WHAT?? NO!! That cant be!! Captain FIOS aka Questioner...aka TV B.....oh whatever, sources told him the deal was "finalized". Damn! I guess he finally missed one!
MLB EI coming to FIOS...
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WHAT?? NO!! That cant be!! Captain FIOS aka Questioner...aka TV B.....oh whatever, sources told him the deal was "finalized". Damn! I guess he finally missed one!
Hey man, ease off! No one can be right EVERY timeWHAT?? NO!! That cant be!! Captain FIOS aka Questioner...aka TV B.....oh whatever, sources told him the deal was "finalized". Damn! I guess he finally missed one!
Now it even looks like verizon has removed the blog. Not a good sign I would surmise.
4/28 Edit:
The blog is back up - was down for a couple of days though.
4/28 Edit:
The blog is back up - was down for a couple of days though.
His latest info is that the deal has been finalized, with even more HD games than on D*! Don't you listen?
Check out the channel realignment thread. Lots of new HD coming - I count 26 new channels to start - plus 4 SD, a couple new digital music, and HD PPV. Also included are MLB EI, NHL CI, and Setanta. Oh, and the roll-out starts in 3 - 4 weeks.
Actually, Verizon stated earlier today that they still have NO agreement with MLB to carry EI.
According to Multichannel News:
Verizon still has not landed a deal with Major League Baseball to offer the Extra Innings package of out-of-market games, Wilner said.
Here you can read the article in its entirety:
Verizon To Add 'At Least' 25 HD Channels This Summer - 6/5/2008 10:04:00 AM - Multichannel News
Well, they must be pretty certain about the deal - they have channels allocated to the package. That's not true of other packages that they've talked about but haven't solidified yet (e.g. NBA). They've also indicated that they're only disclosing channels that they have agreements on. I'd say that MLB EI is pretty much a done deal, even if the ink hasn't hit the paper yet.
Why, yes, there is. Here's the channel line-up for Ft. Wayne, IN, effective 6/30. This is the first market getting the new channels:
http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetai...9F9840DD08/0/Fort_Wayne_IN_effective_6_30.pdf
Go to the second page (you'll need to zoom in). Go to the right, on the top of the page, where it says Pay Per View. Channels 1020 - 1033 are allocated for MLB EI, and 1040 - 1053 are there for NHL CI.
I e-mailed Heather Wilner regarding MLB EI - and here is her response to me at 6:40PM last evening:
Mr. Bxxxx -- we never issued a news release about MLB Extra Innings. We've only said that we expect to offer MLB EI in the future. Unfortunately, I don't have any updates at this time but hopefully we will have more information soon. Please keep a look out for announcements about content additions on FiOS TV, as we're adding more than 60 new channels this summer.
Heather Wilner
Verizon - Media Relations
So - tell me, will they or won't they? Also, IIRC when contracts like these are signed, there is generally a PR with the announcement. I don't recall seeing one that a deal has been struck yet.
Time will tell, but it does appear that they want to get the package for their subs.
Mr. Bxxxx -- we never issued a news release about MLB Extra Innings. We've only said that we expect to offer MLB EI in the future. Unfortunately, I don't have any updates at this time but hopefully we will have more information soon. Please keep a look out for announcements about content additions on FiOS TV, as we're adding more than 60 new channels this summer.
Heather Wilner
Verizon - Media Relations
So - tell me, will they or won't they? Also, IIRC when contracts like these are signed, there is generally a PR with the announcement. I don't recall seeing one that a deal has been struck yet.
Time will tell, but it does appear that they want to get the package for their subs.
Then they need to tell the guys putting together the channel lists - it's possible that they incorrectly put those channels on there. All of the other channels listed are those that they've announced. It's likely that MLB EI won't be there for this season - by the time these changes get rolled out to all markets the season will be over.
I still take the listing of the channels as a sign that these guys are darn serious about adding the packages - the ball is in motion, in other words.
I still take the listing of the channels as a sign that these guys are darn serious about adding the packages - the ball is in motion, in other words.
JPL - I agree with you, but I just would have to think that if they have inked the deal with MLB they would advertise in VERY BIG LETTERS in order to help them get additional subscribers.
I don't quite understand why those channels appear in the new listings, and why they have told Multichannel News, and why they have emailed me back that they still have not signed with MLB.
Interesting to say the least.
I don't quite understand why those channels appear in the new listings, and why they have told Multichannel News, and why they have emailed me back that they still have not signed with MLB.
Interesting to say the least.
Sounds like we're in agreement I do agree that they would be putting in very big, blinking, neon letters that they now have MLB EI. The lack of these sports packs is a killer for them. I know why they're putting the channel lists out there - but I do believe there are some mistakes (e.g. TMC HD is no longer listed as a channel, as someone noticed). The reason has to do with the channel number changes, and not really for the new channels. They're required, as per their franchise agreements, to notify customers 30 days in advance of any channel deletions or number changes (additions have no such requirement).
If you go to their channel listing area, you'll notice a message at the top saying that the new lists are there, and will be added per market about 30 days prior to the channels being rolled into that market. I believe they're treating THAT as their 30-day advanced warning notification to customers.
I also wouldn't be surprised if there were some additional channels there when they do roll out. There are some suprising exclusions - e.g. they added all the Discovery HD channels... except Travel HD? That doesn't make any sense to me, and I think it's a mistake. Also, I saw no FX HD, nor any Fox Business HD - Fox is strangely absent from the list of HD channels being added. Ditto ABC (no Disney HD at this point, e.g.). I'm not sayign that any of those channels will be there this summer, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were a couple more that show up that aren't currently on that channel list. Guess we'll just have to see.
I do agree that they would be putting in very big, blinking, neon letters that they now have MLB EI. The lack of these sports packs is a killer for them. I know why they're putting the channel lists out there - but I do believe there are some mistakes (e.g. TMC HD is no longer listed as a channel, as someone noticed). The reason has to do with the channel number changes, and not really for the new channels. They're required, as per their franchise agreements, to notify customers 30 days in advance of any channel deletions or number changes (additions have no such requirement).If you go to their channel listing area, you'll notice a message at the top saying that the new lists are there, and will be added per market about 30 days prior to the channels being rolled into that market. I believe they're treating THAT as their 30-day advanced warning notification to customers.
I also wouldn't be surprised if there were some additional channels there when they do roll out. There are some suprising exclusions - e.g. they added all the Discovery HD channels... except Travel HD? That doesn't make any sense to me, and I think it's a mistake. Also, I saw no FX HD, nor any Fox Business HD - Fox is strangely absent from the list of HD channels being added. Ditto ABC (no Disney HD at this point, e.g.). I'm not sayign that any of those channels will be there this summer, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were a couple more that show up that aren't currently on that channel list. Guess we'll just have to see.
