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Cheapass Charlie strikes again! No MLB channel on a Basic tier. There is no doubt that E* could turn the "cost" into an asset, by negotiating the same equity stake as D* and InDemand. Instead, E* has made excuses rather than even throwing a lowball offer: thave not even tried. Suddenly the...

I'm aware of that... that's why I asked. HDTVFanAtic wrote otherwise, I'd like to verify it myself if he's got real sources. FWIW, I have not read anything stating that D* and/or MLB have even confirmed the value of the deal. Without first-hand confirmation, the $700M number is nothing more...

Where did you read that? I'd like to see it. I've seen "match the terms", but no explicit statement of those "terms". Contracts can have a lot of fine-print. $700M for 7 years may include a bunch of things that are not part of EI. It may include the equity-stake in MLB channel. It may...

Look at Charlie's track record. My bet is that he is hoping for intervention by congress, or he's preparing to file a suit that includes an injunction from the 3/31 date. It's very unlikely that he'll try to negotiate in good faith, or at all, before the 11th hour. Don't assume anything on...

Understood. Re: analog tier, there are still some FCC-regulated must-carry requirements forcing cable to provide analog signal availability until 2009. But once OTA goes all-digital those mandates are lifted and cable is free to implement your (1) and (2). Coming full-circle, there is no...

I wasn't aware of that, thanks. That's even better for the cable providers, they have more room to negotiate with the local commissions. Given the positions of both the FCC and Congress on this, any cable company could argue that providing lifeline analog service is unnecessarily burdensome...

I've just spent an hour-plus searching fcc.gov and dtv.gov looking for applicable info. It looks like the question is not answered in any straightforward way. However, there are many places where it's stated that consumers may need to buy/rent a digital STB from their cable company (and to...

Are you saying today, or after the OTA transition to digital? I don't understand why cable doesn't fight the lifeline requirement, if it really exists. I question it because there are plenty of folks (inner city, fixed-income, etc) who don't get cable and rely on OTA. They don't get a lifeline...

No. Not $700M/year. $700M for all seven years; that's $100M/year. In contrast, XM paid $650M for eleven years of audio-only.

I don't think I said they were obligated. I said it doesn't make sense for them not to go digital. Are you saying that the digital-tier channels are currently NTSC over the wire (into the home)? Since they aren't required to push ATSC over the wire, then why can't they require a digital STB...

And today that is done to support legacy tv's used by folks who don't want the STB. Once the "digital transition" happens, cable will no longer be required to support those sets; they can require everybody to have a digital STB. It's a better economic model to push pure digital and recover all...

Don't know if it would burn anyone, but it would probably be a great business move. At that price you're likely to get a few thousand new subs in almost every market just on the basis that the games are available whether they're watched or not. An unexpected jump in subs would put a few...

You could interpret it that way if you want, but that's not the only way to see it. I saw the word "consistent" in the text, which isn't the same as "match". Also, "rate" does not necessarily apply to the $700M figure. That may include other fees, such as the minority stake in MLBTV, and...

I don't get it. Where is analog cable going to get analog feeds once the plug is pulled on analog OTA? Sending analog streams down the wire is a total waste of bandwidth when the OTA source material is digital. Are you suggesting that cable ops are going to convert digital source material to...

ree I agree with the basic-tier stipulation being a potential problem. I don't buy into the digital-tier part. MLBTV does not launch until 2009; isn't April 2009 when analog gets its plug pulled?

By that logic we should all be bitching about the asteroid that will pass close to Earth in 2018, and bitch that we aren't developing technology to shield the Earth. Wouldn't it be prudent to press Dish and cable to make an honest attempt to cut a deal, before bitching? When I read the part...

That's not what it says. According to SkyReport today: they must agree to "match the same rate structure and carriage requirements" of the announced deal. Now pick it apart. 1) Rate structure does not necessarily mean paying the same as last year, or paying the same $700M for seven years...

Sorry, I don't see it that way. It's a premium product with a significant subscription price. The owner of the product is free to market how he (collectively) sees fit. It sucks, but that's the way it is. Baseball is now primarily on RSN's with a token number of games on OTA. Before there...

So where's the outrage that D* has an exclusive on the NCAA Tournament out-of-market package?

The website has a good amount of fine-print on each sports subscription page, describing requirements and limitations. None of them state anything about a minimum package requirement. I have been told by many that a base subscription package is required; however, I know of people who canceled...

Boxing was event-by-event, but it started before HBO/Showtime had enough money to bid. Initially they called it "closed-circuit TV". Later it was among the first PPV events. Eventually HBO and Showtime started bidding. If I understand correctly, HBO and Showtime often align themselves...

Last year EI had 300,000 subscribers who did not use DirecTV to view games. They certainly could not have gotten much income, dividing the MLB share of subscription fees among 30 owners. With a subscriber base that small, MLB has every justification to go for more money through an exclusivce...

The Roush Racing bullpen, sponsored by Viagra :eek:

Valid reasons for making your decision. Unfortunately sports have had exclusive deals for decades, and nobody has ever made such a fuss before. Let's face it: championship boxing was on free-tv up until the 80's. Then boxing started selling its best events to subscription TV (HBO/Showtime)...