OT:Direct TV/ MLB, NFL

[borg]

Please forgive the following rant.
Thanks to Direct TV's latest deal with MLB, I will no longer follow baseball and I will no longer support the Red Sox. Bud Selig's attempt to suck every last penny out of my pocket and force me to alter my viewing choices has led me to this decision.
Here's why. I live in Florida in a large gated community and a portion of my association dues are spent to bring discounted cable to every home . My best guess is $35/month is spent on a great cable package that includes the NFL Network. My community has 1000+ homes and similar gated communites just in my town have the same group cable plans (3-4000 homes). Selig and the greedy owners hope that these families are willing to pay twice (cable and Dish) just for the opportunity to pay an additional $169 for the MLB package. Last year, I forked over the $160 and probably watched 100 Red Sox games on my cable system. I was happy, and my sons became baseball fans and my youngest worshipped all things "Big Papi".Two years ago, I gave MLB.TV a shot at $10 a month and it was the most aggravating experience. No more!I'm guesstimating that this new Direct TV deal would cost me an additional $700 a year. Not gonna happen. I feel bad for my kids...but they will move on with other interests and maybe catch a game on a Saturday. Not me though. Thanks Bud. Keep squeezing the fans and ring out every last dollar from your advertisers while showing those 9:00PM playoff games. You serve the youth of America well.
Hopefully the NFL will not go to the extremes that baseball has. The Pats are on Network TV about 8-10 games per year down here. The NFL Network seems to have the Pats on there "Games of the Week" often enough. And of course their are neighborhood sports bars.

 

[BelichickFan]

Well it's still your choice. I would prefer to switch to cable for a few reasons. But I stick with DirecTV because of the NFL package. My choice. Your choice.

 

[borg]

Well it's still your choice. I would prefer to switch to cable for a few reasons. But I stick with DirecTV because of the NFL package. My choice. Your choice.

Not really.
My choices are (1) pay for cable with no sports packages
(2) pay for both cable and Direct TV, and pay for sports packages

 

[BelichickFan]

Not really.
My choices are (1) pay for cable with no sports packages
(2) pay for both cable and Direct TV, and pay for sports packages

Well it is your choice. Your choice of living somewhere that locks you into cable. Your choice to not pay extra. I'm not trying to be argumentative but it is your choice.

 

[denverpatsfan]

I hear you and agree.

What ticked me off even before this was the fact that I couldn't get the Red Sox on the weekends when I had the MLB package. You were forced to watch the Fox local game of the week. Here in Denver it was usually San Fran. Total BS IMO. I spent all that cash for the package and can't watch the games on the weekend when I actually have time to do so.

I am a big fan of the NFL Ticket. It's not cheap but saves me money that I would spend at the sports bar.

 

[SWelker]

If I were you i'd give MLB tv another shot, they have a great quality now and it is much better than it was 2 years ago, up to you though. I can understand your frustration.

 

[QuiGon]

Hopefully the NFL will not go to the extremes that baseball has. The Pats are on Network TV about 8-10 games per year down here. The NFL Network seems to have the Pats on there "Games of the Week" often enough. And of course their are neighborhood sports bars.

Um, you do realize that MLB is just following in the NFL's footsteps, don't you...? The Patriots are a national draw so they are on national TV quite a bit, but suppose you were an AZ Cardinals or Houston Texans fan... You'd be lucky to see 2 games of your favorite team without DirecTV.

 

[DaBruinz]

If you have the chance, get yourself a decent High Speed internet connection. I have Verizon FIOS and I get MLB.TV without any hiccups, usually.

Now, about the griping regarding MLB, you can blame owners like Steinbrenner, Huzienga and even the group that owns the Red Sox.

 

[Real World]

Not really.
My choices are (1) pay for cable with no sports packages
(2) pay for both cable and Direct TV, and pay for sports packages

borg, this blows. So I take it Direct TV has the rights now, and Comcast Cable can no longer provide the MLB Extra Innings deal? Sucks. I paid for it last year to watch the, ahem, Yankees D ) and it was so cool. I guess now I'm screwed.

BTW, MLB.TV sucked? How so?

 

[Real World]

I hear you and agree.

What ticked me off even before this was the fact that I couldn't get the Red Sox on the weekends when I had the MLB package. You were forced to watch the Fox local game of the week. Here in Denver it was usually San Fran. Total BS IMO. I spent all that cash for the package and can't watch the games on the weekend when I actually have time to do so.

I am a big fan of the NFL Ticket. It's not cheap but saves me money that I would spend at the sports bar.

Yeah, that sucked about the MLB package. They showed a set number of games, something like 60 a week, and therefore blacked out the remainder.

 

[Real World]

If you have the chance, get yourself a decent High Speed internet connection. I have Verizon FIOS and I get MLB.TV without any hiccups, usually.

Now, about the griping regarding MLB, you can blame owners like Steinbrenner, Huzienga and even the group that owns the Red Sox.

I've got Comcast Inet at about 5-6,000k, FIOS is what, about 4 times that? Have you ever tested your actual connection speed?

www.toast.net/performance

Anyways, would my speed be enough to get an uninterupted speed? What's the quality like? I don't want a grainy 2" x 2" screen. Can you tell me the good and bad about it? I don't have Direct TV, so I can't get the TV package.

 

[borg]

I'm well aware that the NFL is equally guilty in this access availibility issue. Because I live in Dolphins country, AFC games are always broadcast which dampens my outrage. What bothers me in this whole issue of Cable vs Dish is that the consumer is being held hostage while the Pro leagues are attempting to break the cable companies of any control thay have over their business. I live in Palm Beach County, home of multitudes of gated communities that all have negotiated discount cable deals that serve their association members well. I will estimate that a minimum of 40,000 homes in this county alone fall into this category. I can't begin to guess how many owners would actually purchase sports packages, but regardless of how many, each would be required to add the Dish costs on top of their cable bills for the privilege of purchasing a sports package. Sure, communities could cancel their cable contracts and purchase the dish independently, but I can't believe associations would give up the discounts they receive from group plans. Not to mention that the dish is not an option for many highrises.
The bottom line is that it seems like bad business to force the consumer to be double charged, therefore essentially excluding such large numbers while trying to make us bend to their will. What happened to catering to the customer.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Cable is lazy and cheap. They get incredible breaks and near monolopolies and haven't had to worry about competition for years. Blame your cable company for not making a serious effort at trying to compete with directv for NFL and MLB. Cable is making too much money off their ancillary products, like home telephone and high speed internet to give a crap about sattelite, and they still don't view it as a legitimate threat. They know they have you by the short hairs or that people think sattelite is too esoteric for most people, so they let directv get away relatively cheaply on both MLB and NFL. Cable easily could have outbid directv, but they don't need to so they didn't even try.

Eventually, cable will start to see directv as a threat, and there will be competition, and both will have to woo you with superior products and service. Right now, cable doesn't give a crap about you.

 

[borg]

If you have the chance, get yourself a decent High Speed internet connection. I have Verizon FIOS and I get MLB.TV without any hiccups, usually.

Now, about the griping regarding MLB, you can blame owners like Steinbrenner, Huzienga and even the group that owns the Red Sox.

Of course, my cable internet connection is bundled with my cable TV so I save some bucks there also. John Henry wants me to forego all the discounts I receive in order to pay double for the privilege of purchasing the baseball package for $170. PS...Huzienga got out of the baseball business years ago.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Didn't your hear? Your concerns are ridiculous and don't warrant consideration.

This just means my fiancee will be much happier this summer than I had planned on her being. When the deal was initially leaked I had planned to just do mlb.tv again and put up with it but in light of Bud's recent comments I don't think I can bring myself to do it. I'd have to put up with the nuissance of watching it on a compter while listening to Bud tell me that my concerns are ridiculous and I should be plenty happy with all of the Orioles and Nationals games I already get.

The Sox will probably be one of a few teams to actually vote against this deal. Sox and Yankees fans are easily hurt the most by this deal while they're the teams who least need the extra 1M or so they'll get from it each year.

Well it's still your choice. I would prefer to switch to cable for a few reasons. But I stick with DirecTV because of the NFL package. My choice. Your choice.

Yes it is our choice, and it's a choice you and I should never have to make. I can't get over how many people have no issue with sports leagues thinking they can dictate their fans' television providers to them. I'm being forced to choose one of two crappy options. Excuse me if i resent that.

 

[BelichickFan]

Yes it is our choice, and it's a choice you and I should never have to make. I can't get over how many people have no issue with sports leagues thinking they can dictate their fans' television providers to them. I'm being forced to choose one of two crappy options. Excuse me if i resent that.

Well, it's their league. They can choose how to have it televised however they want. I'm just glad I have an option to watch every game. Is it 100% optimal ? No it's not. I'd prefer to have the baseball and NFL packages available on cable. They're not so I get DirecTV; not perfect but I get my games, that's by far the most important thing.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Yes it is our choice, and it's a choice you and I should never have to make. I can't get over how many people have no issue with sports leagues thinking they can dictate their fans' television providers to them. I'm being forced to choose one of two crappy options. Excuse me if i resent that.

Every owner of intellectual property gets to decide how and when to market it or not to market it. You author or create something, and you own it in this country, and you can do or not do with it as you wish.

I hear arguments like this all the time from people who would probably punch me if I called them a socialist.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Yes they do not give a crap about the true fan. It's all about the money they get from DirectTV for this deal.

What about listening to the broadcast on internet radio? Old school, but baseball is one of those sports that was made for radio. Also a heck of alot less cash.

It's tough to watch the Sox here in Denver because the games start at 5pm when I'm still at work or just leaving. By the time I get home I would have missed a good part of the game. When I first moved here I had a much more flexible work schedule so I watched all the games on MLB extra innings I could get. So presently I just catch the occassional big game at the bar.

 

[BradyisGod]

Every owner of intellectual property gets to decide how and when to market it or not to market it. You author or create something, and you own it in this country, and you can do or not do with it as you wish.

I hear arguments like this all the time from people who would probably punch me if I called them a socialist.

Sorry, not true. Major League Baseball is sanctioned by the government by giving it a large anti-trust exemption. It is when this crossover happens that the public should be represented in a larger way.

MLB makes money not only because of its product, but because they have the aid of the PUBLIC government.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Sorry, not true. Major League Baseball is sanctioned by the government by giving it a large anti-trust exemption. It is when this crossover happens that the public should be represented in a larger way.

MLB makes money not only because of its product, but because they have the aid of the PUBLIC government.

Everyone has aid of the PUBLIC government. I do. Suppose I write a book that is a sensation and that many think should be made available to as many people as possible. A publisher comes to me and offers me $10,000,000 to be the exlusive marketer and sell it only in Abu Dabai. I say yes. You really want the government telling me I can't?

Does you answer change if I'm on welfare? How about if I got an alternative fuel tax credit? If I'm a federal employee with a pension?

As for the anti-trust exemption, what does that have to do with anything? The primary effects of the exemption are (1) that MLB teams can't sue if the league precludes them from changing cites and (2) that minor leaguers don't get to have free agency even without a CBA. As fans, we love the anti-trust exemption -- it's great, particularly if you live in Minnesota. If you're an owner in Minnesota or a minor league player, it's not so good. But why on earth does that mean that the government should step in and mediate an arms length negotiation between directv and cable? Non sequiter.

If you want to be angry at someone for this, be angry at cable for not giving a **** about you and for being too fat and lazy (thanks to the monopoly that the very same Congress has given them) to compete.

Competition is good. If you own a high definition tv, you want cable and directv going head to head on trying to put together the best package to woo you as a customer. If you have multiple tvs in your house, or want a computer/television interactive experience, you want cable and directv beating the crap out of each other for your dollars. You want each to constantly feel pressure to come up with new and better products and content to get you on their side. It sucks when one of the two competitors gets something you really want, but in the long run, competition is good for everyone with a television and having the government come in to upset the market makes everyone complacent.

The irony of your argument is that government protectionism of cable is what has created this problem in the first place and has made cable simply roll over and let directv out bid them without a fight.

Even more shocking for all of you complaining about MLB is that MLB DID give cable a way out -- they said they would make extra innings available on a non-exclusive basis if cable would simply include MLB tv on their basic tier, like Directv has agreed to do.

Cable is so arrogant, it said no. To force MLB at this point to give away something for free that market says they can charge for is socialism.