Remember about a month ago when I characterized Major League Baseball as overpaid and undeserving? I should have gone with my gut instincts -- the MLB.tv package is a scam.
Joe-maha had it half right when he forwarded me a news article about the arbitrary and capricious local blackout rules. I read it and breathed a sigh a relief -- in Cleveland only the the Indians get blocked for local network reasons, so no biggie. I'd always be able to watch the Mets.
What I didn't realize until today is the national blackouts are even more ridiculous.
Early this afternoon, I put on the television and flipped through all the sports stations: ESPN, Fox, etc. I saw some game being played with designated hitters in some foreign ballpark -- not really baseball at all. No Mets. So I went to my computer upstairs expecting to catch the game there. After all, the promo for the MLB.tv package does say you can see "every" game. Indeed, I saw the Mets are playing this afternoon. I tried to put on the game through MLB.tv, but no dice. National blackout. So I called. Twenty-something minutes later (must be a lot of unhappy fans out there) someone answered.
"Hey, blackout means there's some other way to catch a game," I patiently explained. "The Mets game is not on TV at all around here. It can't possibly be blacked out online."
My very polite but very unhelpful customer service representative had no sensible response.
"Fox has the right to that game. Take it up with them."
That was not the right answer,
"Take it up with them? You sold rights to bury a game and I should take it up with them?" was the essence of my reply. She then informed me that MLB.tv was separate from MLB, which sold the rights, and that's when I realized this whole thing was a rip-off. I told her I wanted my money back. She said refunds were only available in the first 10 days of a subscription.
Which leaves me pretty much where I was in the mid-90s -- extremely pissed off at MLB, its owners, players and distributors... and unwilling to ever shell out another greenback to support their enterprise. It's a shame, because the league is so close to something big here. "Putting content out over the Internet direct to the viewer is the promise of the future," is what I opined last month. I still believe that. But the MLB exec who signed the contract allowing a network to bury even one of its games -- that guy should be fired... Immediately... For alienating fans... And people like me who want to be fans again...
I sent a follow up e-mail explaining the traditional meaning of "blackout" in the sports-broadcast context... I'll let the blog know if/when I get a response.
In the meantime, tell everyone to stay away from the MLB.tv package. It's a pile of crap that not worth fighting over.
UPDATE: Is MLB driving fans into the gray-area of Sling and other unofficial viewing methods? Maybe MLB honchos should consult with music industry execs -- ask them exactly what happens when you cling mindlessly to an outdated distribution model. A few weeks ago, I wanted to see MLB.tv succeed; unfortunately, it is now clear that it deserves to fail. Miserably. (I generally don't buy music CDs either.)