INDEMAND will carry MLB EI? No so fast says MLB... How about E*?

[stuckingoo]

According to the Associated Press Echostar is still at the negotiating table.

From the ESPN article, this doesn't look good to me:

As part of the agreement, iN Demand and DirecTV each will receive about 16 percent equity in the new network, a person familiar with the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail wasn't announced. Under the original agreement, DirecTV was to be a 20 percent owner.

IN Demand will make the "Extra Innings" package available to other cable companies, which also would be required to carry the MLB channel. Baseball is willing to resume negotiate with Echostar's Dish Network, baseball spokesman Rich Levin said, but DirecTV president Chase Carey said he anticipated for now that his company would be an exclusive satellite carrier.

The dispute was largely over baseball's desire to have a deal that will allow its network to be widely available on a basic cable tier. At 40 million homes, it would be one of the largest launches in cable history.

"It provides both the financial stability and the exposure to ensure a successful launch of the channel and bring the game to as many fans as possible," DuPuy said.

Because of the new deal, DirecTV will pay less than it would have under the original agreement.

"The economics are better for us on the 'Extra Innings' side," Carey said. "Clearly there were benefits you had in capturing subs [subscribers]. We were paying a lot of money to get it. At what price? We weighed all the positives of each."

 

[RVD420]

Well if E* gets the same terms including the 16% equity ownership of the MLB channel the D* and InDemand are getting MLB will still own 52% of MLB channel.

 

[bela_blasko2006]

Well if E* gets the same terms including the 16% equity ownership of the MLB channel the D* and InDemand are getting MLB will still own 52% of MLB channel.

And What incentive does DTV have to let dish in on the deal at all now? MLB and Direct clearly wanted INDEMAND in the deal because of the numbers of subscribers they had in the past to extra innings and the number of households they add when the new channel launches in 2009. Looks like to me Dish is dead in the water now. MLB/direct might allow them in the deal but they aren't going to get the 16 percent ownership. We know Charlie won't go for that because "we want to be treated fairly" he will use. I don't see dish giving up anymore ownership of the channel and clearly direct won't to a direct competitor. Dish is done. I'll stay with them for this season and when my contract is up next spring I'm gone.

 

[GeorgeLV]

Well if E* gets the same terms including the 16% equity ownership of the MLB channel the D* and InDemand are getting MLB will still own 52% of MLB channel.

Not going to happen. They bring the least amount of EI subs (55,000 compared to DirecTV's 270,000 and Cable's 230,000) and households for the baseball channel to the table. In a proportional deal, E* has only earned 6% equity, not 16%.

 

[Peter Parker]

Where did 16% come from? the earlier press releases gave D* 20% not 16%. What changed? Do we know that In Demand has an ownership stake?

 

[josem3]

Where did 16% come from? the earlier press releases gave D* 20% not 16%. What changed? Do we know that In Demand has an ownership stake?

Look on bizotbaseball.com media news. You may found your missing link.

 

[parraga]

Well, it looks like us Dishnetwork customers are done for. Today they took off channel 626 and no longer mention MLB Extra Innings.

Thank you Charlie for hanging us out to dry. No baseball, no football. PU.

I signed up for the free trial on MLB.com but the satellite dish could't handle the overload and put me on Fair Access Policy (punshiment for 24 hours and slowing my PC on the internet).

I cancelled today.

This is a real bummer. I have HD so I will probably not switch to Direct TV until they get more stations. They don't even have locals in HD up here.

 

[stretch]

as soon as my contract is up.. or as soon as chicago locals go on spot beam.. I'm gone. I'm a sports fan, and now I know I need to go elsewhere to scratch that itch. too bad D* doesnt offer porn on a monthly basis like Dish.. they still have that advantage

 

[jamesfisher2713]

The Fat Lady has sung..... Dish its been nice knowing ya! This is the new MLB EI link on Dishs web site.

This website is a resource to help explain the recent actions by Major League Baseball and the impact on DISH Network customers and other television consumers. It also provides details on how affected customers and interested parties can help to have professional sports TV packages available to all.

What Happened?


DISH Network customers have been able to enjoy out of market baseball with the Extra Innings package for several years. Major League Baseball has decided to strike a deal that prevents America’s pastime from being available on your TV service provider of choice --- disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of baseball fans nationwide.

Over the past several weeks, DISH Network diligently tried to reach a fair agreement with Major League Baseball to keep the Extra Innings package on DISH Network without having to pass on huge cost increases to customers.
DISH Network made many concessions and offered numerous solutions, including extending a current agreement until a resolution could be reached. Major League Baseball refused.
The US Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing and invited DISH Network, Major League Baseball and other industry representatives to testify. The president of DISH Network testified on your behalf and said we needed a fair deal that kept your Extra Innings on DISH. At that hearing, Democratic and Republican leaders urged Major League Baseball to come to an agreement with us so that customers would not lose their Extra Innings games.
Major League Baseball’s demands are blatantly anti-consumer – and they refuse to budge.
DISH Network remains interested in the Extra Innings package but we are not optimistic that Major League Baseball will propose a fair deal for our customers.

Am I Able to Get Major League Baseball with DISH Network?

Rest assured, DISH Network customers will continue to enjoy access to thousands of major league baseball games per year, including those broadcast on ESPN, Regional Sports Networks and local networks which have broadcast agreements for Major League Baseball carriage. The great news is that you will continue to have access to this programming within your existing programming packages including the playoffs and the World Series.

Can DISH Network customers still get out of market Major League Baseball Games?


DISH Network customers who have high speed internet access have the option of purchasing MLB.TV as an alternative to the MLB Extra Innings package for their baseball viewing needs starting at only $14.95 per month or $89.95 per year. While not the same as TV, the MLB.TV is a service available to consumers allowing them to utilize their computer along with high speed internet connection in order to enjoy every 2007 regular season out-of market game live. In addition, MLB.TV customers will enjoy condensed games, searchable videos, clickable line scores, Baseball Channel & extended highlights.

What is DISH Network doing to reverse Major League Baseball’s decision?


We are now working with key members of Congress to fight to make professional sports available to all. DISH Network was recently invited to testify at the US Senate Commerce Committee hearing to urge Congress to take action to protect consumers. The President of DISH Network testified on your behalf and said we needed a fair deal that kept Extra Innings available to you. At that hearing, Democratic and Republican leaders urged Major League Baseball to come to an agreement with us so that customers would not lose their Extra Innings games, or their right to watch Extra Innings on the television provider of their choice.

Again, your access to Major League Baseball games via ESPN, Regional Sports Networks, and local networks that currently carry games will not be affected.

 

[russlay]

Switched Today

After 8 yrs with DISH, I had Direct TV hooked up today. Watching the Yankees on YES right now (which I never could have done on DISH), and they are in HD no less! The HD on DirecTV doesn't look that much different than E*, at least to my eye. With the new switch I got the HD DVR for cheap, so I considered it an upgrade. Took about 20 minutes to cancel DISH. The rep spent a lot of time asking me about the missing RSN's (MASN and YES) and about EI. He said I was the longest tenured cancel he had today. Anyway, they lost one customer and I'll be watching the Red Sox as soon as they have a night game!

 

[db2]

The rep spent a lot of time asking me about the missing RSN's (MASN and YES) and about EI.

Thank you for taking the time to explain to him about the RSN's. Even though I'm not in your area I still hope they get the freakin point and light up the rest of the RSNs including HD.

[Rant]I've seen a few people lately posting things like, "Dish doesn't care about sports programming," and "If you want sports you'll have to go with D*." If this is truly the case then E* is in for a rude awakening. Whether they like it or not Sports is a major driving force behind pay television. There is a reason why ESPN gets more than 10 times the amount of money per subscriber than stations like Discovery and F/X. When E* pulled CourtTV from it's lineup for a brief period I'm sure they had a few angry calls and emails, but can you imagine if they had pulled ESPN or ESPN2 for the same period? They would have been flooded with complaints and cancellations. My point is that if E* wants to segment themselves by becoming the "non-sports" pay tv service they've got another thing coming[/Rant]

 

[CubsWin]

My point is that if E* wants to segment themselves by becoming the "non-sports" pay tv service they've got another thing coming

I agree. Sports fans are a very large section of any subscriber base and it's not a wise move to alienate them, especially when there is no obvious cost savings in doing so. If E* could claim their rates are X $ less than D* because of their thrifty spending then maybe they would have a case, but I don't see any of that evidence.

 

[fredfa]

...There is a reason why ESPN gets more than 10 times the amount of money per subscriber than stations like Discovery and F/X. ....

The reason is called the ABC O&Os. If cable/satellite/telco want to show Lost and Grey's and Desperate Housewives in HD, they gotta pony up $2.96 per month for every subscriber for ESPN. (And then there is ESPN2, and ESPN News, etc).

Most weeks (outside of football season) ESPN isn't even in the top 10 of rated cable networks. Its been weeks since it finished ahead of Fox News Channel. And fully two thirds of the nation's viewers NEVER watch it.

The reason it gets all that money and all that carriage is that Disney has a loaded gun (the ABC O&Os) aimed at the heart of any provider who won't ante up.

If Charlie REALLY wanted to look out for his subscribers and theioe wallets, he'd drop the ESPNs, rebate everybody the $6-$7 a month the entire suite costs, and take his fight for a la carte legislation to Washington.

Instead of this pathetic whining act. mIt didn't work for TiVo and it didn't work for DNS. And this is just a waste of time and effort.

Most viewers don't care about sports on TV and care much less about baseball on TV, especially out of market games. Only 55,000 of Charlie's 13 million subs bothered to sign on last year. That is one out of every 236 Dish subs.

So why doesn't he just say, as Scott suggests, the price was too high and we passed?

 

[GadgetGirl]

I watched the Red Sox play today and it was NESN in HD. I wasn't able to do that with E*. I had E* for the past 8 years, but in January when I found out I was going to be charged $14 more a month and it was likely E* wouldn't have MLB EI, I decided it was time to make a change. It was a tough decision to make, but I am not sorry. I live in Delaware and want to watch the Red Sox. Watching the games on a computer just is not a solution for me.

I will say I have been pleased with D*. I have found customer support to be better and I didn't have any problems with the installer. The last couple of times I had someone from E* come out, it was a nightmare. The people I have spoken to with D*'s customer support actually speak English well. I had quite a few calls with the Indian call center that were difficult at best when I had E*.

I miss the superstations and the Sirius music channels. I also prefer E*'s equipment. I wasn't thrilled about being locked into a 2 year commitment with D*, but I am still glad I switched.

D* is also less expensive than E* for the programming package that I have. I have some special deals right now, but even when I start paying full price, it will still be cheaper.

I don't understand why E* has such a problem negotiating contracts with the various content carriers. D* doesn't seem to have that many problems. InDemand was able to work out something with MLB so I don't understand why E* can't do this.

I had been very happy with E* up until a couple of years ago. When I started losing channels when contract negotiations came up and I had to deal with the overseas call center, I started getting frustrated with E*. When E* was going to increase my bill by $14, much more than cable ever did, I decided I needed to explore other options. As the rumours started that MLB was going to be exclusive to D*, it made my choice clear. I am more pleased with D* than I thought I would be. I hope that continues. With the promise of a lot more HD being added, things look good.

Now I just hope I will get to see a lot more Red Sox games in HD.

 

[parraga]

I just got riped off from Dish. I inquired about the Multi Sport package and was told I would be able to see live major league baseball games and hockey. I went over the SF Giants schedule and the person told me those games would not be blacked out. Once they downloaded the channels (low 400 range) and saw that every single game was blacked out. This is after I was assured the games would be on the air. Every single baseball and hockey game were blacked out at least for the next few days and far as my program guide could see.

Stupid ME to trust someone who doesn't speak clear English.

Charlie, I hate you.

 

[kstuart]

EI subs (55,000 compared to DirecTV's 270,000 and Cable's 230,000)

This is amazing to me.
E* has had this package for years, and yet their Extra Innings subscriptions are a small fraction of DirecTV's (or cable's).
What this means is that Dish Network primarily attracts those who are looking for a better price deal than DirecTV or cable.
People who are looking to save $5 or $10 a month, don't subscribe to out-of-market sports packages for hundreds of dollars a year.
I'm now surpised that E* spent this much time for a mere 55,000 subscribers.
Remember Distant Networks ? That was 1,000,000 subcribers - almost 20 times as much !

 

[RealityCheck]

This is amazing to me.
E* has had this package for years, and yet their Extra Innings subscriptions are a small fraction of DirecTV's (or cable's).
What this means is that Dish Network primarily attracts those who are looking for a better price deal than DirecTV or cable.
People who are looking to save $5 or $10 a month, don't subscribe to out-of-market sports packages for hundreds of dollars a year.
I'm now surpised that E* spent this much time for a mere 55,000 subscribers.
Remember Distant Networks ? That was 1,000,000 subcribers - almost 20 times as much !

It also reflects the fact that the MLB offering on Dish was vastly inferior to BOTH cable and DirecTV. Since Dish does not carry some of the minor RSN's (YES for example, and MASN) - none of the MLB EI games done by non-carried channels was available to its customers. Love them or hate the Yankees, they are the biggest draw, and NY is the biggest market. They also draw from all over the country.

 

[RandallA]

I just got riped off from Dish. I inquired about the Multi Sport package and was told I would be able to see live major league baseball games and hockey. I went over the SF Giants schedule and the person told me those games would not be blacked out. Once they downloaded the channels (low 400 range) and saw that every single game was blacked out. This is after I was assured the games would be on the air. Every single baseball and hockey game were blacked out at least for the next few days and far as my program guide could see.

Stupid ME to trust someone who doesn't speak clear English.

Charlie, I hate you.

That's always been the case. You should've come here to Satguys and ask.

Kidding aside, I just don't see the point of this Sports package when all Pro sports are blacked out. Someone once told me "but there is College sports", well I'm not interested in College sports. I'm sure the majority wants to see the Pro sports not the College sports.

 

[mdonnelly]

...
Kidding aside, I just don't see the point of this Sports package when all Pro sports are blacked out. Someone once told me "but there is College sports", well I'm not interested in College sports. I'm sure the majority wants to see the Pro sports not the College sports.

I did my homework on this one before I jumped into the M-S package, when E* started lighting up the HD RSNs. I put my zipcode into http://dish.fxep.com and it came out with a list of professional teams (Astros, Rangers, Cardinals, Mavericks, Stars, Burn) that claim my town as part of their home territory, and the RSNs that carry those teams. Any RSN that carries those teams can't black them out here.

Since the Cardinals aren't on my default RSN (FSN SW), I pay for the M-S package to get those games from FSN MW (37 now in HD this year, 110 in SD). On days when ESPN-HD and the RSN are both carrying the game, ESPN is blacked out, but the RSN isn't.

 

[Chris Walker]

It also reflects the fact that the MLB offering on Dish was vastly inferior to BOTH cable and DirecTV. Since Dish does not carry some of the minor RSN's (YES for example, and MASN) - none of the MLB EI games done by non-carried channels was available to its customers. Love them or hate the Yankees, they are the biggest draw, and NY is the biggest market. They also draw from all over the country.

It also reflects on how lousy the EI package is in general, especially in comparison to League Pass and Centre Ice. League Pass offers pretty much every game, Center Ice offers basically every game (including home and away telecasts). EI only offers what the RSNs carry and their blackouts are far more strict than the other leagues, yet the charge just as much if not more than NHL and NBA. Until MLB decides to offer OTA games in EI, their package will never be as popular.