MLB screwing their fans

[frankiep]

I've have just about had it with the way that MLB treats its fans. I live in Charlotte, NC. I paid $130 to get MLB Extra Innings on cable, and I am also paying about $20 a month to have access to live games on the internet. So, tonight I have a pizza in front of me and I'm drinking a beer and I'm getting ready to watch the Mets play the Nationals. But, I can't, because it's blacked out because Washington (along with Florida, Baltimore, and Atlanta) are considered local teams in Charlotte. This would be understandable if the game was available on a local channel, but we do not get local Washington DC channels in Charlotte.

So basically, I'm shelling out $120 for the season, plus an additional $20 a month only to have about 8 teams every night blacked out. Has anyone else run into this problem? I have called Time Warner, In Demand, and MLB, and each one says that it is the doing of the other guy. I am so freaking mad right now.

[sinkspur]

NFL Sunday Ticket is freakin awesome by the way.

You can say that again. DISH has nothing like it. (Nobody has anything like it, come to think of it).

[MikefromOhio]

yeah my FIL comes over on Sundays when I'm home (I work Sundays right now) to watch the games.

I put the game I want to watch on one side of the 42 inch and I put the 8 in 1 screen on the other side :)

[scott says]

The only reasonable response is to drink more beer,
repeat as needed.
Repeat as needed.
Repeat

[MikefromOhio]

LOL

[frankiep]

OK, the Mets won tonight, so all is right with the world :-)

[The South Texan]

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I'm not a huge baseball fanatic, but depending on your cable company, you might be able to subscribe to the entire Fox Sports package, and eliminates the potential blackout problem. I live about 3 hours from Houston, but still get Astros and Rangers games. DirectTV does offer the whole package, Here.

I gave up on satellite after having to shell out about 250 in less than one year replacing the box or the dish because it burned out. I switched back to cable and I'm happy. But then, DirecTV did force our local cable provider to actually lower their rates and bring in channels that people had been demanding for years but they refused to offer like Fox News Channel(CNN managed to keep them out of our market until Monica came along, then the cable company noticed a lot of people cancelling their subscriptions and switching to satellite, just so they could get Brit, Hannity, etal.)

[1Old Pro]

I pay over $50/ month for DISH network here in NY. I get ESPN as part of my package. Last night I tuned it in to watch the Yankees and Red Sox and it was BLACKED OUT.

I called to complain and said this game is not available to me unless I subscribe to cable and get the YES network. So I want my ESPN or get a contract with the YES network and offer it to DISH subscribers. I USED to like DISH but now I am contemplating going to cable.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

See my comment right above yours. Another problem I had with DirecTV was that you couldn't get local TV channels. For that you had to shell out the money to get an antenna. It wasn't that big a deal until football season came along and I couldn't get Saints or LSU games being carried on the broadcast networks.

Back then, there weren't really any TV shows I cared to watch, but now, I'd die if I couldn't get "24". ;^)

[MikefromOhio]

you can't get local TV channels?

I get them for Dayton. My parents have the local Columbus channels.....

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Back when I had DirecTV, that wasn't an option. I gave up on them about four years ago and switched back to cable. Since most of the college games I want to see are carried either by ABC, CBS or ESPN anyway,(unless it's against Bi-directional U) I can count on seeing about 8-9 LSU games a year on those channels. So, not having a total sports package is not really a loss because I don't really start following the Red Sox(besides checking the standings) till late September anyway, and I don't follow the NBA.

[Born Conservative]

We have DirecTV, and YES is part of our package (Northeast PA).

[MikefromOhio]

oh man....

you missed it then....

of course it probably varies a bit depending on your location, but my parents got their DirecTV in 2000 and they had the local channels then....

That and pretty much all of the sports packages minus the soccer and basketball ones are on my bill :)

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Like I said, our local cable company really cleaned up its act because the number of people dumping them for DirecTV or Dish Network scared the hell out them. Their rates have actually fallen below what the satellite companies charge, and when you have a problem, like a downed wire, they're out there within 24 hours of the call. It used to take almost a week to get a repairman out here.

[JRios1968]

Sorry, no help here. I am already living in the Land of Barroid.