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

[Sean Mota]

IN Demand says it will match DirecTV baseball offer

IN Demand says it will match DirecTV baseball offer
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
March 21, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- Baseball's "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games might wind up staying on cable television. IN Demand said Wednesday it will offer to match the terms of DirecTV's $700 million, seven-year deal with Major League Baseball on behalf its owners, who are affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems.
As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.
"As the current home for 'Extra Innings' for more than 200,000 cable subscribers, we have extended ourselves to do our best to be able to continue to provide this package to baseball fans and our customers," iN Demand president Robert Jacobson said. "This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week. "

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-tvpackage&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[lakebum431]

Wow, big news! I can't see E* staying out of the hunt now. They better get on the ball.

 

[ScoBuck]

Now I guess we see if Charlie really is concerned about his sports loving subs. I hope he bites, competition is what this is really all about, isn't it?

 

[jahlight]

Wonder how long it will take to see it show up on BHN's web site?

 

[db2]

I still don't think E* will budge. Too expensive for them.

 

[pdxsam]

I still don't think E* will budge. Too expensive for them.

I think you're right. This is really going to cast a very negative light on Charlie however. They put out those press releases saying how subscriber unfriendly this deal is. Now they've got to put up or just be bashed.

 

[nuzzy]

Charlie doesn't care about negativity...heck, he doesn't care about you or me or any other of his customers, that's why he won't match...

 

[Greg Bimson]

As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.

This statement causes me to believe that In Demand did not match the DirecTV deal exactly. To match, The Baseball Channel must be available in the lowest tier on a cable system, which is generally analog basic. I suspect this will make a possible agreement a non-starter.

 

[bagsy]

This statement causes me to believe that In Demand did not match the DirecTV deal exactly. To match, The Baseball Channel must be available in the lowest tier on a cable system, which is generally analog basic. I suspect this will make a possible agreement a non-starter.

Isn't the deadline for cable companies to provide an all digital signal Feb. 2009? If so, then they would be okay, since the baseball channel won't start until 2009.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am hearing some BUZZ that we will be hearing something on this from Dish SOON.

No word if its a good or bad buzz.

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

Isn't the deadline for cable companies to provide an all digital signal Feb. 2009? If so, then they would be okay, since the baseball channel won't start until 2009.

There is no requirement for cable to be all digital in Feb 2009.

As Greg noted, this is a carefully crafted response so they can put it back on D* and MLB when it is rejected - just as MLB and D* attempted to shift the blame to cable with their "match" provision.

 

[rcbridge]

Is each additional carrier of this package paying the $700M each or some part of it if so MLB will be fat and Happy!!

 

[pdxsam]

Isn't the deadline for cable companies to provide an all digital signal Feb. 2009? If so, then they would be okay, since the baseball channel won't start until 2009.

There's no requirement for cable companies to offer all digital signals. The requirement is for Over The Air Broadcasters to switch to a digital signal.

Cable companies would LOVE to switch over to an all digital signal and eliminate analog off their systems but this will be a long time out. People will still have old analog TV's hooked to analog cable for a time to come.

 

[cforrest]

This statement causes me to believe that In Demand did not match the DirecTV deal exactly. To match, The Baseball Channel must be available in the lowest tier on a cable system, which is generally analog basic. I suspect this will make a possible agreement a non-starter.

Greg,

I agree with your post. If they are only going to match the subscriber count of D* the agreement is not an agreement, as MLB Channel has to be on analog cable for all to see. So far looks like a PR stunt by InDemand, until further details emerge or a response from MLB.

 

[Peter Parker]

This statement causes me to believe that In Demand did not match the DirecTV deal exactly. To match, The Baseball Channel must be available in the lowest tier on a cable system, which is generally analog basic. I suspect this will make a possible agreement a non-starter.

I tend to agree. I negotiate contracts for a living. That language sounds like what a layman would call "weasel wording". MLB has said they have to study the offer and this may be an example of why. Stay tuned.

 

[lakebum431]

I am hearing some BUZZ that we will be hearing something on this from Dish SOON.

No word if its a good or bad buzz.

Buzz Buzz, my guess is that it has to be good. I can't imagine that E* would let these subs get away.

 

[gjh3260]

Buzz Buzz, my guess is that it has to be good. I can't imagine that E* would let these subs get away.

Gut feeling is that E* wont budge on this.........just like the HD RSN's. Charlie will find a reason (excuse) not to.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Buzz Buzz, my guess is that it has to be good. I can't imagine that E* would let these subs get away.

I doubt E* would lose that many subs. With football being more popular than baseball and with D* having NFL:ST, D* already has a big chunk of the serious sports fan market. The fan that will pay extra for out-of-market games.

I'm sure E* has a few thousand rabid baseball fans that will switch if they don't carry MLB:EI, but the number is not going to be that high. Perhaps so low that it would be hard to detect within normal churn numbers.

 

[bagsy]

Bob DuPuy of MLB stated that the newest InDemand offer "falls short". ---

NEW YORK -- Baseball's "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games might not wind up staying on cable television, after all.

IN Demand said Wednesday it will offer to match the terms of DirecTV's $700 million, seven-year deal with Major League Baseball on behalf its owners, who are affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems. As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.

However, Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said in a statement Wednesday that iN Demand's offer wasn't adequate.

"The communication sent to our office today by iN Demand is not responsive to that offer," DuPuy said. "In spite of their public comments, the response falls short of nearly all of the material conditions (among them requirements for carriage of The Baseball Channel and their share of the rights fees for Extra Innings) set forth in the Major League Baseball offer made to them on March 9."

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

I tend to agree> I negotiate contracts for a living. That language sounds like what a layman would call "weasel wording". MLB has said they have to study the offer and this may be an example of why. Stay tuned.

Considering the Cox Cable San Diego action yesterday - and Cox is a major player with inDemand - it shows they know this is not a match.

It also explains why another cable head was upset at Cox's action yesterday - as telegraphs what is going on.

However, instead of playing games, Cox was just getting on with business of MLB EI on D*.