What's with MLB:EI Blackouts?

[Tom Bombadil]

I live in southeastern Wisconsin, just a few miles from Illinois. Yet the Red Sox - Twins game tonight is blacked out in my region.

I live less than 70 miles from Milwaukee. Less than 130 miles from Chicago. And almost 300 miles from Minneapolis.

According to the Major League Baseball blackout region map, I live over 100 miles from the closest Twins blackout area.

Is this a D* screw-up?

 

[Mr Tony]

the game on FSN North is a replay.....game was at 3 today. Does EI allow replays?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Oh ... that may explain it. I didn't know that.

Putting dunce cap on ...

My guide is showing two MLB:EI channels as having the game on.

 

[Mr Tony]

are you trying to watch via the normal RSN number like 668 or the EI number?
I only see it on 668 (which is my local RSN too)....I dont see it in the EI channels

 

[DodgerKing]

Both fees were on the EI channels when the game was live this afternoon. I recorded both feeds and watched the FSN feed when I got home.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I am waiting until there is another Twins home game at night to see if it is blacked out in my area.

 

[schneids]

the game on FSN North is a replay.....game was at 3 today. Does EI allow replays?

There must be some pretty ridiculous blackout rules. If I subscribe to EI and the sports pack, I should be able to watch replays since the original would have been available to me as well. But, I can sort of accept that. However, what is really really really annoying is that baseball specials themselves are blacked out. I live in Chicagoland and follow the Twins religiously (which makes it that much worse to be in the white sox market, ugh).

Anyways, I subscribe to EI and sports pack, but when FSN North does a special, say a recap of last year's Twins September month of baseball, it gets blacked out. There are some baseball replays, but it is mostly a special interest story. Also, if they replay a classic game from the past, that will be blacked out too. What is the point of subscribing to sports pack to get out of market RSNs, if you can't get all of the programming? It makes sense to black out current games, and to a lesser extent, game replays, but it should end at that.

And it seems quite apparent that someone at DTV is throwing the blackout switch because last weekend, FSN North was airing their "September to Remember" and it didn't go to blackout until about 10-12 minutes into the program.