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baldmaga
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Location: Louisiana
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 Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 1:05 pm Post subject: MLB Extra Innings, A DirecTV Exclusive? |
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http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6404687.html?display=Top+Stories
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Cable operators are hoping not to strike out on a renewal of Major League Baseball’s out-of-market game package prior to opening day in April.
Video-on-demand purveyor In Demand is in talks to renew cable’s deal to distribute the “MLB Extra Innings” package, even as the league is discussing an exclusive distribution arrangement with DirecTV Inc., similar to the direct-broadcast satellite service’s deal with the National Football League for its “NFL Sunday Ticket.”
Cable operators have been offering the $170 MLB Extra Innings package — which offers as many as 900 games a year — since 2001. Initially, DBS leader DirecTV held the exclusive rights to that content.
But cable executives with knowledge of the deal say the DirecTV is making a major push to again secure exclusive rights to the package, in an effort to give it more of a sports-content advantage over cable and satellite archrival Dish Network. Neither DirecTV nor MLB officials could be reached for comment.
In Demand officials would only say that the company is in negotiations with MLB, declining to elaborate.
While the baseball pact is important to cable from a competitive standpoint, it’s not hitting home runs in the subscriber arena.
Kagan Associates estimates that Extra Innings generated 280,000 subscribers across both cable and satellite services in 2005. That pales by comparison to the 600,000 subscribers netted by the National Basketball Association’s “NBA League Pass” package and the nearly 2 million scored by Sunday Ticket during the same time period, according to Kagan.
Further, the package is dwarfed by the 1.3 million subscribers that baseball generated in 2005 for its $79.95 MLB.TV subscription broadband service, according to New York Magazine. The package includes live games, as well as extensive highlights and classic contests. Sports-programming consultant Lee Berke believes that the emergence of the broadband package could allow MLB to take DirecTV’s exclusive package without alienating cable subscribers.
“[MLB.TV] has become so widely distributed in its own right that it’s become a balancing act — the leagues are looking at various platform and the dollars they get, and trying to figure out whether exclusivity or multiple distributors makes sense,” he said. “My guess is that if DirecTV comes up with enough money, then baseball may say, 'We’re doing so well with MLB.TV maybe it’s worth it to explore being exclusive with DirecTV.’ ”
Cable does not receive any cut of the revenue from MLB.TV, but the industry benefits because its high-speed Internet access facilitates customer viewing and ultimately satisfaction with the broadband package.
Next up on cable’s out-of-market docket: the National Hockey League’s “NHL Center Ice” package, which expires after the 2006-07 season.
An NHL spokesman would only say that it has begun discussions on potential renewals with current partners. |
I thought this news was pertinent enough to warrant its own specific discussion. For those of us with DirecTV, this is only an upgrade, because we've seen what they've done with NFL's exclusivity..but those with Cable will obviously have to switch.
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ncdbackfan
MLB Rookie
Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 166
Location: Charlotte, NC
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| I hope it happens b/c I'm tired of having to deal with Time Warner Cable and their high fees that rise every 6 months, terrible customer service, and lack of sports programming (no ESPNU, CSTV, NFL Network, ESPN2 HD, etc.). I've been wanting to switch to DirectTV for a while now and this would just force my hand. Thanks for the heads up. |
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Ryan
AAA Stud
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 70
Location: Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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The MLB EI package is why I got DirecTV several years ago. I'd rather it be available on cable networks too, though, in case I ever decide to switch providers.
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Ryan
D-Backs die-hard fan in enemy territory |
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Guitar Salad
MLB Rookie
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Posts: 133
Location: Ventura, CA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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I'll be thoroughly pissed if this leads me to missing a bunch of games next season. I'm about to ask for a transfer back to AZ, but if I don't make it back there in time for the season and this deal goes through, I'll be SOL as my contract with Dish Network doesn't run out until something like next July.
I'm still holding out hope that I'll be working in Phoenix by spring training.
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matt
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Location: Researching my theory that a lime hat is more effective than tinfoil
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Exclusive deals are nothing but anti-competitive bullshit. I'm so sick of asshole corporations that do things like this. Make it available to everyone for the same price, regardless of service provider. |
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foulpole
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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| This would really blow for me. Should we start an email campaign and where would we send them? |
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baldmaga
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Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 486
Location: Louisiana
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Ryan wrote: |
| The MLB EI package is why I got DirecTV several years ago. I'd rather it be available on cable networks too, though, in case I ever decide to switch providers. |
It is currently on cable...but this deal would close off it's ties to cable.
As for the exclusivity, already having Directv is a bonus...
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DBACKSHEELSPANTHS
MLB Rookie
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Posts: 114
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:40 am Post subject: |
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I just cancelled my Direct TV last night. The customer service is down right shitty! We moved Dec 15th and still didn't have service at the new house. I just got sick of it....time for cable.
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NJ-DBACKS-FAN
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Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 355
Location: exit 8a
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| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:57 am Post subject: |
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| DBACKSHEELSPANTHS wrote: |
| I just cancelled my Direct TV last night. The customer service is down right shitty! We moved Dec 15th and still didn't have service at the new house. I just got sick of it....time for cable. |
really? i never had a problem with them.....
they bid out the work to local contractors and of course the low bidder wins.......
it is the local company
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Not many D-Back fans in NJ.....
Like to think im a trend setter
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moviegeekjn
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| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:53 am Post subject: |
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| foulpole wrote: |
| This would really blow for me. Should we start an email campaign and where would we send them? |
Would suck for me too since I can only get cable where I currently live... MLB Extra Innings has been a vital part of life the past couple seasons.
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Hank, keep picking against my teams, please!!
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DBACKSHEELSPANTHS
MLB Rookie
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Posts: 114
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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| NJ-DBACKS-FAN wrote: |
| DBACKSHEELSPANTHS wrote: |
| I just cancelled my Direct TV last night. The customer service is down right shitty! We moved Dec 15th and still didn't have service at the new house. I just got sick of it....time for cable. |
really? i never had a problem with them.....
they bid out the work to local contractors and of course the low bidder wins.......
it is the local company
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No, it was Direct TV. We moved and our phone number changed. We gave them the new number but they failed to update it in the system. So, when the contractors tried to call...they were calling the old number. So, Direct TV just cancelled the order instead of trying to reach us! Didn't even mail a letter! It all went down hill from there. That was on Dec 7th!
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foulpole
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| Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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More info on this dumb assed proposal.
link |
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foulpole
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:37 am Post subject: |
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Call and let them know how you feel. They will transfer you to a dept that is fielding calls on this issue.
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Phone: (212) 931-7800
Major League Baseball Licensing Information
For licensing information, please send an e-mail to the following addresses:
Domestic: |
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foulpole
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:46 am Post subject: |
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| matt wrote: |
| Exclusive deals are nothing but anti-competitive bullshit.... Make it available to everyone for the same price, regardless of service provider. |
Even if you are currently a Direct TV subsciber you are at risk of higher prices not only for Extra Innings but you basic service as well.
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XB3
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Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 344
Location: Free Scott Hairston!
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:22 am Post subject: |
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| This may be a trend in both baseball and football in the respective leagues trying to squeeze ever more money from their product. Take for example the ever popular Monday Night Football now being on ESPN, rather than public access. I wonder if the NFL is heading towards a pay-per-view Super Bowl. |
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shoewizard
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Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 3040
Location: In front of my computer
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:25 am Post subject: |
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There is an article on this by Joe Sheehan
The Deal Almost No One Likes
He actually defends it to some degree. Of course I can't print the entire article, but one that is clear, MLB is making alot more money off this deal:
Here is an excerpt:
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| DirecTV is paying a whopping $100 million a year over seven years for these rights. Based on the information in the Sports Business Journal, that represents a five-fold increase over what inDemand was paying for the rights to EI. This is a considerable boost to MLB’s bottom line, although the marginal gain isn’t necessarily over the $20 million or so they were making under the previous deal, but over the reported $70 million a year SBJ claims inDemand offered. Even at that, $30 million a year is nothing to sneeze at. |
Obviously it is going to cost us more than it did in the past to get this package. I am not of a mind to switch from Cox to Direct TV just for this package. I probably will just blow it off.
Last year I didn't get extra innings on cable, as I got MLB.TV for the first time. But I don't really watch the games on MLB.TV and won't be getting that service again either. The picture freezes all the time, (seemingly right in the middle of the windup, it's uncanny. ) I have cable modem, and a Pentium Dual Processor on a Gateway computer with plenty of power, speed and memory, so it's not an issue on my end. The MLB.TV package was nice to have to be able to go back and review plays and set Foulpole and Stu straight once in a while,  , but it's probably not worth the 80 bucks because you can't actually watch a game on it without getting annoyed.
For those of you who are out of state that want to follow the D backs, this really sucks. It's going to be inconveinent or impossible for some to even get the package, and it's DEFINITELY going to cost more than last year.
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foulpole
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| If they do this deal then I would have to seriously consider an entire MLB boycott. I'm talking about not spending a dime on tickets, merchandise or that weak assed MLB TV. |
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shoewizard
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Location: In front of my computer
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:12 am Post subject: |
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| foulpole wrote: |
| If they do this deal then I would have to seriously consider an entire MLB boycott. I'm talking about not spending a dime on tickets, merchandise or that weak assed MLB TV. |
Oh god....not the"B" word.....LOL
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EvilJuan
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Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:20 am Post subject: |
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Having read the article by Dan Wetzel (link is in the post by foulpole), I can say that, based on what I've read there and here, the proposed deal is a good one only if you already own a MLB team. Everyone else loses.
Want to try to do something about it? Here's a suggestion.
Write your congressman and senators and ask them to make inquiries into the propsed deal; and to consider a review of the antitrust exemption that MLB currently enjoys. Send a copy of your letter(s) to Bud Selig. See what (if anything) happens.
Do it today!
You must act now. This is a limited-time offer, and will not be repeated. Operators are standing by. OAC.
As I am not an out-of-market consumer of Diamondbacks games, I am not likely to be adversely affected in a direct way by this decision. However, as I know that a number of our DBBP members do rely on such services to see games, I am sympathetic to your situation.
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foulpole
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:22 am Post subject: |
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| shoewizard wrote: |
Oh god....not the"B" word.....LOL |
If MLB decides to limit their viewership then most of the task has already been imposed upon me. It would be easier than it sounds.
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shoewizard
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Location: In front of my computer
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:29 am Post subject: |
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Here is another article from THT
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Business of Baseball Report
by Brian Borawski
January 24, 2007
MLB Close to Deal With DirecTV Over Extra Innings
In a somewhat surprising move, MLB is close to an agreement with DirecTV that would give the satellite television company an exclusive agreement for the league’s Extra Innings baseball package. Extra Innings allows viewers to watch out-of-market games that normally wouldn’t be shown on a basic cable or satellite television package. The price tag for the exclusive agreement is going to be $700 million over a seven-year period and in addition, DirecTV will be carrying a 24-hour baseball network set to start in 2009.
The question is, does this benefit the league? On the one hand, the league will get a nice paycheck from DirecTV, but on the other hand, a lot of people are going to lose access to the Extra Innings package because they’ll be either unwilling to switch to DirecTV or unable to switch because it’s not available in their area. I’ve also read a lot about what this means for MLB.TV, which is put out by Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM). Some people think it should boost membership because people will shift from Extra Innings to MLB.TV, while others think this could provide a reason for MLBAM to begin getting away from MLB.TV and to try to make all of its money with these exclusive deals.
I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman who was close to negotiations over Extra Innings from the side of the cable companies who are losing out here. He indicated that the exclusive deal wasn’t necessarily something that MLB was pursuing but that it was something that was brought to the table by DirecTV. He also indicated that he thought this was DirecTV’s attempt to create a niche for itself in the television market. DirecTV already has exclusive access to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, and now with baseball, DirecTV can call itself the king of sports programming. He also thought that DirecTV would be able to give MLB’s new 24-hour network more attention. Cable companies probably wouldn’t cover it under their basic packages, while under DirecTV, it’ll probably be available to all subscribers.
Keep in mind the deal isn’t final. At least not yet so I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for any updates on this as time goes by. |
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matt
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Location: Researching my theory that a lime hat is more effective than tinfoil
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:54 am Post subject: |
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| EvilJuan wrote: |
| Write your congressman and senators and ask them to make inquiries into the propsed deal; and to consider a review of the antitrust exemption that MLB currently enjoys. Send a copy of your letter(s) to Bud Selig. See what (if anything) happens. |
That's not a bad idea. I just hate that these sort of things are allowed.
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shoewizard
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Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 3040
Location: In front of my computer
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:06 am Post subject: |
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I don't understand why this shouldn't be "allowed".
It's not a decision I like or support, and I think it is shortsighted to limit viewership, but this is their product, and they are free to sell it to whom they want for what they want, pretty much.
It's not like baseball is not available on free tv or basic cable at all. It just might not be the games you want to watch. |
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TAP
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Location: Gold Canyon
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:12 am Post subject: |
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| shoewizard wrote: |
I don't understand why this shouldn't be "allowed".
It's not a decision I like or support, and I think it is shortsighted to limit viewership, but this is their product, and they are free to sell it to whom they want for what they want, pretty much.
It's not like baseball is not available on free tv or basic cable at all. It just might not be the games you want to watch. |
Agreed.
Capitalism
An economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production. Capitalism encourages private investment and business, compared to a government-controlled economy. Investors in these private companies (i.e. shareholders) also own the firms and are known as capitalists.
In such a system, individuals and firms have the right to own and use wealth to earn income and to sell and purchase labor for wages with little or no government control. The function of regulating the economy is then achieved mainly through the operation of market forces where prices and profit dictate where and how resources are used and allocated. The U.S. is a capitalistic system (Compare socialism and communism).
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matt
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Location: Researching my theory that a lime hat is more effective than tinfoil
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| Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:37 am Post subject: |
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I mean exclusive deals like this, they are by definition, anti-competitive and force people to buy the content from a particular source. Maybe this is a little different because just about anyone can buy direct TV. For example, if Cox decided that they wanted an exclusive deal then anyone who didn't have access to Cox (because Cox doesn't go to their house) wouldn't be able to get it.
If Coca-cola set up an agreement with WalMart that would give them exclusive rights to sell 6 packs or greater quantities, should that be allowed? You could still get single servings and fountain drinks but anything more would require you to go to a specific retail outlet.
I like fair competition. IMO, what MLB should do is either set a flat rate for their product or tell the providers "we want $x from each subscriber, you can charge whatever you want"
The monday night football thing is totally different. ESPN is available from any pay tv service provider. |
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