Major League Baseball not a fan of placeshifting

After alienating fans with long strikes and doped-up players, you'd think that Major League Baseball would be wise to make moves towards recapturing its lost fan base; instead, recent comments by an executive from MLB's media division indicate that baseball may be intending to further sour relations with its customers by cracking down on the placeshifting of televised games. Speaking at this year's Digital Media Summit in LA, MLB Advanced Media executive VP George Kliavkoff went toe-to-toe with fellow panel member and Sling Media marketing VP Rich Buchanan, arguing that Slingbox customers are "violating the scope of their [cable and satellite] user agreements" when they rebroadcast content out of their home market. The whole issue seems rather silly to us, as baseball is essentially complaining that you're somehow screwing a local affiliate by watching an out-of-market game when you're traveling to its city, even though the sport as a whole is still benefiting from your viewership and the vast number of placeshifters probably ensure that no net eyeballs are actually lost. Note to MLB: Cricket is starting to look more and more attractive every day.

[will chen @ Jun 7th 2006 4:26PM]

Proof that baseball is officially behind with the times.

[simon @ Jun 7th 2006 4:29PM]

what lost fanbase?

[MDB @ Jun 7th 2006 4:43PM]

Good thing you're not biased or anything... Did you strike out in tee-ball when you were a toddler?

[Sheepdip @ Jun 7th 2006 4:43PM]

The MLB is just ticked because Slingbox owners are supposedly taking money out of their greedy fingers because those viewers aren't buying the games on MLB.com. This is the equivalent of the playground brat who took his ball home when another kid was a better athlete. MLB: Don't punish Slingbox or their buyers just because your product doesn't have as much value.

...and Tristan - give us a break. Earn hits to your site like the rest of us... by being relevant. You're a begger on the street of life and no one is buying your sob story.

[Chris McDowell @ Jun 7th 2006 4:46PM]

I dont think the majority of content providers are catching onto this whole future idea. They all seem to be stuck in the past with radio's and televisions with antenas. Scheduled programing sucks. Why not just get this whole on demand thing going. I would spend way more on stuff if I could do with it what I want and when I want.

[GadgetMike @ Jun 7th 2006 4:50PM]

SheepDip is spot on. MLB is just pissed at losing 'market share'. This isn't anywhere near the quasi-legitimate argument of illegal file-sharing from a volume perspective alone....how many freakin 'placeshifters' are there (I'm one) but there aren't a lot. Piss off MLB...

[chasqui @ Jun 7th 2006 4:59PM]

I can see the argument about loosing revenue because someone might not otherwise pay to view the video from mlb.com if they do offer paid streaming video of games. Maybe the problem is in their revenue setup - they are not loosing eyeballs - but they price eyeballs differently. I assume someone placeshifting would be measured as watching the broadcast "in the home market"? Maybe "out of local market" viewers generate more revenue for MLB. If so, they need to change their business model to keep up with technology!

[idude135 @ Jun 7th 2006 5:18PM]

Baseball has lost all credibility in my eyes. Although teams cough*tax-paying citizens*cough continue to build stadiums, the sport has been compromised by cheaters whose artificial greatness is reflected on their physique.

All this BS about Extra Innings makes no sense, after all we all use to pay for WGN, TBS and all those other FOX Sports networks in our cable bill. Hopefully soccer can be more popular in the future. I don't know but baseball has turned too lethargic and pathetic to watch, especially as clowns like Barry Bonds, seem to do a greater good for MLB, moneywise.

[rob lee @ Jun 7th 2006 5:30PM]

mlb is loosing viewers because you have shows like Baseball Tonight gives the viewer the essential highlight they need. The commentators also provide a lot of insider information.

Watching a whole entire baseball game is long, and most of the time the players are standing. (90% standing, 10% action). I suggest MLB make some drastic changes to the game. For instance if the players want to fight, they should allow them to fight (kind of like hockey). Once the fight is settled, they can go back to the bench and get ejected. If both teams run out of players to substitute, the game is a forfeit or the team with the lead will get the win.

I also think baseball players should start wearing helmets. For instance a base runner can collide with an infielder to deflect the play. Or the infielder can take down a base runner to keep him from scoring.

Or maybe they should just create new league called "Contact baseball."

[flamer's grill @ Jun 7th 2006 5:50PM]

Slingmedia competes directly with future MLB mobile interests. That is why the MLB is pissed.

Major League Baseball, in the past few years, has been toying with the idea of broadcasting games over cell phones. I think they worked with Sprint for a little while; I know you can use MobiRadio on your sprint phones and subscribe to radio broadcasts of MLB games, but not yet live televised games.

This cannot be far off, though. Sprint already has live TV and will offer live NFL games this fall when the NFL Network (a live channel carried by Sprint Power Vision Live) aires the thanksgiving day game.

Has anyone used MLB.tv? I subscribe to it. You can log onto mlb.tv from any broadband computer and watch live baseball games all season. EVERY GAME. That's about fifteen games a night that you are privy to. They recently launched a program called MLB MOSAIC that alows you to watch six games AT ONCE.

MLB is not behind the times, folks. If anything, they are ahead of the curve when it comes to delivering broadband content, and I can see myself watching live MLB games on my A900 by next season. See now how Slingmedia will directly compete with that plan? Slingmedia will allow you, for free, to do something MLB wants to charge you for.

[thatguy @ Jun 7th 2006 5:53PM]

MLB inter-league attendance was up 26.4% this year. MLB also set a record attendance in 2004 and then broke it in 2005. They are on pace to set yet another record this season.

[mike f @ Jun 7th 2006 6:05PM]

Thanks, flamer's grill, for not just slagging baseball. MLBAM is very much ahead of the other sports in providing content online, and it started with a relatively modest $1 mill donation from each team owner. Now they're discussing becoming publicly traded. Of course they want people to pay for all of their content. That's how businesses work, folks.

[Comrade Penguin @ Jun 7th 2006 6:11PM]

Come join us with our cricket. 5 days solid entertainment, everyone wear the same kits, fitness has barely reached the game let alone drugs and all the umpires make bizare hand movements. Best sport ever. (No really I love it.)

[Lee Gibson @ Jun 7th 2006 6:18PM]

...base what? Is that one of those games that they play in the stadiums that they raise property taxes to pay for? I sure wish they'd stop that.

[vijay @ Jun 7th 2006 6:19PM]

Hey! Not fair!! - I just watched a five day (cricket) test match - India v West Indies @ Antigua Recreational Ground - a draw - but UTTERLY THRILLING from start to finish!

[Folsom @ Jun 7th 2006 6:23PM]

Tell me how to watch home MLB on MLB.tv when you're away. The game is blacked out from MLB.tv since you registered with your home zip code. MLB.tv only lets you watch all games if there isn't a club in your zip code. Sling lets you watch the local game live.

[scupfisher @ Jun 7th 2006 6:33PM]

MLB.tv picks up where you IP address is comming from. I live in Bosotn but I was able to watch the Red Sox game when I was down in Philly.

[flamer's grill @ Jun 7th 2006 8:55PM]

Scupfisher is correct. I was in vegas in early april and I was able to log in and watch my beloved orioles lose a couple games.

In fact, it seems like they only black out games selectively. Just the other night I saw a Jays/O's home game while I was at home on mlb.tv. It was on regular television as well!

[3rdsun @ Jun 7th 2006 10:27PM]

Hey everyone World Cup Cricket next year in the caribbean. come down and enjoy. no slingboxes tho

[james @ Jun 7th 2006 10:27PM]

Slingbox just hit a home run. Any press is good press. That's why MLB attendance is up - the senate baseball drug testemonies help give MLB another kick.

[cannedsoda @ Jun 8th 2006 12:24AM]

Yes MLB is ahead as far as broadcasting via the internet but their policy of blacking out games outweighs any advancements online. MLB.tv and the extra innings tv package both will blackout games if your are within the blackout region. You would think that would just be the local city and surrounding areas.

I live in OKC and cannot see any Rangers, Cardinals, Royals or Astros games unless it's shown on ESPN or Fox sports. That is rediculous. Rangers are a four hour drive, Cardinals a eight hour drive, and Royals Astros a six hour drive. How do they expect me to see all of the games? The Royals are hardly ever shown here locally. Cards, Rangers and Astros are shown occasionally.

If me or my kid were a Royals fan he would have no way of watching their games. The extra innings tv package and mlb.tv are useless as they black them out regardless of whether or not they're playing at home or away! The blackout region is based on zip code which is rediculous. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/subscriptions/mlbtv.jsp.

Bud Selig and the big morons at the head of MLB need to get fired. If you do a quick search you'll see plenty of complaints about the same thing from other fans. NFL and NBA packages only blackout if the local TV over the air coverage is not available. You would think MLB would be smart enough not to alienate their fans. Oh well...

[GadgetMike @ Jun 8th 2006 1:12AM]

As far as I'm concerned, I pay $1800 for my share of my group's season tickets. If I want to placeshift, I'll placeshift. Yes MLB is doing what any smart business would do as far as delivering content but they don't have to poke anybody in the eye while doing it.

[English to the bone @ Jun 8th 2006 5:03AM]

I say chaps, does that mean I can watch a game of Rounders from any part of the British Empire?

[Ryan @ Jun 8th 2006 9:25AM]

Time to sail off with my slingbox out to international waters... who wants to join me for a little rebroadcasting with only MLB's implied oral consent?

And a monkey knife fight or two, of course... BYO illegal fireworks.