IN Demand offers to match DirecTV's MLB offer

D

Dark|Dragon

Veteran X
ESPN.com - MLB - IN Demand offers to match DirecTV's MLB offer

NEW YORK -- Baseball's "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games might wind up staying on cable television.

IN Demand said Wednesday it will offer to match the terms of DirecTV's $700 million, seven-year deal with Major League Baseball on behalf of its owners, who are affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems.

As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.

"As the current home for 'Extra Innings' for more than 200,000 cable subscribers, we have extended ourselves to do our best to be able to continue to provide this package to baseball fans and our customers," iN Demand president Robert Jacobson said. "This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said he would have to find out details of iN Demand's offer before commenting.

"Extra Innings" had more than 500,000 television subscribers last year plus about 60 percent more on MLB.com, the sport's Web site.

EchoStar Communications Corp.'s Dish Network also has carried the "Extra Innings" package. There was no immediate word whether Dish also would match the offer.

IN Demand is owned by Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership, Comcast iN Demand Holdings Corp and Cox Communications Holdings Inc.
Click to expand...

If you haven't heard DirecTV made an exclusive deal with MLB for their Extra Innings package, which essentially lets you watch any out of market baseball game. Well, this pissed a lot of people off including me. Screw DirecTV, baseball fans shouldn't be forced into one service. It is already too much that DirecTV has the NFL package (although they have always been the only ones to carry it).

MLB decides to try and make cable look like the bad guys by saying if cable can match the DirecTV offer they can have it too. Well the price is ridiculous so no one thought IN Demand would accept. Well, they did.
 
wow, cable companuies are getting shafted for sports lately... or shafting themselves...
 
Ok wtf...

Not so fast, said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.

"The communication sent to our office today by iN Demand is not responsive to that offer," he said. "In spite of their public comments, the response falls short of nearly all of the material conditions (among them requirements for carriage of The Baseball Channel and their share of the rights fees for Extra Innings) set forth in the Major League Baseball offer made to them on March 9."
Click to expand...

Yet according to IN Demand...

This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week.
Click to expand...
 
This is sort of OFN. MLB already turned their current offer down. Same story now reads:

NEW YORK -- Cable television said it offered to match DirecTV's deal for the "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games, but Major League Baseball said the proposal fell short.

When baseball announced its $700 million, seven-year deal with DirecTV on March 8, it gave the other incumbent carriers until the end of the month to match the deal.

IN Demand, owned by affiliates of the companies that own the Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems, said Wednesday it was agreeing to the terms and that its partners would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.

"As the current home for 'Extra Innings' for more than 200,000 cable subscribers, we have extended ourselves to do our best to be able to continue to provide this package to baseball fans and our customers," iN Demand president Robert Jacobson said. "This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week."

Not so fast, said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.

"The communication sent to our office today by iN Demand is not responsive to that offer," he said. "In spite of their public comments, the response falls short of nearly all of the material conditions (among them requirements for carriage of The Baseball Channel and their share of the rights fees for Extra Innings) set forth in the Major League Baseball offer made to them on March 9."

DuPuy said the March 31 deadline to match remains.

"Extra Innings" had more than 500,000 television subscribers last year plus about 60 percent more on MLB.com, the sport's Web site.

EchoStar Communications Corp.'s Dish Network has also carried the "Extra Innings" package. Dish spokeswoman Kathie Gonzalez did not return a call seeking comment.

IN Demand is owned by Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership, Comcast iN Demand Holdings Corp and Cox Communications Holdings Inc.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Click to expand...
 
i have dishnetwork and it sucks ass. i lost the local channels i got out of NYC because of some dumb law passed to prevent it for some reason
 
so it looks like a pissing match between the cable companies and MLB (aren't these the same ones that got into a pissing match with the NFL over NFL Network?). They seem to think they've matched the offer, MLB says no, you haven't. they have 10 days still to fix this.
 
Baseball is second only to Football in popularity. Especially if you live in a 'baseball area' like NY or MA. It's like a religion here.
 
just looked it up on directv's site.....wow, only $40 for the entire season (compared to $250 for football). might get it just so i can keep track of some of the guys on my fantasy team ;).

Wonder how much cable would offer thiers up. need 2.5 million people to subscribe to it to break even on the package...
 
Stinkfist said:
so it looks like a pissing match between the cable companies and MLB (aren't these the same ones that got into a pissing match with the NFL over NFL Network?). They seem to think they've matched the offer, MLB says no, you haven't. they have 10 days still to fix this.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Now instead of the NFL Network it is MLB's Baseball channel.

MLB.tv won't fly, I want to watch games on my TV not my computer.
 
I don't deny its success, but I find it much more enjoyable to watch baseball on my couch and a big screen then some low resolution video on a computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top