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Local ban restrictions for MLB Games have infuriated fans in recent years, but that could change very soon.
MLB announced that Billy Chambers, a longtime regional sports network executive, will take over as executive vice president/local media. Why is this important?
The Sports Business Journal says one of Chambers’ main tasks is determining how the league can gain control of these players. local power outages.
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on July 24, 2022, in Cooperstown, New York. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
MLB offers an Extra Innings cable package as well as an MLB.TV streaming package, and each serves as a way to watch out-of-market games. Avid baseball fans and those who live out of market and want to catch every game of their favorite team may get frustrated when the local broadcast is the only game available to watch.
An example could be a New York Yankees fan living in Baltimore. While most games could be watched on the subscription service, every time they play the Orioles, Washington Nationals or other area teams, a blackout occurs and only allows that fan to watch on a service that provides that broadcast — if they can find it.
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The blackout restrictions are designed to protect local television partners so fans can watch this broadcast instead of streaming the game. However, with streaming now being the preferred choice for viewers, MLB is trying to fix the current setup.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference following negotiations with the players’ association for a labor agreement, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
One situation brought this to light when an MLB player was actually having trouble scouting his team.
Josh Bell, who currently plays for the San Diego Padres, was a Washington National during the 2021 season when he was sidelined due to COVID-19 restrictions. He was forced to be out for two weeks and was only able to watch his team from home while he recovered.
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The only problem was that he couldn’t stream the game, due to blackout restrictions.
In this Nov. 21, 2019, file photo, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to the media during the owners’ meeting in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, file)
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For a single team, MLB.TV costs a fan $119.99 per year, while a $139.99 package for each team is available. The Extra Innings package for cable also costs $139.99 for the year and includes access to MLB.TV for streaming.
