Why are there MLB TV blackouts this year with no fans in attendance? How is a team hurt by TV internet broadcast when there is no ticket revenue anyway?
Why are there MLB TV blackouts this year with no fans in attendance? How is a team hurt by TV internet broadcast when there is no ticket revenue anyway?
Blackouts aren't about fans in the stands anymore, it's about the local broadcaster wanting to get high ratings within the local TV market to drive up rights fees. If you're watching Fox Ohio on MLB.tv, you aren't buying cable just to get it, and they can't charge the cable company more to carry Fox Ohio.
LOL Tucker Barnhart mentioned he couldn't watch the game on his phone while his wife was giving birth because it was blacked out. MLB fail...
BluegrassRedleg (08-05-2020),MR X (08-05-2020)
Classic.Originally Posted by DocRed
Yet another move by MLB to hurt their product.
Rounding third and heading for home...
Should have picked a hospital that got FSO, my daughter was born the morning of the 2010 NLDS game one and I watched it in the hospital room, so they at least got TBS.
Hey guys, I spend a lot of time reading on this forum but have never really took the time to post to anything. However, I wanted to weigh in on this topic. Now, maybe I go somewhere here that I shouldn't go, and if this comment needs to be removed, I get it.
I live just outside of Knoxville, TN. I can get 2 or 3 Reds games a week through the Fox Sports app. But, my current situation is that I am working from home at least through September and I want to be able to watch the Reds every night. The frustrating part has been that I'm not able to do that. I've always been willing to pay for MLBTV, but the Reds and the Braves are considered my home team (even though I'm roughly 4 hours away from each) so those games are blacked out. This past Sunday I decided to give MLBTV a try anyway, because I figured that I would at least get to see the Reds away games. Not so. It doesn't matter if they are at home or away, they are still going to be blacked out. So, I did the only other thing that I could think of and downloaded a VPN program to my firestick that costs about 12 bucks a month. It makes it appear that I am at another location and then the MLBTV doesn't block the Reds any longer. It's absolutely ridiculous that someone 4 hours away from Cincinnati would have to go to such measures to watch the Reds. The things is, I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong. I'm still paying the monthly fee for MLBTV, so I'm not stealing their product. These MLB blackout rules are absolutely baffling. I just wanted to throw this out there for anyone else who may be in the same boat.
I don't disagree with what your saying, but people don't really get the reason behind the blackout. It has nothing to do with your ability to go to the park. It's about giving the local TV first priority. Teams get big dollars to sell their right to local TV and Radio and the reason they get it is because people watch and those stations can make money selling commercials. If MLBTV was an option, a lot of people would stop watching those local TV broadcasts and the packages would stop being so lucrative. Teams don't want that. Since you are able to get some games locally, MLBTV isn't going to interfere with that. It doesn't matter whether the game is at home or away.
I think MLB needs to work something out to solve this. I too don't live right in Cincinnati and my local affiliate doesn't carry all the games like Fox Sport Ohio does, but since they carry some, I can't get any on MLB TV unless I cheat the way you describe with a VPN. Something about that seems criminal to me, so I haven't taken that step, but there are quite a few games where I have to listen on the radio.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Yeah, I tried all the other options first, just didn't work. The one thing that would work would be to go back to Direct TV as they do have FSO as part of their sports package, at least they did last year. But they burnt that bridge with me and I'm not going back.
I understand what you are saying about the TV stations. I knew that it was a complex issue that had to do with more than just not being able to attend a game. But, I just feel that in 2020 a person who is willing to pay to watch their team play should be able to do so. I don't know if the route that I took is criminal or not. The VPN is perfectly legal and I pay for the MLBTV. If it's the worst thing I ever do I'll be alright. Problem is, it's probably not the worst thing I'll ever do, lol.
Go Reds
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