Kerry to Question Proposed DirecTV-MLB Deal
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 1/31/2007 11:17:00 AM MT
A former presidential candidate plans to take his swings against the proposed DirecTV-Major League Baseball out-of-market package agreement.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) intends to question Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin about the pending $700 million deal between the direct-broadcast satellite provider and the league that would provide DirecTV with exclusive rights to baseball’s Extra Innings live-game package. The deal would shut out cable subscribers from purchasing the $179 package, which provides hundreds of live out-of-market baseball games.
Martin will appear Thursday in front of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, of which Kerry is a member.
“I am opposed to anything that deprives people of reasonable choices. In this day and age, consumers should have more choices, not fewer,” Kerry said in a prepared statement. “I’d like to know how this serves the public -- a deal that will force fans to subscribe to DirecTV in order to tune in to their favorite players. A Red Sox fan ought to be able to watch their team without having to switch to DirecTV.”
Representatives from DirecTV and MLB could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, cable executives close to the negotiations said the industry has not been notified by baseball that it’s out of the running to secure rights to the package.
The industry, through In Demand, offered to carry the package for $70 million per year on a nonexclusive basis, according to executives close to In Demand. The sticking point has been cable’s unwillingness to provide mass distribution for baseball’s 24-hour linear channel, expected to launch in 2009, according to Sports Business Journal.
The proposed deal has been slammed by several sports-media writers and bloggers, who claimed that MLB is hurting fans by stealing the package from cable.
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So ..what am I supposed to do ..Ask my neighbors to cut down their trees so I can get Direct TV...
R Schaeffer - 2007-22-2 23:46:00 -
Limiting MLB extra innings to DirecTV "only" viewers would be a bad business choice...
Joe Nielsen - 2007-9-2 10:01:00 -
Any deal that MLB makes that cuts the numbers of people who will be watching out-of-market...
Kenneth Silverbush - 2007-7-2 23:16:00 -
I am pleased that Senator Kerry is taking up this cause. I am wondering what constitutional...
Barry - 2007-1-2 12:13:00
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