Every game on TV

[traderumor]

With pretty much every game on TV, sometimes I just have to listen on the radio, or gameday audio so I don't have to listen to the crackling of 700 here in Newark. The Reds used to carry about 35 games on their network during the 70s and another good number were on national telecasts, back in the day of 3 channels. But the rest, my only option was to listen to Marty and Joe. So, I'd keep track of the score while watching a TV program, or playing a game, or reading a book.

Now, with virtually every game on TV, I find myself an addict. I say "tonight, I'm just going to listen to the game and do something else with the game in the background." Then, no one claims the TV at game time, or the kids ask "hey dad, are the Reds on tonight?" and that is my invitation to pull out the needle, er, remote, and turn on the TV.

Anyone else fighting this battle night after night? Do you find relief when a day game happens and there is no game on to fight the need for a fix? Or, do I need an intervention?

BTW, if everyone else goes to bed before the game is over and the game is worth watching, guess where I'll be in the final few innings tonight?

[Eric_the_Red]

My problem comes when games go late or the Reds play on the left coast. I always say I'll go to bed so I won't be tired the next morning, but somehow I always end up watching those last few outs, counting the number of hours sleep I could get if I turned the game off right then.

[westofyou]

In 1956 the Reds showed every away game on TV, most home games excluding holidays were not on TV.


On the left coast we get baseball some days from 10-10, it's awesome.

[KoryMac5]

Access to every game has a lot to do with why attendence is poor these days.

[Yachtzee]

Access to every game has a lot to do with why attendence is poor these days.

Really? I'd say compared to the "Good Ole Days," attendance is better with all games on TV than it was back in the day. I can remember when the Indians struggled to break the 1 Million mark. If you only went to games on the weekend back in the '50s-'80s when weekday games weren't as prevalent on TV, you might be led to believe attendance was great. But that's not necessarily true. We think attendance is worse because we can see half-empty stadiums on a cold weeknight. But that's only because we couldn't see those same weekday games being played in front of 3000-6000 on TV back in the day.

I've been to games at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium (76,000 seats) with only 1,500 tickets sold. Talk about an empty stadium.

[KoryMac5]

In today's tough economic times more people like myself are willing to shell out the bucks for MLB TV than to spend the dollars on a ticket. If I didn't have XM or MLB than I might be more willing to spend the dime at the ballpark considering that would be the only way I could see the game. I think a wider variety of options gives folks more opportunities to stay at home.

[Yachtzee]

In today's tough economic times more people like myself are willing to shell out the bucks for MLB TV than to spend the dollars on a ticket. If I didn't have XM or MLB than I might be more willing to spend the dime at the ballpark considering that would be the only way I could see the game. I think a wider variety of options gives folks more opportunities to stay at home.

But you are still paying money to MLB for MLB.TV and XM. Teams also get ad revenues from the broadcasts that they weren't getting when games weren't being shown. If something was causing MLB to lose money, they wouldn't be doing it. The whole notion that making games available on TV or on the net causes teams to lose money at the park sounds like a Marge Schott idea, the type of idea that resulted in the Reds' once expansive media reach to shrink and allow inroads for the Braves, Cubs, Indians and Cubs into the Reds' traditional market areas. Much of the market for MLB lies outside easy driving distance to games. Do you think someone from Columbus, Lima, Louisville, Nashville, Indianapolis, or West Virginia is more likely or less likely to follow the Reds if they had access to fewer games?

[traderumor]

And agreeing with what Yachtzee is saying, time for me to bring up again the stupidity of MLB blackout rules. It was based on the premise that KoryMac is operating under, and it has simply been proven a myth. Attendance has skyrocketed with the every game on TV model. It may be down this year, but that is clearly an affect of the recession.

WOY has mentioned on here before that the same myth existed with the broadcast of all the games on radio at one time, and it took a pioneering team (Yankees?) to take that step. Now, hopefully MLB knows that broadcasts of the games is marketing that makes folks want to attend a game.

Further, I think most people know that there is a wide difference between attending a game and watching it on tv or listening on the radio, so if it is a matter of choice, people are going to attend the game.

[westofyou]

WOY has mentioned on here before that the same myth existed with the broadcast of all the games on radio at one time, and it took a pioneering team (Yankees?) to take that step. Now, hopefully MLB knows that broadcasts of the games is marketing that makes folks want to attend a game.

Actually it was the Reds.

from wiki:


Many owners were still wary. By the 1930s the two-team cities of Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Chicago had reached an agreement not to broadcast away games. In other words, if the Braves were at home, listeners could hear that game on the radio, but could not listen to the Red Sox away game. The owners' argument-"they won't come to the park if you give the game away"-was invalidated under this arrangement. The New York owners went one step further: in 1932 they agreed to ban all radio broadcasting-even of visitors' re-creations-from their parks. THE REDS, THE RADIO, AND RED BARBER Larry MacPhail took over the Reds in 1933 and sold a controlling interest in the club to Powel Crosley, owner of two Cincinnati radio stations. It was a match made in economic heaven: MacPhail knew that broadcasting games would promote the team and Crosley could now boost his radio ratings. Their symbiosis is reminiscent of St. Louis beer-garden magnate Chris Von der Ahe's takeover of the St. Louis team in order to sell more beer. When MacPhail moved to Brooklyn in 1938 he brought Reds announcer Red Barber with him and broke the New York radio ban.

[Reds1]

I think having all the games on tv over time helps attendance. In my area huge cubs fans exist because of WGN. Now they are not on tv and I see very few young Cubs fans unless their dad (or mom) is a big fan.