I purchased EI last night and to be perfectly honest, i've given up trying to figure out the blackout restrictions. Were I live, my area is "claimed" by all of the midwestern teams (KC, Chicago, STL, Milwaukee, and Minnestoa) to be in their home TV market. The primary RSN in my package is Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, so through that outlet, I get the Cubs, and White Sox. Through the sportspack, I get FSN Wisconsin, North, and Midwest free of black out restrictions, well that is until the dispute between D*, E*, and FSN Midwest began.
Last week, during the free MLB EI preview, I had the Royals on channel 648, when the free preview ended, I got a message saying "channel not purchased" whenever the Royals were playing.
So last night, I took the plunge and ordered EI and as what I thought, there were the Royals on channel 648. What's even more odd was that the Twins game was "in the clear" on EI and sports pack, while the Brewers game was blacked out on EI and no were to be found in the sports pack.
What I don't understand is that I thought all local teams were blacked out on EI. If that's the case, why did I just drop $150 mainly to watch the Kansas City Royals, who of all of the 6 midwestern teams that "claim" Des Moines to be each team's respective home market, is the closet to me?