MLB Fans Prevail
After a hearing before Congress, Major League Baseball was able to reach an agreement with cable operators, meaning a number of baseball fans can breathe easier: the Extra Innings out-of-market baseball package is no longer exclusive to DirecTV.
InDemand, the consortium of cable operators Comcast, Cox and Time Warner agreed Wednesday to a seven-year deal with MLB to carry the Extra Innings subscription package and put the MLB Channel, expected to launch in 2009, on its basic tiers. InDemand will also offer to make Extra Innings available to other cable companies.
DirecTV signed a seven-year, $700 million deal to carry the subscription package exclusively, but after pressure from fans, MLB agreed to make the package available to other operators at “consistent rates” as DirecTV’s. The DirecTV deal raised the ire of members of Congress, who felt fans, who were previously able to view the package, were being shut out.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
