillac Club at Soldier Field – The Biz of Football
• Former Ram and Cardinal Sharpe Pleads Guilty to Four Drug Charges – The Biz of Football 
• Detroit's Fox Theatre Tower to Shine Red Throughout Red Wings Playoff Run – The Biz of Hockey
• Detroit Red Wings Announce Winners of 'Are You In?' Video Contest - The Biz of Hockey
  
• As Credit Crunch Hits, Purchase of Lightning Drags Out – The Biz of Hockey
• Republican and Democratic National Convention Leaders Have Friendly Wager on NHL Playoffs -The Biz of Hockey
• My Favorite Team - The ‘72 Athletics - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment