DIRECTV to Get 'MLB Extra' Exclusive; HDTV

[dkennedy]

DIRECTV to Get 'MLB Extra' Exclusive; HDTV Expected

The New York Times reports the satcaster will also get an all-baseball channel in 2009.

January 20, 2007

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

DIRECTV is close to landing an exclusive deal to carry Major League Baseball's 'Extra Innings' package.

That's according to an article in today's New York Times.

The deal is expected to begin this season and will likely allow DIRECTV to air a large number of games in High-Definition TV. The satcaster is planning to expand its high-def capacity in the second half of this year and has been searching for programming partners to fill the space.

DIRECTV has offered regional MLB high-def broadcasts in the past as part of its Extra Innings package. However, the greater HD capacity should allow the satcaster to deliver those games nationally.

MLB Extra Innings permits viewers to watch approximately 50-60 'out-of-market' baseball games for a set fee. The pay package has been available on cable, EchoStar and DIRECTV until now.

If DIRECTV lands the exclusive rights as expected, it would give the satcaster two exclusive sports packages. DIRECTV has had the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket for more than 10 years.

As part of the deal, the Times reports, DIRECTV will also carry MLB's new baseball channel exclusively in 2009.

The newspaper writes that DIRECTV will pay MLB $700 million for seven years for the exclusive rights to Extra Innings and the new baseball channel.

[dkennedy]

Sen. Kerry to Fight DIRECTV 'Extra Innings'

February 1, 2007

The Democratic senator says a proposed deal with Major League Baseball would be unfair to cable viewers.

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

DIRECTV is close to landing an exclusive deal to carry Major League Baseball's 'Extra Innings' package. But Sen. John Kerry still hopes to knock the plan out of the park.

The Massachusetts Democrat had planned to raise concerns about the proposed deal today during a Senate subcommittee hearing in which FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will testify. However, the session was abbreviated due to a floor vote and Kerry never had a chance to question the agency chief.

"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 statement Wednesday. "A Red Sox fan ought to be able to watch their team without having to switch to DIRECTV."

The DIRECTV-MLB deal is expected to begin this season and will likely allow DIRECTV to air a large number of games in High-Definition TV. The satcaster is planning to expand its high-def capacity in the second half of this year and has been searching for programming partners to fill the space.

DIRECTV has offered regional MLB high-def broadcasts in the past as part of its Extra Innings package. However, the greater HD capacity should allow the satcaster to deliver those games nationally.

The 'Extra Innings' pay package, which includes dozens of out of market baseball games each week, has been available to 75 million cable subscribers for several years. But if DIRECTV gets the exclusive rights, it will only be available to the satcaster's 15 million viewers.

[dkennedy]

DIRECTV: Most 'Extra Innings' Games In HD By 2008

The satcaster reportedly is close to landing an exclusive deal to offer the baseball package.

March 5, 2007

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey says DIRECTV would broadcast most of Major League Baseball's 'Extra Innings' games in High-Definition by 2008.

Major League Baseball is reportedly close to giving DIRECTV the exclusive rights to air the Extra Innings package, which includes up to 60 out of market games each week.

However, some lawmakers and media critics have blasted the proposed deal, saying it would deny cable (and EchoStar) viewers an opportunity to see the games.

In a seven-page letter Carey sent last week to the Federal Communications Commission defending the proposal deal, the DIRECTV chief disclosed that the most of the games would be broadcast in high-def by next season.

The satcaster is planning to launch at least one satellite this year to expand its high-def capacity.

Carey also said that DIRECTV's Extra Innings coverage would include several interactive features now available on the satcaster's NFL Sunday Ticket plan, such as a channel that would include up to eight games on one screen.

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the deal is close to being announced. And Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on Saturday appeared to give his okay to the deal.

The commissioner called criticism of the agreement "ridiculous." He said cable and EchoStar viewers would still be able to see hundreds of games.

"I've heard for years we have too much product out there," Selig said. "Everywhere I've gone...there's no market that has less than 350 to 400 (games on TV) and some have quite a bit more than that. We have an enormous amount of product out there."

[dkennedy]

Baseball Pitches New Network to Operators, EchoStar

March 8, 2007

By Steve Donohue, Multichannel News

DirecTV and Major League Baseball cut a seven-year rights deal that gives the top direct-broadcast satellite provider rights to the MLB Extra Innings out-of-market subscription game package, but the league said cable operators, EchoStar Communications and other DirecTV rivals can still sell the package to subscribers if they agree to launch MLB’s new cable TV network.

Under the agreement, announced late Thursday, DirecTV will take a minority stake in MLB Channel, set to debut in 2009.

While observers had expected for weeks that MLB would sell exclusive rights to Extra Innings to DirecTV, the league said DirecTV rivals will still be able to market the package to their pay TV customers if the incumbents “agree to carriage rights to the MLB Channel proportionally equivalent to DirecTV’s commitment.”

The move essentially squeezes EchoStar and cable operators. Since DirecTV agreed to distribute the channel on its basic tier, the only way Time Warner Cable, Comcast and other DirecTV rivals could obtain access to Extra Innings and MLB Channel is if they also agree to launch the channel on their basic tiers.

“Should the incumbents decide not to match DirecTV’s commitment, the MLB Extra Innings package will be exclusive to DirecTV,” the league and the DBS provider wrote in a joint announcement.

MLB said deals with incumbents hoping to carry Extra Innings and MLB Channel also must be finalized by the end of the month.

“Major League Baseball has chosen to cut a de facto exclusive deal –- including conditions for carriage that MLB and DirecTV designed to be impossible for cable and Dish to meet -- with one satellite operator and disenfranchise baseball fans in the 75 million multichannel households who do not subscribe to DirecTV,” In Demand CEO Robert D. Jacobson said in a prepared statement.

“This decision represents the height of disrespect and disregard for their loyal baseball fans,” he added. “Thankfully, these fans will continue to have access to hundreds of games per year, including all of their in-market games and many out-of-market games, on broadcast and various cable networks.”

Cable operators have previously fought the idea of carrying niche sports channels on their most widely distributed tiers, as was demonstrated last year, when NFL Network pushed cable operators to place the channel on basic tiers.

"Without the benefit of knowing all of the details, it's hard to know if this deal represents a curve ball to consumers or a solid base hit for fans across the country,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, in a prepared statement. “I am eager to review the agreement in order to weigh its effect on baseball fans -- particularly displaced citizens of Red Sox Nation -- as well as on competition in the video-programming marketplace.”

And Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) -- who voiced his opposition to a potential exclusive DirecTV-MLB deal in late January -- said in a prepared statement, “I will review this deal to ensure that it benefits consumers. I’m encouraged that Major League Baseball may be willing to provide broader access to their games than what was initially proposed. I will be watching closely to ensure that the league works in good faith so that America’s pastime is available to all fans. My concern all along has been that fans continue to have the ability to enjoy baseball on television.”

[dkennedy]

DIRECTV's Baseball Deal: The HDTV Impact

The satcaster will use high-def sports to expand its audience.

March 8, 2007

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

DIRECTV's new deal to carry Major League Baseball's 'Extra Innings' is part of an ambitious plan to capture the growing High-Definition audience, particularly sports fans.

But before we take a swing at the HD angle, let's take a closer look at the deal itself.

MLB and DIRECTV today announced a seven-year agreement for the satcaster to carry the Extra Innings package, which includes dozens of out of market baseball games each week.

The final deal allows MLB to offer the same package to DIRECTV's cable and satellite rivals such as EchoStar and In Demand, a cable-owned company that has provided Extra Innings to cable operators in the past.

But the agreement adds that cable and satellite operators must match the terms of the DIRECTV deal before the beginning of the 2007 season, including carriage rates and requirements.

Those requirements would likely force DIRECTV's rivals to carry MLB's new Baseball Channel on their basic tiers when it's launched in 2009. (DIRECTV has agreed to do so.) Due to various pricing issues, that's highly unlikely and it could torpedo any chance that cable and EchoStar have of getting the Extra Innings package. (See statements from EchoStar and In Demand below.)

While DIRECTV and MLB did not disclose the full terms of their agreement, it will be tough for EchoStar and cable to match the deal in the short time span.

With the Baseball Channel requirement (and perhaps a few other tricks), it's also not inconceivable that the DIRECTV deal was crafted in a way to make it more difficult for EchoStar and the cable operators to match it.

Major League Baseball was under great pressure from lawmakers such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to not give DIRECTV an exclusive.

So the "non-exclusive" provision, which apparently was added at the last minute, could be just an appeasement of the congressional critics (and media commentators who also blasted the deal.)

We won't know for sure until later this month. However, sources told TVPredictions.com a few weeks ago that the league was desperately looking for a way to quiet the lawmakers while still giving DIRECTV the exclusive rights.

Late Thursday night, it appeared that EchoStar and the cable industry viewed the deal as a smokescreen to pacify Congress.

The satcaster said in a statement: "DIRECTV and MLB, as owners of the package, should not be able to line their pockets at the expense of consumers who don't want and won't watch([baseball) content."

Rob Jacobson, president of iNDemand, added: "Major League Baseball has chosen to cut a de facto exclusive deal, which include conditions for carriage that MLB and DIRECTV designed to be impossible for cable and Dish to meet. This decision represents the height of disrespect and disregard for their loyal baseball fans."

[dkennedy]

Senators to Probe DIRECTV-MLB Deal

Meanwhile, a top cable executive meets with the league to discuss possible terms.

March 10, 2007

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

Two U.S. senators say they will investigate how DIRECTV's deal with Major League Baseball will affect the fans.

MLB and DIRECTV on Thursday announced a seven-year agreement for the satcaster to carry MLB's Extra Innings package, which includes dozens of out of market baseball games each week. DIRECTV plans to air most of the games in High-Definition by 2008.

The final deal allows MLB to offer the same package to DIRECTV's cable and satellite rivals such as EchoStar and In Demand, a cable-owned company that has provided Extra Innings to cable operators in the past.

But the agreement adds that cable and satellite operators must match the terms of the DIRECTV deal before the beginning of the 2007 season, including carriage rates and requirements. Satcaster EchoStar and In Demand CEO Rob Jacobson said Thursday that the terms would be cost prohibitive.

Sens. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) said Friday they will investigate whether the deal will cause cable viewers to lose the Extra Innings package, which has been available to both cable and satellite for several years.

"I will review this deal to ensure it benefits consumers," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. "I'm encouraged that Major League Baseball may be willing to provide broader access to their games than what was initially proposed. I will be watching closely to ensure the league works in good faith so that America's pastime is available to all fans. My concern all along has been that fans continue to have the ability to enjoy baseball on television."

Meanwhile, In Demand's Jacobson reportedly met Friday with MLB officials to discuss a possible Extra Innings deal.

Jacobson said Thursday night that DIRECTV and MLB had crafted a "de facto exclusive deal" by including a provision that would force cable operators to carry the league's new Baseball Channel on their basic tiers when it's launched in 2009. The requirement could force a large cable operator like Comcast to spend scores of millions of dollars to carry the channel, although The Los Angeles Times quotes "industry sources" as saying the figure would be much lower.

[dkennedy]

Sen. Kerry Strikes Out In 'Extra Innings' Hearing

The senator fails to get Major League Baseball to accept cable TV's offer for its out of market package.

March 27, 2007

By Phillip Swann, tvpredictions.com

A top Major League Baseball official promised today that he would meet face-to-face with a cable TV group to discuss an agreement for its 'Extra Innings' package.

However, in a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, MLB President and COO Bob DuPuy made no other concession and it appears more likely than ever that DIRECTV will get the package exclusively.

MLB and DIRECTV signed an agreement this month that said the satcaster could have Extra Innings exclusively if other TV providers did not match the offer. The satcaster plans to show most of the games in High-Definition by 2008.

The deal has sparked outrage from lawmakers such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) and newspaper columnists who say cable viewers will be denied access to the package, which includes up to 60 out of market games a week.

In Demand CEO Rob Jacobson, who represents cable TV operators, says he matched DIRECTV's offer but was rejected by MLB.

According to Multichannel News, Sen. Kerry today urged DuPuy in the hearing to meet face-to-face with Jacobson to iron out a deal. He said Major League Baseball was "driving for the best deal that you can get (but) that may not be the best deal for baseball, frankly, or the fans."

However, despite DuPuy's promise to meet Jacobson, it appears unlikely that a deal will be reached for two reasons:

1. Under the DIRECTV deal, a cable TV operator (or EchoStar) would have to accept the identical terms by March 31.

2. The DIRECTV terms would require a TV provider to offer MLB's new Baseball Channel, slated for launch in 2009, to most of its subscribers. That would require a cable operator to pay MLB a large fee to carry the channel, something cable providers are loathe to do.

Dupuy told Kerry that the DIRECTV deal was best for the fans because the satcaster promised to offer the Baseball Channel to a wider audience.

“This was not about maximizing profits for us,” DuPuy said, according to Multichannel News. “What this was about was serving the maximum number of fans with the maximum amount of programming."

Despite a lot of yelling and hand waving prior to the hearing, Sen. Kerry was unable to extract any significant concession from Major League Baseball in the hearing. DuPuy's promise to meet Jacobson was merely a political gesture, designed to allow Kerry to save face by appearing to get something for his trouble.

But unless something quite unforeseen occurs between now and Opening Day, DIRECTV will have the exclusive rights to the Extra Innings package.