DirecTV acknowledges proposed deal for exclusive Extra Innings rights

ondeadline · Jan 20, 2007

Re: DirecTV wants Extra Innings package to itself

It looks like this is really going to happen:

MLB Extra Innings will be exclusively on DirecTV

By Richard Sandomir, New York Times
January 19, 2007

Major League Baseball is close to announcing a deal that will place its Extra Innings package of out-of-market games exclusively on DirecTV, which will also become the only carrier of a long-planned 24-hour baseball channel.

Extra Innings has been available to 75 million cable households and the two satellite services, DirecTV and the Dish Network. But the new agreement will take it off cable and Dish because DirecTV has agreed to pay $700 million over seven years, according to three executives briefed on the details of the contract but not authorized to speak about them publicly.

InDemand, which has distributed Extra Innings to the cable television industry since 2002, made an estimated $70 million bid to renew its rights, more than triple what it has been paying. Part of its offer included the right to carry the new baseball channel, but not exclusively.

The baseball channel is scheduled to start in 2009.

MLB, DirecTV and InDemand officials declined to comment.

DirecTV is also the exclusive outlet for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, for which it pays $700 million annually. Sunday Ticket has about 2 million subscribers; Extra Innings about 750,000, according to The Sports Business Journal.

Extra Innings lets subscribers, for a fee, watch about 60 games a week from other local markets except their own.

The only other way that fans without DirecTV will be able to see Extra Innings will be on MLB.com’s mlb.tv service, but they must have high-speed broadband service. About 28 million homes have high-speed service, less than half the number of cable homes in the country. The picture quality of streamed games is not as good as what is available on cable or satellite.

DirecTV is available to about 15 million subscribers.

Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who was then the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, cited DirecTV’s exclusivity with Sunday Ticket as a reason to strip the NFL of an antitrust exemption to negotiate all TV contracts for its teams. Comcast, which has complained that it cannot carry Sunday Ticket, is a Philadelphia-based company.
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As a Dish customer, this stinks. I'll have to say that DirecTV likely will jack up its prices if they are paying what his report says they're playing.

As long as this doesn't happen to Center Ice!!!

Fubar · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Yay for idiots! Yeah!

ballscribe · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

If Directv would smarten up and add the Tennis Channel, they'd be perfect.

MileHigh · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Agreed on the tennis channel. They finally got the Golf Channel off the sports tier.

Editude · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Looks like it's DirecTV in 2009. Can't go without Extra Innings.

shotglass · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

This ticks me off something fierce.

Mystery_Meat · Jan 20, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Friend's response to the news: GAY.

UnPC-ness aside, it's hard to argue with him.

Shaggy · Jan 21, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

I bet Iowa is blacked out by the Twins, Cubs, White Sox, Royals and Cardinals. Maybe even the Rockies.

Armchair_QB · Jan 21, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Shaggy said:

I bet Iowa is blacked out by the Twins, Cubs, White Sox, Royals and Cardinals. Maybe even the Rockies.
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Drop the Rockies and add the Brewers and you're probably right.

But, for example, if you live in Des Moines you get access to the Cubs, Twins, Sox & Cardinals through one of the Fox/Comcast regional channels. So unless you're a Brewers fan you're still ok.

ondeadline · Jan 21, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

Has anybody tried the broadband version of Extra Innings?

donnie23 · Jan 24, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

ondeadline said:

Has anybody tried the broadband version of Extra Innings?
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That's all I might be left with. I am NOT switching to DirecTV, no f'in way. Being in a market with six blacked-out teams -- and may I repeat, NONE of which play in my city and only TWO of which show games regularly -- I was already getting screwed in this deal when I could order it on cable. And this is the thanks I get. Awesome.

I am already looking into ordering MLB.TV and running a PC-to-TV converter so I can watch on a 36-inch screen instead of my laptop. I just can't believe this is the BS I have to go through just to watch some baseball that I'm already paying a premium to receive.

One day of this news and the media reax -- universally negative -- are already rolling in:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AnJtNlPMWP7UmA5pF5Zj3psRvLYF?slug=dw-directv012307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkfEEGUI_wZZD6yKpp0gr.ERvLYF?slug=cnnsi-mlbsbrushbackpi&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

(And Buster Olney dedicated the first part of the blog to angry emails today, but I don't have Insider access to get the text up here. Passan was already beating the drum on the ridiculous blackout setup, and MLB found the only way to screw this up any more than it already was scrambled.)

write then drink · Jan 24, 2007

Re: N.Y. Times: MLB close to announcing exclusive Extra Innings deal with DirecTV

this is depressing as hell

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