MLB.TV, Extra Innings, FSN Ohio...

[westofyou]

Direct TV says its uses the ZIP codes that MLB uses.

Somebody with skills should take all these factors, DirectTV, MLB, EI, ESPN Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, FOX Saturday day games and set it up so you can type in your ZIP code and it'll show what's blacked out.

This was in a BP chat.

Brent (Raleigh, NC): In North Carolina right now, the Nats-Mets game is being blacked out on ESPN b/c we're considered to be Nat's "territory." Of course, there is no other way to watch Nats games since (unlike the Orioles, our other "home" team) they have no TV station down here, so basically the result is that you never see them play unless you make a trip to RFK. I hear the same is true even for DC residents. Do you have any thoughts on this situation?

Nate Silver: It's tragic, but I don't see the situation persisting for too much longer, particularly once baseball gets the chance to renegotiate its TV contracts. Blackouts are about as outdated as Betamax.

Which leads to the question... when does MLB's contract come up again?

[Jpup]

This was in a BP chat.



Which leads to the question... when does MLB's contract come up again?

if we only knew. blackouts are products of the devil.

[redram]

Ok The Reds game is on in the clear on channel 734 on DTV. In the past with the Reds being a home team for me in Memphis Tn this game would be blacked out. The Cubs and ESPN and the only affiliates that are showning todays games as far as I can tell. I guess that does mean that DTV has removed the Reds as a home team for the Memphis area, even though they are still blacked out on Time warner cable and MLB.TV. Anybody out there as confused as me right now ???

[RedFanAlways1966]

Well... glad I wasted a 1/2 day to WATCH the game. I am not as mad at MLB as I am The Dayton Daily News. I saw in this paper that the REDS were on ESPN. They need to pull their heads out of their "ink-wells" and give factual information to the public.

Two-bit rag... GRRRR!

[Ravenlord]

since i don't have a high enough cable package at home to get ESPN or FSN for that matter, i drove to the northern lands this morning to watch the game with my dad...only for it to be blacked out...maybe i'll actually get to watch a Reds game this yaer...

[fisch11]

If I may ask, why are you blacked out for Extra Innings and not MLB.TV? (Did you get some sort of explanation on the EI blackout?) I always thought the blackout rules are the same. When I had it, I was only blacked out for the games where the Reds played the Indians.

I found out from FSN Ohio that MLB has a blackout on my region, thus bowling and WSOP instead of Reds up here. As far as Extar Innings, I'm not quite sure. Time Warner told me I would only get about 60 games or so....so I'm not sure what that means really. I understand why MLB had the blackout up here when the Indians WERE on FSN, but not now that they are on their own channel. It wouldn't be invading on the Cleveland market if the Reds were on FSN now.

[toledodan]

All I know is that I'm getting totally screwed here in Toledo.

The local cable company used to be really cool about showing the Reds, even when the Indians were also playing. They'd put the FSN Cincinnati feed over one of the "Shop at Home" channels for the duration of the game. But, since the Indians went nutty in the offseason, the cable company took FSN Ohio off the lineup and struck a deal to show just Indians games. Now, no more Reds games.

MLB.TV considers Toledo a Reds blackout zone, so I can't watch that way either. It's absolutely ridiculous. Major League Baseball should be bending over backwards to ensure that as many people can watch and follow the sport, not forcing fans to find odd and strange ways to watch games.

yep buckeye cable dropped fox ohio all together. the indians leaving fox ohio screwed the reds fans in this area. with all the tiger fans in this area buckeye felt it no longer needed fox ohio. thank GOD i have directv.