MLB to end local area blackouts of games? Time for the NHL to come out of the Stone Age.

[Dolemite]

The Pen: MLB owners’ vote could be big news for baseball fans cutting the cord
The Pen: MLB owners’ vote could be big news for baseball fans cutting the cord

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[Ernie]

It's only a matter of time before the calculus changes and it's no longer more profitable to hold local viewers hostage to their cable company. Cable is dying with or without pro sports, and it's time for the pro leagues to go the HBO route and try to maximize their digital revenues.

 

[tony d]

I agree, these blackouts are silly. The game should be available to everyone not just people who live in a specific region.

 

[jkrdevil]

It should be noted that local territory rights work different in baseball than the NHL. MLB carves up the map into territories where as in the NHL it is a certain radius from the arena. MLB also I believe have certain blackout periods for national broadcast where games aren’t available even on the out of market packages.

 

[supsens]

I agree, these blackouts are silly. The game should be available to everyone not just people who live in a specific region.

Well that depends if everyone wants to watch the Yankees I’m not sure advertising is worth a whole lot if your a lesser team playing at the same time. It’s a fine line

 

[Hynh]

It should be noted that local territory rights work different in baseball than the NHL. MLB carves up the map into territories where as in the NHL it is a certain radius from the arena. MLB also I believe have certain blackout periods for national broadcast where games aren’t available even on the out of market packages.

The NHL is cut up into territories too. This is from Sportsnet explaining whether you should use SN Now or Gamecenter

 

[IU Hawks fan]

It should be noted that local territory rights work different in baseball than the NHL. MLB carves up the map into territories where as in the NHL it is a certain radius from the arena. MLB also I believe have certain blackout periods for national broadcast where games aren’t available even on the out of market packages.

I think you're thinking of territorial rights in relation to relocations or new franchises, that would need to pay to enter a market, but that has nothing to do with TV territories.

Go search for a random zip code no where near any team, there are blackouts everywhere.

NHL.TV™ and NHL Premium™ Blackout Detector

 

[Masked]

Doesn't affect the NHL fans in Canada. Fans here can purchase plans to steam their local team(s) without issue.

 

[GrantLemons]

Doesn't affect the NHL fans in Canada. Fans here can purchase plans to steam their local team(s) without issue.

Are you referring to TSN/Sportsnet streaming services? If so that's not really applicable. You're just essentially buying those channels from a cable TV provider. They're also (and correct me if I'm wrong) subject to blackouts, which is the root of the problem here.

Sports leagues need to offer a true a la carte option for streaming. ie. I can subscribe to NHL.tv (or whatever the NHL wants to offer) and purchase the rights to watch only Ottawa Senators' games, regardless of where I'm located. No blackouts, no cable companies involved. Just me giving the NHL money to watch only the content I want to watch.

I really hope the MLB leads the way for this. Watching sports is such a pain in the ass. Reddit streams are mostly reliable, but I'd gladly pay for a service to watch what games I want that's not bloated with other crap that I don't need or want.

 

[Burke the Legend]

I guess the NHL would have to wait for the current regional contracts to expire if they wanted to do this, although probably the TV stations would be willing to re-negotiate these aspects too unless they have very favourable current deals, but even then a price can be determined on everything.

NHL really should make some effort to do it, this current 20th century arrangement is not going to hold up much longer anyway so better to get in front of things, and it's generally not a good place to be in business where you actively frustrating growing numbers of your fans.

 

[Masked]

Are you referring to TSN/Sportsnet streaming services? If so that's not really applicable. You're just essentially buying those channels from a cable TV provider. They're also (and correct me if I'm wrong) subject to blackouts, which is the root of the problem here.

Sports leagues need to offer a true a la carte option for streaming. ie. I can subscribe to NHL.tv (or whatever the NHL wants to offer) and purchase the rights to watch only Ottawa Senators' games, regardless of where I'm located. No blackouts, no cable companies involved. Just me giving the NHL money to watch only the content I want to watch.

I really hope the MLB leads the way for this. Watching sports is such a pain in the ass. Reddit streams are mostly reliable, but I'd gladly pay for a service to watch what games I want that's not bloated with other crap that I don't need or want.

The article specifies that this issue is about hometown fans not being able to steam their local baseball team. Canadian NHL teams have already sold their streaming rights to Sportsnet/TSN so this changes nothing.

 

[GrantLemons]

The article specifies that this issue is about hometown fans not being able to steam their local baseball team.

Without cable.

So while Canadians have a "workaround" for this, it still involves paying a cable company, which is the overarching point here.

The NHL needs a la carte streaming as much as the MLB does, or we'll continue to have people scouring the internet for streams instead of subscribing to watch only the games they want to.

 

[Masked]

Without cable.

In Canada, we are still forced to subscribe to all TSN/Sportsnet channels, when in reality all I want to watch is my teams games.

So while Canadians have a "workaround" for this, it still involves paying a cable company, which is the overarching point here.

The NHL needs a la carte streaming as much as the MLB does, or we'll continue to have people scouring the internet for streams instead of subscribing to watch only the games they want to.

You don't need to pay a cable company to subscribe to TSN Direct or Sportsnet Now. They're owned by companies that also own cable/satellite companies but that's beside the point. The current model is far more lucrative for everyone involved than an a la carte model.

 

[Lt Dan]

w00t! I can finally watch Dodgers games. I think it has been 5 years but it feels more like 10

 

[GrantLemons]

You don't need to pay a cable company to subscribe to TSN Direct or Sportsnet Now. They're owned by companies that also own cable/satellite companies but that's beside the point. The current model is far more lucrative for everyone involved than an a la carte model.

Except for consumers.

I want to pay to watch only Ottawa Senators' games. Where is my option to do that?

There is no such thing, so I'm going to illegally stream. It's as simple as that. The NHL is unable to cater to people like myself (and there are a lot more of me out there). I'm not paying ridiculous prices for cable, and I'm not paying $30/month for SNET/TSN for a whole bunch of content I have no interest in.

 

[Masked]

Except for consumers.

I want to pay to watch only Ottawa Senators' games. Where is my option to do that?

There is no such thing, so I'm going to illegally stream. It's as simple as that. The NHL is unable to cater to people like myself (and there are a lot more of me out there). I'm not paying ridiculous prices for cable, and I'm not paying $30/month for SNET/TSN for a whole bunch of content I have no interest in.

You don't like the prices so you're going to steal? I don't see how the NHL catering to people who like to steal is going to help the NHL. Do grocery stores offer special bundles/prices for shoplifters?

Even if the NHL offered a Senators only package, there's a good chance you would say it was too expensive and you'd continue to steal.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I'm just reminded of the fact that, as of at least a couple years ago, Las Vegas was technically in the blackout zone for the Dodgers, Giants, A's, Angels, Padres, and Diamondbacks, plus possibly a couple more.

In other words, a city with zero affiliation with or allegiance to any MLB team had at least a fifth of the league blacked out to them.

Blackout policies are nothing more than anti-consumer appeasement moves to traditional broadcasters, and the sooner they go away the better.

 

[Svechhammer]

I hope this comes to pass. The MLB blackout rules are ridiculous.

Here in NC we are tied to both the Orioles and the Nationals, but our cable networks don't provide the stations that those games are on. Doesn't matter, we are blacked out from streaming any games involving those two teams. If you're a fan of either, you have no options to watch other than to illegally stream.

 

[tarheelhockey]

You don't like the prices so you're going to steal? I don't see how the NHL catering to people who like to steal is going to help the NHL. Do grocery stores offer special bundles/prices for shoplifters?

Even if the NHL offered a Senators only package, there's a good chance you would say it was too expensive and you'd continue to steal.

Grocery stores don't operate in a monopoly model.

Try comparing it to what happens when a monopoly engages in price-fixing.

 

[Tawnos]

I'm just reminded of the fact that, as of at least a couple years ago, Las Vegas was technically in the blackout zone for the Dodgers, Giants, A's, Angels, Padres, and Diamondbacks, plus possibly a couple more.

In other words, a city with zero affiliation with or allegiance to any MLB team had at least a fifth of the league blacked out to them.

Blackout policies are nothing more than anti-consumer appeasement moves to traditional broadcasters, and the sooner they go away the better.

Here in Charlotte, we're in the territory for the Braves, Nationals, Reds, and Orioles. While the Braves makes some sense, the other 3 don't make any sense at all.

 

[GrantLemons]

You don't like the prices so you're going to steal? I don't see how the NHL catering to people who like to steal is going to help the NHL. Do grocery stores offer special bundles/prices for shoplifters?

Even if the NHL offered a Senators only package, there's a good chance you would say it was too expensive and you'd continue to steal.

I don't like to steal. No one who watches streams does. But the fact remains, I'm not offered any other options other than paying one of our corrupt telecoms too much cash, and getting a bunch of shit I don't want (which is also filled with ads).

If I don't like a grocery store, I can go to another one to find better prices without having to steal. That's a bad analogy, and it just goes to show how poor and limited the options are for watching sports.

In 2019, we shouldn't have to be forced to go through the telecom monopoly to watch sports. It's asinine in the cord-cutting, subscription based society we now find ourselves in, and I sincerely hope the big 4 sports recognize this and act on it.

How much do you think Disney just made after the launch of Disney+? Now imagine if it required you to have a cable subscription, or it was $30/month. Try to imagine how stupid that would be. That's what we have to deal with for watching sports.

 

[Masked]

Grocery stores don't operate in a monopoly model.

Try comparing it to what happens when a monopoly engages in price-fixing.

Monopolies by their nature can't help but fix prices. But the elasticity of demand for their products determines the prices they charge in the absence of competition.

Although calling the NHL a monopoly is going by a rather loose definition. The NHL has other major league sports leagues as competitors. It also has minor and junior hockey leagues as competitors.

Grocery chains in Canada offer exclusive products and would have a monopoly on those products. The customer loyalty for those products can be a big differentiation for customers.

 

[Masked]

I don't like to steal. No one who watches streams does. But the fact remains, I'm not offered any other options other than paying one of our corrupt telecoms too much cash, and getting a bunch of **** I don't want (which is also filled with ads).

If I don't like a grocery store, I can go to another one to find better prices without having to steal. That's a bad analogy, and it just goes to show how poor and limited the options are for watching sports.

In 2019, we shouldn't have to be forced to go through the telecom monopoly to watch sports. It's asinine in the cord-cutting, subscription based society we now find ourselves in, and I sincerely hope the big 4 sports recognize this and act on it.

How much do you think Disney just made after the launch of Disney+? Now imagine if it required you to have a cable subscription, or it was $30/month. Try to imagine how stupid that would be. That's what we have to deal with for watching sports.

You clearly like stealing better than paying the price of the product.

If you don't like the prices of the NHL, you can pay for the NFL, MLB, NBA or overseas soccer leagues to watch instead.

You might be out of your depth in this discussion because you keep bringing up cord-cutting and cable subscriptions. I have already stated you don't need a cable subscription to watch NHL hockey legally in Canada. Cord-cutting refers to no longer subscribing to cable or satellite. The cord is the cord from your tv provider to your tv.

And what if someone just wants to watch The Mandalorian and not the rest of the Disney+ programming? Should he be complaining that he should be able to watch it a la carte or else justify stealing it?

 

[tarheelhockey]

Monopolies by their nature can't help but fix prices. But the elasticity of demand for their products determines the prices they charge in the absence of competition.

Although calling the NHL a monopoly is going by a rather loose definition. The NHL has other major league sports leagues as competitors. It also has minor and junior hockey leagues as competitors.

Grocery chains in Canada offer exclusive products and would have a monopoly on those products. The customer loyalty for those products can be a big differentiation for customers.

The monopoly exists in the NHL's exclusive agreement with cable providers to be the sole channel through which a person can access NHL hockey. I can't think of a single comparable to that in the grocery model. It would be like if you could only buy olive oil at one store because the olive farmers contract exclusively with that store. "Well there are other oils..." I don't care, I want olive oil. I don't want to pay $500 a gallon for it, purely to feed a price-fixing scheme.

What happens in this dynamic is that the black market assumes the role of creating market efficiencies. The cable companies exploited their position in order to corner the market, then promptly engaged in anti-competitive practices (ex: holding Canes broadcasts hostage so that I'm forced to buy QVC). Well, now they're competing against a black market that offers the product for free. Guess what's gonna happen as a result? The cable industry is going to hemhorrage money until they go back to behaving competitively, just as their counterparts in the music industry did 20 years ago.

At the end of the day, this process will happen as a matter of due economic course. It's no more of a moral dilemma than bootlegging during Prohibition.

 

[NCRanger]

Here in Charlotte, we're in the territory for the Braves, Nationals, Reds, and Orioles. While the Braves makes some sense, the other 3 don't make any sense at all.

I'm a Yankee fan. My wife is a Cubs fan. We buy MLB Extra Innings, and have absolutely no issue with paying for it.

It absolutely infuriates us that for 19 Yankee games, we're forced to watch them on the Orioles channel.

And for 31 Cubs games, can't watch the Cubs broadcasters.

Just seems ridiculous, because the "local ads" during those 50 games have absolutely nothing to do with Charlotte.