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April 4, 2007
Bud, Baseball and Buffering
I’m going to start out by saying that this piece isn’t about pity. I’m a Mets fan who lives in Houston, and I don’t mind dealing with the consequences of that. I started getting Extra Innings in 2005, and re-upped for a second season last year. I’m also a subscriber to cable, and, due to the basic necessities of the college life, unable to do any better than an apartment. I’m currently in a dorm that throttles bandwidth stream due to bad downloading experiences and poor management, meaning that the solution of mlb.com’s mlb.tv, isn’t really feasible for me. But I’m not looking for pity. I’ve dealt with this for many years in the past. I’ve gotten by on 6 games with the Astros, 10 or so with the Braves on TBS, maybe 1 or 2 on WGN, and probably 10 on ESPN for quite a bit of my life. That’s not the point. I don’t even think that the exclusive deal with DirecTV should have been a congressional issue. Certainly the NFL didn’t get taken to court for its decision to use DirecTV. No, what makes me angry about this is the sheer contempt MLB has for its fans. I agree with a lot of the issues brought up in the congressional hearing that were beyond the Extra Innings subscribers that couldn’t watch anymore; particularly the arcane blackout rules. Owning a baseball franchise is about the closest thing in today’s society you can have to a license to print money, yet the 30 owners and CEO Bud can’t even make the products that the consumer wants available to the consumer. Why? Well, Bob DuPuy stood up before the carved face of John Kerry and said that it was all about the baseball channel and how critical it was to baseballs long-term survival and the interests of fans that want more baseball. Firstly, I’m not going to suggest that the NFL Network and NBA TV haven’t been successes financially, and certainly NBA TV has broadened my scope of basketball beyond the NBA (I couldn’t tell you about the NFL Network, seeing as I have Time Warner), but critical to survival? NASCAR is the fastest growing “sport” in America. Where is the NASCAR channel that’s propelling it to this status? As for the best interests of fans that want more baseball, how about, I dunno, letting them pay to subscribe to a service that lets them see all of their favorite out of market teams on TV regardless of where they live? Too complicated? Are you going to make me both begin and end a paragraph with a question, Bud? It’s all about the money. Just tell me it is. I’ll gain a ton more respect with you for your honesty. You don’t care about Joe Baseball Fan. Don’t try to tell me internet quality is growing and it will make up for it; we’re not there yet and you know it, I know it, and Mark Cuban knows it. Honestly, I was looking forward to a whole summer of talking with my fellow Mets fans and watching the game at the same time. I guess that won’t happen very much now, although with ESPN’s increased coverage due to their success last year, I might catch 25 or so games. What you’re doing is regulating the game to me on your terms, most of which involve trying to make me support my local team. I’m not an Astros fan, and you are not going to make me one by making it so it’s the only thing I can watch. I’ve seen enough Brad Ausmus and Adam Everett at-bats to know better. But that’s fine. It’s well within your rights to do that as a business. Just as it’s well within my rights as my own individual to decide where my dollars go. Let me tell you about my closet. I’ve got 4 separate Mets caps from various years, black with the 9/11 flag on the side, a dark blue/black number that I got in 2001 and have worn the brim to a solid sweaty brown, a Kaz Matsui all-white one, and the plain old blue and orange. I’ve got jerseys of David Wright and Edgardo Alfonzo, as well as Mike Cameron and Jason Phillips. All told, I’ve probably invested a solid two or three grand as a fan, maybe more, over the past ten years. I was actively interested in adding to the collection, let me tell you. I couldn’t decide between Beltran, Delgado, Lastings, or Feliciano. Thankfully, you’ve made the decision for me: none of the above. And of course, I’ll still follow the Mets to the best of my ability. I’ll watch when they’re on TV and go to the games when I can. I’m not going to get all typical disillusioned teenager on baseball. I love baseball and always will. However, if you’re going to treat me like I’m a giant $ sign instead of a consumer, I’m going to give you the same critical treatment; you’re no longer the idealized league of competition and exciting sport I love to watch when it comes to spending my money, you’re a business selling t-shirts that cost you less than $10 to make at a huge markup. If the best I can do to follow my team, due to your decisions, is watching GameCast on the internet, then a) I’m going to be following it about as closely as I follow the Hanshin Tigers, and b) I’m not going to spend any more excess money on your products. To paraphrase Krusty, this is a hundred dollars that those fatcats won’t get their grave robbing hands on. Unless they give me a Canyonero. 30 Responses to “Bud, Baseball and Buffering”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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i know its not as good, but im a met fan temporarily displaced in Virginia, and I’ve found mlbtv to be pretty great. Granted, I’ve had to suffer by listening to Joe buck on the cardinals broadcast today, and also have my friend instant message me with what happened 5 seconds before I got to see it on the internet delay, but the picture quality is decent and I haven’t had many problems with it.
So you might want to consider eating the 80 bucks to watch the mets in all their glory. This year I figure its basically going to mean I’m spending one dollar per met game I watch (I’ll be back in NY about halfway through the season). Not a shabby investment.
and i totally missed your initial paragraph describing why mlbtv wouldnt work… hehe, my bad.
Petition your landlord and/or school to beef up the ethernet!
my oh my. speaking of Texas. I am watching the Ranger and boy are we lucky to have such fantastic skills up the middle. Watching other teams turn…you feel bad.
turn two…
Selig is a douche and so are the MLB team owners.
I’d jump on mlb.tv in a second but I really do enjoy sitting back on the couch and watching a game on the big TV. mlb.tv broadcasts on anything but a relatively small computer monitor look absolutely blocky, definitely not TV quality (let alone HD quality but I won’t even talk about that). I just wish there was a better alternative.
wahhhhh, wahhhh
Another decent option is XM radio. It’s not TV, but you get to hear WFAN half the time. And personaly, baseball on the radio is an experience all it’s own. I live near Boston, so I can certainly go to some games. I’ll be there Monday. But as far as TV, I have the same issues as anyone out of state. XM was a great help last year.
MLB TV sucks with there black out rules. I am in the Navy and stationed in Japan. Half the games are blacked out half come in you really don’t know when it is going to work because I am in Japan. So I follow my Mets through the 10-15 games on the Armed Forces Network and watch the games via Gameday updates when I am not deployed. MLB loses money because I won’t give my money to them to have them blackout some games and others whenever they want. I may look into the XM radio. But Bud Selig is a bum and so are the Major League baseball owners. But through all this I love the NY Mets. I have there logo tattooed on my arm!
I think its horrible that they did this. Luckily I was fornuate enough to be able to switch to direct tv to still see the games.
You probably got it already and I know its not the same but MLB Audio is a great thing to have. I usually get that for the games that are blacked out on extra innings.
Canyonero!!!
LMAO!
great reference.
My son connected the computer to a 60 inch TV and the image from MLB.TV is fine. I would have prefered to buy the TV package like last year but unfortunately.we have no choice on the matter.ie
but not quite as bad as the NFL!!
You may have enough bandwidth to get MLB Gameday Audio This gives you the radio broadcasts of every game, home or away. So, you could listen to 162 WFAN broadcasts - all for $15 per season.
If it works.
Nice article - good luck!
Everything I read this morning said that talks were ongoing and a cable package may still be available if a deal can be made in the comming days. Did something new transpire?
Chris, great article. Unlike most of the other people responding … I get it.
My initial reaction was to dump cable and get DirectTV or sign up for MLB.com. After I learned all the facts, my feelings changed.
I’m a Red Sox fan and have been an MLB Extra Innings subscriber since the beginning of the 2004 season (good choice … huh). I’ve been hooked ever since, being able to watch the Sox and check out other teams as well. However, I refuse to give one dime to MLB either via DirectTV or MLB.com in the name of what they are calling what is best for the fan. Limiting the options of how fans can watch their team out-of-market is not looking out for the fans best interest. It’s all about the almighty dollar and everyone knows it. It’s their right to do that and it’s our right not follow what they want us to do like a bunch of lemmings.
If enough of the 230,000 MLB Extra Innings cable subscribers stay away from MLB.com and DirectTV, the money won’t be flowing there and you may see the package return to cable.
I’m a Red Sox fan and have had Extra Innings with either DirecTV or Dish since its inception. I’m on DISH now for a variety of reasons, mostly related to HD and being able to DVR the games until my wife gets home so we can watch together. I can switch to DirecTV by canceling my DISH contract ($240 penalty) and buy all new equipment for DirecTV ($298) to see my beloved Red Sox on my 55″ HDTV or pay MLB.com $80 to watch them in a 5″ window. Hmmmm. I signed up for the free trial on MLB.com yesterday to watch the Giants-Padres in the “premium” version and even though I have 1.5MB internet service the video kept stopping to buffer every 45-60 seconds. MLB.com SUCKS! Bud, you should have to watch all the Brewers games on your laptop!
Chris,
nice work. I am a Red Sox fan who signed on with Dish Network in 2004 when I moved to a rural area that has no cable. I also started Extra Innings the same year. Have subscribed ever since. Last December, I bought a new HD TV and signed up for an HD contract with Dish Network, which means I am locked in for two years.
This exclusive deal with DirecTV really pisses me off. MLB.TV is not an option, since I must rely on dial-up internet service.
Bud Seelig and Bob DuPuy could care less about passionate fans. Screw them, and screw MLB.
Alot of red sox fans all of a sudden.
Yeah I mean I totally agree about this deal not being fair.
Bud’s thinking is well everyone will just get direct tv if they want it. Not everyone can get direct tv first off…..and why should people have to switch in order to enjoy baseball. The mlb.tv thing is great, only problem is not everyone has a fast enough connection and it keeps buffering alot….plus im sure everyone would rather sit on the couch watching tv rather then in front of the computer.
Its just a bad deal…….one more way baseball is showing they care less and less about its fans.
Yankees fan weighing in here from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Agreed, a really nice piece, Chris, and relevant no matter what your team.
I thought the talks were ongoing too. We were able to get MLB Extras through Comcast last year for the first time, then we moved house around Thanksgiving and spent a wad o’ dough with Comcast getting two TVs set up and tied in with high-speed Internet. It’s not just a matter of penalties, wasted money and having an ugly dish hanging off the side of the house, it’s giving Bud & Co. exactly what they want by switching or signing on to MLB.TV. I agree with the comment above about withholding that investment, let him see his lovely little money grab isn’t going to be quite as lovely as he’d hoped.
Our saving grace is XM Radio, which we’ve had for a few years. Prior to that we had MLB Audio, which was great because it works on dialup and you can hear your own radio announcers.
Thanks again, Chris, for your insights and letting us all have our 2c..ie
I understand your college pain, Chris. I’m a student in Boston, and when the students voted on redoing the cable system, the majority of the student population voted that everyone paying $15 a month for the ESPN block of channels wasn’t worth it (we have lots of grad students who work insane hours in labs and have no lives). Boston is AL, so pretty much the only time I see the Mets are when they get to the playoffs and are finally on broadcast TV. And even then, I don’t have a TV in my dorm room, so last October I had to see what lounges were free where people weren’t already watching some pop sitcom or something. I suppose I could listen to Red Sox games on the radio for free… but really, that just doesn’t cut it.
Hey, Santa Fe, what’s up? I live in Santa Fe and am a Mets fan. I would agree that MLB seems to regard its fans with a contemptuous air at best. However, I am a junkie and must subscribe to MLB.TV (low-res version), and that’s good enough for me. I grew up in upstate New York constantly adjusting my radio to get the weak WFAN signal (oh how I long to hear Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen again), so the blocky, buffering MLB.TV feed is awesome to me. I do not have local TV or cable, so that’s it for me. Also, the blackouts are annoying, but not insurmountable, as I’m sure you all know.
Why no outrage when the NFL does worse, won’t stream the games.
What also kills me is how aggressively MLB pursues illegal use of their hilights. I’ve seen countless Mets hilight reels removed from YouTube and Google by their takedown notices. What’s the harm if some fan wants to show his team spirit and make something fellow fans could watch? WOrse yet, is that if anyone with half a brain worked at MLB, they would recognize this as another revenue opportunity and not shut it down. Another thing they tried to shut down was Fantasy Baseball - an institution that leads to MORE viewership for them (do you really think I’d ever watch a Twins-Rangers game if Joe Mauer wasn’t on my team?), and yet, they claim to own the copyright on stats which thankfully a court ruled were historical facts.
If I were MLB I would do two things. Continue to charge a nominal fee for being able to view highlights of plays. Then, I would create a video-mashup service that would let me pick from a bunch of pre-licensed sports jams, and combine all my favorite plays from the Mets, or the best strikeouts, whatever. I’d let people share with their friends. And you’d hae some true dialog and co-creation with fans. In fact, the best highlight reels could be shown on actual television and the winner would get to go to the playoffs or something as a guest of MLB. I would then create the ultimate, awesometastic fantasy baseball platform out there. Real time stats. You name it, soup to nuts features. And then I’d use the highlight content to show each GM a custom highlight reel of all his team’s plays of the day. It would seem like you’re managing a real team.
But no, MLB doesn’t understand how to use the internet. They’d rather just bully anyone who wants to come along and help them and hope everyone goes back to watching TV. Which they won’t.
Well, the NFL in general has a much better media relationship, Doc.
If you were asking me personally, it’s because the NFL is boring :)
Chris that should matter though, if MLB has to compete in the marketplace then they should be allowed to do this. Personally, this all sucks and denies the consumer choices, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/…..id=2826280
good news for you…cable now has Extra Innings
I bet it was the Canyonero reference that won MLB over. Bob DuPuy loves the Simpsons.
I feel for you but this has been the case for a long time. I go back to the strike and the utter contempt by both owners and players towards the fans. I took me a good ten years to get over that (and I’m still not) and now this. On the business issues, I would agree except baseball has the anti-trust exemption. That should be done away with. If they want to run it like a business, then run it like every other business in America has to be run. Until then, the same rules don’t apply. Baseball should be more about the game and less about the money, sadly it’s not that way. It’s a tribute to the greatness of the game itself that MLB has had so much success. In spite of themselves, players and owners have been successfull but the golden goose can only take so much.