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

Dish gets left out of some of the stories involving this situation because the focus is on In Demand since it has more EI subs and it's a bigger deal to them. I haven't heard anything that would say E* is no longer participating in negotiations plus they still have the MLB channels in the guide.

I really hope your right, because I want it more than anyone. However, all weekend the articles were saying In Demand and Dish Network were negotiating a deal. Today every update from AP, Multichannel news, etc. has not even mentioned Dish. Having the guide data means nothing. That is simply engineering preparing just in case. I am sure the engineers have no idea what is going on or not going on in the negotiations. I hate to be so pessimistic, but that is the way I see it.
 
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Written by Senator John Kerry Monday, 02 April 2007
John%20Kerry.jpg
Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement today, Opening Day, regarding the exclusive deal between Major League Baseball (MLB) and DirecTV. This lack of closure means that thousands of fans can not view the season's first game. "It is opening day. The baseball season has begun and we're still waiting for the business guys to get the show on the road and meet their obligation to the fans. Many fans are now denied access to their favorite team because executives haven't resolved relatively minor business differences. That is wrong. I want to see an agreement that is good for fans and consumers. The parties must push ahead with discussions and must not abandon baseball's greatest fans, who have been thrown a curveball."
 
I really hope your right, because I want it more than anyone. However, all weekend the articles were saying In Demand and Dish Network were negotiating a deal. Today every update from AP, Multichannel news, etc. has not even mentioned Dish. Having the guide data means nothing. That is simply engineering preparing just in case. I am sure the engineers have no idea what is going on or not going on in the negotiations. I hate to be so pessimistic, but that is the way I see it.

Perhaps this all has to do with whoever is talking to the press. And in this case, it's the In Demand people. So it would just be natural to report whatever little info is being provided. I think Dish is still involved.
 
And another thing!

To add insult to injury, even though a Red Sox fan, I do follow the O's and Nat's, which are also my locally assigned teams from MLB. The O's are playing right now on ESPN2, but its blacked out for me since MASN is also carrying the game. Does Dish carry MASN? Hell no. So no baseball at all for me tonight. Lovely.
 
So when are we going to hear that the deadline has been extended again?

The hard core that's going to switch providers over this has probably already scheduled D* installs by now so I don't really see the point of continued negotiations.
 
The hard core that's going to switch providers over this has probably already scheduled D* installs by now so I don't really see the point of continued negotiations.

Oh I agree I was just trying to point out the fact that all parties involved decided that they didn't need to hammer out any details until the last minute and beyond. The way this whole thing is being handled is ridiculous and insulting. Even more insulting than the situation itself IMHO.
 
The hard core that's going to switch providers over this has probably already scheduled D* installs by now so I don't really see the point of continued negotiations.

Agree--I decided heck with it and moved on to Direct. I really want MASN and YES regardless of the EI end game. Didn't cost me as much as I thought--their "Everything Package" is $99 a month, $89 for the first six months. They credited the HBO/MAX package, so I got a $22 discount for three months. Locals is the same price as DISH, HD was $9.99 a month, a few less channels than DISH basic, but Dish hosed me on the HD Rx when they went to MPEG4. I got one HD DVR for $199 after instant rebate, no fee for install. Now I have to hope I can a) stop the DISH auto pay, and B) hope they don't misplace my two leased receivers when I send them back. Install is set for Thur, so I'll soon be complaining about stuff in the D* side of this forum:confused:
 
And the deafening silence continues as I finally give up for the night and sign off hoping that the morning will bring some news, any news!! BAH HUMBUG
 
MLB just doesn't have a clue. Short sightedness, quick money up front, and a bizzare thought that the "BASEBALL CHANNEL" is something people are going to watch. Baseball lends itself to watching games live in person or on the tube (HD preferred) or reading about it in books, (no sport has "literature" like baseball) or listening to endless baseball talk on XM.

The baseball channel will be a bust, and Direct TV will lose money. They were better off with the status quo.
 
This is starting to get ridiculous. A lot of people have decisions to make. I want to sign up for mlb.tv and don't know whether to sign up. Also, a lot of people are planning to switch to DirecTV and they are also being held hostage by MLB and their foes. I really wish they would make a decision already. :mad:
 
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=967&Itemid=52

Deadline Removed for Extra Innings Deal

Written by Maury Brown Tuesday, 03 April 2007

MLB's self-imposed deadline for the incumbents, iN Demand and DISH Network, has been lifted, according to Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal via the Sports Business Daily's "Morning Buzz".

MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy said late yesterday, "We will continue discussions until we reach a deal or it becomes apparent we cannot."

In the interim, DirecTV becomes the exclusive provider of Extra Innings.
More details should be forth coming via the Sports Business Daily when the expanded issue runs later today.
 
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=967&Itemid=52

Deadline Removed for Extra Innings Deal

Written by Maury Brown Tuesday, 03 April 2007

MLB's self-imposed deadline for the incumbents, iN Demand and DISH Network, has been lifted, according to Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal via the Sports Business Daily's "Morning Buzz".

MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy said late yesterday, "We will continue discussions until we reach a deal or it becomes apparent we cannot."

In the interim, DirecTV becomes the exclusive provider of Extra Innings.
More details should be forth coming via the Sports Business Daily when the expanded issue runs later today.

Could someone please explain to me what this means ? Does this mean they may continue to negotiate for days or weeks ? How do we make a decision whether to subscribe to something else ? What does this mean ?
 
No one can explain it to your satisfaction. It is an open ended extension. Odds are that they will NOT reacha deal. But no one can tell you IF they will much less WHEN.
 
To me this means, this thing is DEAD. Baseball has done this to keep Congress off their back. They can say we will keep this deal available to anyone interested, while not budging one bit on the deal. And obviously E* & InDemand are not accepting their offer. So I think we can forget about EI on E*, unfortunately.

I guess D* will be in my future after all.

EDIT: Just adding also, that after my experience with MLB.TV Premium last night, that is NOT a viable alternative.
 
To me this means, this thing is DEAD. Baseball has done this to keep Congress off their back. They can say we will keep this deal available to anyone interested, while not budging one bit on the deal. And obviously E* & InDemand are not accepting their offer. So I think we can forget about EI on E*, unfortunately.

I guess D* will be in my future after all.

EDIT: Just adding also, that after my experience with MLB.TV Premium last night, that is NOT a viable alternative.

Could you please expand on the Mlb.tv thing. I am planning on signing up. What was wrong with it ?
 
Could you please expand on the Mlb.tv thing. I am planning on signing up. What was wrong with it ?

Well, I've had it since Spring Training, and at that time all the games were streaming at 350K, which sucked, but I knew it would be up to 700K for the regular season. The service itself during Spring Training was decent, I didn't get buffering interuptions too often, and getting to here the radio broadcasts of the games is nice too.

So last night I was ready to watch the Astros opener at 700K which was working fine at first. But then there were all kinds of buffering problems, and it was not my internet connection. (I tested that as a possibility.) And then the video streaming would just stop, and when I would try to reload it, it would take forever to come up, and sometimes I would get a 500 server error. So, all in all, I caught about HALF of the actual game.

My theory was they are overloaded with people watching perhaps because EI was only on D* last night, but it looks like that may be the way it is permanently. So, unless they correct that pronto, it's going to be a very frustrating season, until I eventually switch to D*.
 
Well, I've had it since Spring Training, and at that time all the games were streaming at 350K, which sucked, but I knew it would be up to 700K for the regular season. The service itself during Spring Training was decent, I didn't get buffering interuptions too often, and getting to here the radio broadcasts of the games is nice too.

So last night I was ready to watch the Astros opener at 700K which was working fine at first. But then there were all kinds of buffering problems, and it was not my internet connection. (I tested that as a possibility.) And then the video streaming would just stop, and when I would try to reload it, it would take forever to come up, and sometimes I would get a 500 server error. So, all in all, I caught about HALF of the actual game.

My theory was they are overloaded with people watching perhaps because EI was only on D* last night, but it looks like that may be the way it is permanently. So, unless they correct that pronto, it's going to be a very frustrating season, until I eventually switch to D*.

Thanks for the info. That sounds really bad. It looks like DirecTV may be the way to go. I think I am going to give Dish a few more days and then make some kind of move.
 
As of 10 minutes ago, I have been told that talks continue.


I hope I'm wrong about this being DEAD, but they've been saying that for the last several days, and now the season is well underway. I mean it sounds like the issue is the ownership of the Baseball channel, and I seriously doubt they have been in hard core negotiations about that one thing for these past several days.

It was very important to MLB that this be resolved before the season started. After all they want to protect the integrity of the game. That's why they asked Craig Biggio to take the sunshine kids (organization that supports kids with cancer) pin off of his cap during Spring Training games. MLB is mostly concerned about protected the integrity of the sport, which is why I was very surprised when they allowed talks to bleed over into the start of the season. I mean, would they ever try to do anything like sell movie advertisements on the bases or anything? Heck no...oh wait, yeah they did try to do that.

OK, MLB is VERY concerned about the integrity of their sport, UNLESS it means they can get some more $$$.

Sorry for the rant.
 

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