MLB.tv Blackouts - Legal Action?

by MKDCardinal on Apr 19, 2008 6:09 PM EDT

How would you feel if you bought a dozen eggs at an agreed-upon price, took them home, and then the seller of the eggs showed up at your door and demanded six of the eggs back, without giving you any reason or offering you any compensation? This is what MLB has done today by way of 'immediately effective' changes in its national broadcast restrictions with Fox.

Now, it makes sense to black out LAD @ ATL, since Fox is broadcasting that game nationally. We all knew what were were getting into with that. However, they have also now blacked out KC @ OAK, which is not being nationally televised by FOX. Why, you ask?

Well, here's the policy that showed up today when I tried to watch Zach Greinke pitch:

"Effective immediately, due to a change in Major League Baseball Fox national exclusivities, the only Saturday games that will be nationally blacked out are those with a scheduled start time after 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET.'

In other words, NO BASEBALL FOR YOU BETWEEN NOON AND 6 PM ON SATURDAYS. Similiar restrictions will henceforth apply to Sundays as well. Of course many of us who purchased the MLB.tv package did so specifically to be able to watch baseball in the afternoons during the weekend. Now they're telling us, basically, you can't do that anymore.

The upshot that games that were not part of the national blackout list at the time of purchase have now become subject to national blackouts. To me, this constitutes a breach of contract. I haven't yet spoken to an attorney about this, but after a frustrating phone call with MLB.tv in which they refused to refund my Premium membership, I am going to seek legal recourse.

Is there anyone else who has experienced similar problems and would like to know more and/or investigate further into possible legal options with respect to this policy, or if there is anyone who can offer legal advice with respect to this issue, please contact me at mkdjunk@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.

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the blackouts were not a secret

they existed all last year and I’m pretty sure the contract you signed had fine print saying there would be some when you signed it. We’ve just been lucky so far not to be blacked out on saturdays.

however, I’d be all for seeking recourse against either MLB or Fox/espn etc for this. it is unfair to fans to not be able to watch games on saturdays because fox wants to show the yankees vs red sox. This seems to be a violation of the monopoly rights that congress gave to mlb, if only in spirit, especially since cards/cubs games seem to always be on saturdays and blacked out. i dont’ care about getting money back; I just want to watch baseball.

Also, if you can figure out a way to do it, please make them stop using silverlight. Whatever their idiot programmers have done this year makes it impossible to use my linux machine to watch baseball, which i did all last year, which annoys me. Maybe we could get a 2-for-one blockbuster anti-monopoly trial going?

And I awoke in California, far far from Spancilhill...

by SleepyCA on Apr 19, 2008 9:08 PM EDT 0 recs

yeah

the blackouts were definitely there last year. I agree that it’s misleading, but I think it’s pretty public knowledge at this point. I hate it too. Saturdays are a great day to watch baseball, and they don’t let us watch anything. Sometimes my fox doesn’t even have games! (because on Pacific Time they don’t start coverage until noon, so all of the central time noon games – like the Cards game today – were cut off by TWIB and infomercials).

I agree, it’s really irritating. Especially when you spend $100+ on the product.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Apr 19, 2008 10:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

If you uninstall

Silverlight from your machine, thereafter when you login you should be taken to a screen that give option of using old player or installing Silverlight. Click old player.
As for as the blackouts, for the 3 years I have had MLBTV, all Saturday games before 7pm have been blacked out because of Fox saturday baseball. (that’s why I was shocked when I saw no black outs so far this year) This has always galled me. I guess MLB and Fox don’t want to take away any possibility of hampering the Fox ratings for Baseball, after all they’ve got to sell them commercials you know and the advertizers pay big bucks for commercials on Yankees, Red Sox and Mets games. All Big Northeastern Corporations just take for granted that the whole country have just got to be Yankee or Red Sox or Met fans, to them, what else is there…just 28 other teams to make it interesting.
The bad thing about it is, If you can get anything done to stop it, the price of a MLBTV subscription will go up next year from $89.95 to $149.95. That’s just the sad state of things.

by ridgesee on Apr 20, 2008 11:23 AM EDT up 0 recs

Also,

is it just me or does it seem that The Red Sox and Yankees play each other about twice a month.

by ridgesee on Apr 20, 2008 11:27 AM EDT up 0 recs

As long as

I’ve had either the EI or mlbtv package(going back 10-11 years), Saturday games have ALWAYS been blacked out between 1 and 7pm ET, in deference to FOX.. The only change(other than pricing) has been that FOX used to wait until late May/early June to start their broadcasts, so Saturday afternoon games were available until that time. In the last couple of years, though, they’ve started in April.
BTW, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the sign-up page that delves into blackouts…

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

by cardsrul on Apr 20, 2008 12:43 PM EDT 0 recs

yep, it's been that way for me ever since i purchased EI

even when it was on DISH Network before i had to switch to DTV last season. they say in the contract all games from 1pm est to 7pm est will not be shown on EI. and all games played in your “home market” will be blacked out. so when the Cards play the Pirates & Reds i’m SOL unless FSN Cincy & Pitt show the games. which they never do on weekday day games & most Saturday day game. so there’s really nothing you can do.

the biz of baseball seams to be the only site i’ve found that really addresses the black out policy of MLB. you can go there & vent your frustrations & they will forward it to MLB. but there’s really nothing else we fans can do.

i completely agree, MLB’s black out policy is flat out wrong. if you pay $160 dollars like i have for DTV EI, you should be able to see every baseball game played. no matter where you live, no matter what teams are playing, and no matter when the games are played.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson AND THAT'S A WINNER!

by gdm426 on Apr 20, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up 0 recs