You guys see the commercial? They are following the NFL.

They are launching the MLB network Jan 1.

It's smart. This will be another fight for cable companies to carry it. Eventually MLB will put games on it.

They won't need TBS or ESPN anymore after their contracts expire.

FOX will still get games cuz that's an over the air network. But MLB won't need other cable stations to show its games. Not with it's own network.

The NFL network still isn't carried by six of the eight largest cable companies...I'm sure those same companies won't carry the MLB network...

Surprising, hadn't heard anything about it until that spot. Low expectations overall, something similar to NHLTV?

I'll tell you why the MLB network will have better success with the cable companies: They have something the NFL network didn't have and can't have. They have 6 months where there are games played every damn day. So they can have 3 or 4 games a week.

There is an interest in that. The NFL Network has 8 games and then it's all shows and bullshit. That's what the cable companies said. They were right. There isn't that big of a demand except for those 8 games that the NFL Network has.

MLB has programing that people want - actual games.

Good points, my low expectations were based on the fact that it will be controlled by Grandpa Selig.

better than that, they can show two games on most nights they broadcast, with west coast games starting at 9.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Better than anything (hopefully), no Joe Morgan!

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you know i'd really love it if fox lost its rights to MLB. it disrupts "Extra Innings" on Saturdays, the announcers are low rent, and the pre-post stuff is garbage. plus it's like pulling teeth for them to switch to a more competitive game if the game you get in your market sucks. and last saturday, the feed on my TV (which is not hi def) looked like garbage. it looked almost like i was watching an FMV from 1996.

I was thinking about this. You know what this MLB network can do?

They can have all of the teams broadcast all of their games on this network. All on the local affiliates. That's exactly what they should do. Think about it? Most teams, right now, broadcast on FSN or Comcast in their local markets. Those are national networks with local affiliates.

That's the right idea. I would hope MLB has that plan. That way cable companies would have to take that network. Every city would demand it if that's the only way they can see their teams. They can broadcast local games as well as national games. East and Central time zones get a West coast game after their local game is over. West Coast teams get an Eastern game before their game starts.

When the Cubs or Sox are off we would also get a national game.

MLB network can't do this for a few years. All of the broadcasting contracts would have to expire. But I'll bet that is the plan. MLB would own it so each every team can do local programing during the day. They can also have national shows.

Wouldn't that decrease the value of the MLB Extra Innings package?

I got a recorded message from Directv last week saying they're taking away my East Coast FOX feed...basically I'm able to see 2 FOX games each Saturday unless both are showing the same game, 90% of the time they aren't. Also during football season since I don't have Sunday Ticket it was 1 or 2 bonus games.

There is a fine line of over exposure. That would hurt the Extra innings sales. But no, it wouldn't hurt the package subscribers if they did it right. ESPN and TBS show 4 games a week. That doesn't hurt the package. They would be out and MLB net would only show 4 or 5 national games a week. They could still sell the package.

But the key is putting all the local games in every market on this network. Why sell the rights to Comcast or FSN when you have your own network?

Like I said, our national games would be 9pm games or when the Sox and Cubs are off. Sox and Cubs play until 10 on most nights so we would pick it up that national game a little late. So what? It's a great lead in if it's your local team playing. Sox and Cubs start at 6pm a lot when they are in Eastern time zones. So we'd get that late game from the start. Few teams play on Mondays and Thursdays. Sox and Cubs are sometimes both off on those days. The West coast national games would be 4pm start on the East coast before their local games start.

Since we are a two team market the Sox and Cubs might need another broadcast partner. Unless they have a MLB + like Comcast does when they are showing both team. Cubs might still keep a relationship with WGN. But maybe not since the Trib is selling them.

The more I think about it that's exactly what's gonna happen. It's so obvious. MLB will put every local team on this network. Why wouldn't they? It's the whole purpose of having this network. It's the ultimate programing in every market. Their local teams.

There will be no fight with cable companies when every market has 162 games that their customers want to see. NFL network doesn't have that.

well the biggest reason to have extra innings is to have the option of watching baseball teams that aren't local. so if you're saying that during your local game, all other games are blocked, then that would suck for people who live in shitty baseball towns that have to watch their shitty baseball team instead of watching a good baseball game on another "local" network somewhere else...if that's what you're saying.

that's the biggest pain in the ass fox does, which is take away games from people before 4pmET. if we get a cubs or sox game before that time, it's not played on extra innings. you'd have to have local programming for it (like if you're market is on the east coast, the cubs would have to be playing the phillies or the nationals, or the sox would have to be playing the red sox or something--in which case, probably would be the fox game) otherwise the game is blocked out.

I'm not saying every game is blacked out.

It will work just like it works now. 5 national games a week for the country. Not on ESPN or TBS but they are all on MLB Net. Every city gets their local team on this network. The package will still be purchased cuz that's exactly what we're getting now on a bunch of different networks and people still buy the package.

Currently

ESPN - Monday, Wendesday, Sunday

TBS - Sunday day game

FOX- Saturday

Yeah, I don't think he's saying that if the Sox games are on MLB Net that every other game at the same time would be blacked out like it is with FOX

I never understood why FOX does this. For instance I have the NBA package as well and there have been a few times that ABC had multiple (regional) games on Sunday. Even before ABC, NBC almost always had Sunday regional games. And League Pass would show all of them. FOX already has the exclusive window, they should allow me to switch to another game that THEY are broadcasting. Plus, isn't their window from 3-6 Central? I think the Blue Jays play all their Saturday home games at 12pm and those are not shown on Extra Innings.

Right. MLB net will be one station.

The package will be a block of 10 channels like it currently is. You can still purchase that 10 channel block if you have MLB net.

yeah, as far as i know, you don't get baseball on extra innings until the night or late afternoon games start on saturdays...

Right- I think it's shitty FOX won't let you switch between games they are showing. I could see if they were local games- they don't want me switching to a competitor. But if they are broadcasting all the games, what's the difference?

The subject came up back in late May when the White Sox played a weekend series at Tropicana Field vs. the Tampa Bay Rays, and there was a Saturday night game that started at the unusual time of 5:15p Central. Because of the exclusive 3-6p FOX Sports/MLB window, the game was not available for the first hour, but Comcast SportsNet locally aired the game in progress at 6p, which didn't seem to make any sense. Then again, the Rays & Florida Marlins starting their Saturday night home games at 5:15p baffles the hell out of me to begin with! Something tells me that you won't be seeing as many games on ESPN with the new MLB Network signing on. As for the NBA package that ABC Sports airs on Sunday afternoons, I think they have an exclusive window of their own that prevents local broadcasts of other games from starting head to head with the national game. That explains why you had to wait for Bulls' road games in Atlanta & Milwaukee about 2 seasons ago that played on Sunday afternoon, but aired later on WCIU 26 via tape delay, and why a Bulls' home game vs. Phoenix last season was nowhere to be found on local TV.

Bottom line is in this day and age, it's bullshit. If a game is broadcast on TV somewhere (which 98% of them are), you should be able to watch it. Period.

As for the Marlins & Rays, yeah it's pretty dumb to schedule 5pm starts if you know FOX has an exclusive window from 3-6. Then again the Sox start Sat. games at 6 to accommodate fireworks. Maybe the Marlins & Rays have that too.

Factually speaking, Tampa & Miami are on Eastern time, as their Saturday night starts at 6:15p. The FOX/MLB window for them would be 4-7p Eastern, 3-6p Central on Saturday afternoons...

I guess info has been out already. A whopping 26 games in the first year!

Brosnan said the network expects to carry 26 live games in its first year, with Saturday night the likeliest time slot, but acknowledged the network's success will depend on "the creativity of the non-game programming that we present."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02492.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLB_Network

Pretty interesting stuff from the Wikipedia on MLB Network. Comcast, Time Warner, and Direct TV are part oweners of MLB Network. That's why it will be easy for them to get on the air. The major cable companies and Direct TV own part of this Network.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLB_Network