Frustrating change in MLB.tv's service this year?

by Mills on Feb 27, 2008 4:41 PM CST Comment 34 comments

This may sound a little confusing, but I'll try to explain the best I can.

I subscribed to the MLB.tv Premium service last year. There were many times (due to my job) that I couldn't watch Cubs day games while they were streamed live on the service, and heavily relied on the archive feature to watch said day games later in the evening. Well, tonight I noticed the following disclaimer in the fine print of the service signup page.

"* NOTE: Due to broadcast restrictions, new MLB.TV and Condensed Game archives are limited to a playing time of five minutes in duration until 6 am ET on the day following that on which the applicable game commenced play."

So here's my question: Do you guys read this disclaimer as meaning that day games (and night games as well) wouldn't be available to watch in their entirety until 6 am the next morning? Or am I misreading something in this, and the archive service will function as it did last year. Last year, the game in its entirety would be made available to watch usually an hour after the last out.

I can't be the only one who utilized the archive feature a LOT last year to watch entire games, so this would be highly disappointing if this "6 am rule" is in fact how it will work this year. Who wants to wait until the next morning to watch an entire game, all the while trying to avoid any info that may give away the final.

I have also emailed this question to the feedback link at MLB.tv, but have yet to get a response from them about this.

Thanks for any input anyone in the BCB community may have on this.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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It like normal MLB...

stupidity to me.

"Broadcast Restrictions"....huh...I wonder where those came from, who their supposed to protect, and why they felt they needed them.

I guesses are MLB, MLB, More$.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Feb 27, 2008 4:50 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Typical MLB attitude...

... about some ridiculous "broadcast restrictions". Whose restrictions? Who is it hurting if you watch a game that's already over, an hour after it's played?

Idiots. As I have written here many times, if you are willing to pay for watching MLB games, you should be able to do it. Period. No "territories", no "blackouts", no "restrictions".

These people think of new and stupid ways to piss off their customers every single year.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2008 4:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely idiotic

This is one of the most idiotic thing's I've ever seen. Not just from MLB, but ever!!!

Well, I certainly won't be getting MLB.tv this year as 90% of the games I watch on MLB.tv were archived games. This will effect Cub fans the most obviously as despite what Lee Elia said, the majority of Cub fans do have jobs. I personally try my best not to find out the result of the game and not only would it be impossible for me to wait 'til 6 AM the next day to avoid the outcome, I wouldn't even want too!!

Up yours Selig!!! I hate to say this, but I really and truly wish nothing but bad things to you!!!

When I let MLB.tv know I won't be renewing my subscription this year, I will let them know why.

I wonder if this has anything to do with DirecTv though and people getting Directv and getting DVR instead????

Thanks for posting this!!!

Lemon20Pie's 2008 PECOTA for Rich Hill: 204 IP 30 HR 75 BB 180 SO 1.35 WHIP 4.25 ERA

by lemon20pie on Feb 27, 2008 5:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of the MLB Package on TV

I haven't heard otherwise but is cable going to have the MLB package this year????

Lemon20Pie's 2008 PECOTA for Rich Hill: 204 IP 30 HR 75 BB 180 SO 1.35 WHIP 4.25 ERA

by lemon20pie on Feb 27, 2008 5:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I haven't heard otherwise.

I think the deal they cut last year allows cable companies to continue to offer it.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2008 6:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Comcast

Will offer the MLB package starting the 1st of April.

"I guess you had some lean years, and didnt have to beat it hard" - Craig Sager

by Galvan316 on Feb 27, 2008 10:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I was thinking the other day, that the MLB package on TV should show the blacked out saturday games, later at night like they do on MLB.tv. I would pay an extra $25 for that.

Lemon20Pie's 2008 PECOTA for Rich Hill: 204 IP 30 HR 75 BB 180 SO 1.35 WHIP 4.25 ERA

by lemon20pie on Feb 27, 2008 11:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This might have been posted before

But does anyone have a ST TV schedule? I know they are on MLB.TV but do you have to pay to get the spring training games?

by sheamcmurray on Feb 27, 2008 5:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Schedule

can be found here.

Lemon20Pie's 2008 PECOTA for Rich Hill: 204 IP 30 HR 75 BB 180 SO 1.35 WHIP 4.25 ERA

by lemon20pie on Feb 27, 2008 5:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's not just the fans they want to piss off

Link

Didn't Kerry look into the whole "blackout restrictions" nonsense last year? Did that go anywhere? If ever there was something in sports that warrants government intervention, it would be this.

by The V is for Vegetable on Feb 27, 2008 5:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Note that link says that...

The 120 seconds of MLB content cannot be streamed live, and like the NFL's rule, the cap does not apply to news outlets providing their own analysis or reporting, commonly known as "talking head" material. The new MLB rules, in development for roughly six months, also prohibit news organizations from posting more than seven photos from any game online and from creating a photo gallery on their Web sites. In addition, non-text content created at MLB ballparks cannot stay up on a news outlet Web site for more than 72 hours.
Just 120 seconds! Sheesh, that's not even one Steve Trachsel pitch.

So just who DOES this cap apply to?

You can bet, incidentally, that if I ever take more than seven photos of any game myself, I am damn well going to post them.

Are they DELIBERATELY trying to piss people off? What a bunch of absolute, total morons.

Now, on a serious note: what they appear to be doing is to set up something themselves that they can eventually charge people even MORE money to watch. But who would do that, given these draconian restrictions?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2008 6:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I noticed that as well.

They actually enforced this restriction 2 years ago and it was highly annoying. Last year I was very happy to see that they dropped it. I don't remember if they had a similar policy listed last year or not. But it would be stupid to change the policy for the better for a year and then retract it.

I re-upped my subscription today, so I'll check out the archive of the rox/sox game later and see if they enforce the 5 minute rule. Maybe that will provide some insight, though they could have a different set of rules for the preseason. If you hear back from MLB.com, I'd be interested to know what they say.

Going back to the 5 minute restriction would be absolutely awful, though.

by trigorin6 on Feb 27, 2008 5:33 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hmmmm

This actually makes me feel better about it then. Maybe it's a line just left over in the fine print from back when they used to do it.

Since last year was my 1st year with MLB.tv, I had no idea they had this restriction before last year. Yeah, for all I know this restriction could've been in last years deal too, and I just didn't notice it.

by Mills on Feb 27, 2008 5:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That was my thought, too,

Hopefully just a leftover bit of legal that they don't enforce anymore. So far I've been able to watch 15 minutes of the archive of today's game, so they don't seem to be enforcing it yet, anyway. But the game today was an MLB.com broadcast, so could be subject to different rules.

by trigorin6 on Feb 27, 2008 6:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I braved the elements

I called the MLB "Customer Service" hotline. Fortunately, I have unlimited minutes, because I used 10 of them on hold.

The rep I talked to didn't seem too sure of himself, but he said:

that the only blackouts were on Saturday. You should be able to see the archives in about 30 minutes. I specifically asked about the Cubs because of all the day games and he said they should be on that night.
blackout restrictions are based on where you live, not the particular city to which you have traveled.
he does not think that any ST games will be shown on video for free -- I asked because I'm not sure if my high-speed is high enough. I basically just have to take a chance.

Hope this helps.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Feb 27, 2008 6:26 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

You can buy

just one game and check it out...

by LT on Feb 27, 2008 7:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i don't think so....

but i think you can buy it for a month if you sign up to pay monthly and then cancel after the first month....

by anormal on Feb 27, 2008 7:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It could have changed but

the first year or two that they had it I know I bought one game for like $2.99 just to check out it's picture quality. Maybe they don't do that anymore?

by LT on Feb 27, 2008 8:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Today's game

I just went to MLB scoreboard and clicked on the MLB.TV icon of the Col/CWS game which is already over. I had no problem bring up the replay of the game.

Now I don't know if this will be the MLB policy during the real season, but, at leat for now, there is no delay until 6AM.

If you like Selig's handling of the steroid issue, you'll love his choice for next Cub owner.

by tharr on Feb 27, 2008 7:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

SHHH!

Don't tell them. Maybe they won't figure it out.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 27, 2008 7:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Spring Training is Different

In the past, most of the MLB.TV policies have been ignored during spring training and that appears to be the case this year. There are no blackout restrictions, no time restrictions on same-day archive viewing, nothing beyond 400kbps feeds, etc. The rules that are are to be enforced (along with the full list of features and feeds) will be started on Opening Day. We will know then which rules are to be followed.

To tell you the truth, I had no idea that they were not enforcing the 5 minute limit on same-day replays last season. I saw the legal mumbo-jumbo in place last year and decided not to waste my time trying to view those games. Luckily, I can at least listen to chunks of the live audio feeds for afternoon games at work, so it was not a big deal.

And hopefully our press champions for the alteration of the blackout rules will start stumping now. Because of the stupidity of those rules, I cannot watch Red Sox games by any means at my place (I'm in the MLB.TV blackout zone and my cable company will not add NESN). We need to start pressing Selig before the season begins to make him remember the promises that he made last May to fix the issue.

by Qixotl on Feb 28, 2008 7:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This...

...is not new. It may not have been in place last year but it was in place in previous years. I know because I was burned by it when I tried to watch a game when I returned to my hotel room on a business trip.

by jolietconvict on Feb 27, 2008 9:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Question

I have a question for MLB.tv users. I have never used the service before, but I am thinking about signing up. I have two teenage daughters who are crazy about baseball. Mainly the Cubs, but they like other players as well. They each have a laptop and our house has a WiFi connection. Does anyone know if they BOTH can watch different MLB.tv games at the same time? Thanks!

by john62 on Feb 28, 2008 9:10 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Shouldn't be a problem.....

I share an account with a buddy in California (I'm in Eastern Iowa) and we can both use it at the same time without problem, so two logins from the same IP shouldn't cause a problem.

by hauss007 on Feb 28, 2008 10:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

meaning you...

get to watch all the Cubs games?

by Lenbob on Feb 28, 2008 3:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thank You

Thank You.

by john62 on Feb 28, 2008 5:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

MLB.TV radio question...

How delayed is the live radio broadcast, relative to what you'd get over the airwaves?

by Flatley on Feb 28, 2008 12:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

About 5-7 seconds.

n/t

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 28, 2008 1:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Do you also get the pregame show?

n/t

by Flatley on Feb 28, 2008 1:27 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Usually

But sometimes the radio feed is started late, chopping off the first 5-10 minutes. It is almost always up for Pinella's spot on the show.

by Qixotl on Feb 28, 2008 2:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Nearly 48 hours....

after I emailed my above question to MLB.com, I got a response.

It provided no answer. They thanked me for emailing and suggested calling the number that DeRoMyHero called yesterday. After 20 minutes on hold, I gave up.

by Mills on Feb 28, 2008 7:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like...

... the answer DeRoMyHero got answered the question -- that the archives WILL be available about 30 minutes after the game is over. If this is true, your problem is solved, right?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Feb 28, 2008 8:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It appears so....

but you never know with MLB though...that line in the legal statement just gives me a little nugget of worry, though maybe the case is that it's something that they don't enfore anymore, like discussed above....one can only hope.

Thanks to everybody though, for the input. I knew I couldn't be the only one that considered this somewhat a big deal for those that want to see every game.

by Mills on Feb 28, 2008 9:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs