You say "yes", I say "no" You say "stop", I say go, go, go" "Oh no!" You say "goodbye", I say "hello" Get busy with them spreadsheets.
Sort of proves my point. You have to go back to the Oilers to recall an instance of even going because it was convenient already. Reasoning is not the reason for black outs. It is extortion to make you buy a package of garbage.
Games were not on TV (maybe weekends?) Games were on 20 or 26? Games were on HSE (cable) Games have been cable for the last 40 years. I can't believe you don't love the radio broadcast. ETA whenever you're out of school, the Cubs would play day baseball on WGN, but you only really cared (but on rainy summer days in Houston you'd watch anyway) when they played the Astros Atlanta Braves too. Dale Murphy was a badass.
The only reason I signed a stupid Xfinity contract was Astros broadcasts. I wonder if I can breach my deal if they don’t air the games.
Highly doubtful the games won't be on TV. The Astros have too much tied up with local advertisers and production costs already negotiated for this season. If the RSN declares bankruptcy, the Astros will certainly lose money in the short run with no lucrative rights fees being paid... but they'll still try and recoup as much as they can via the broadcasts (in some years, sports teams have actually gone back to local networks to grant them the air time). In the long run, MLB will have to likely step in and play a role in the next wave of local TV deals... whether they just pay the teams for their rights and make it available via streaming (without blackouts) or they construct a new MLB regional network that gets agreements with local cable/Satellite partners.
I used to enjoy those Cubs games regardless. I was familiar with a lot of guys on that team(Bob Dernier, Jody Davis, Ron Cey, etc) because of those WGN day games.
https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...ts-astros-television-rights-likely-to-change/ "In the longer-term, once existing carriage agreements expire, the transition to local ownership might allow teams to explore direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming options. But that’s likely a number of years away, and each sports league will have conversations with its teams regarding the best path forward. The vast majority of teams and their broadcast partners are experiencing similar challenges." WBD is trying to just walk away without penalty. Chapter 7 works if it is considered a separate entity with no additional financial guarantees by WBD. Hence the introduction of litigation is likely.
I live in Tennessee and get all the Astros games from MLB TV. Will I be affected? This is very confusing to me.
Shouldn't affect you at all. And honestly, I don't think it's going to change the way people in Houston have been watching the Astros, either...at least with respect to the upcoming season. The distributors (Dish, Comcast, etc) pay ATT SportsSouthwest fees based on subscriber numbers...then ATT SportsSouthwest pays the Astros their share...essentially, in the near term, it seems to me this removes ATT SportsSouthwest from that equation, and the distributors would be paying the teams (Astros included) directly what they would have been paying ATT SportsSouthwest (or something near thereto). Ultimately, I think it COULD be an opportunity for MLB to take a league-wide approach to how they get games to the viewers. Now they at least have that opportunity with the teams that were on Bally's and those like the Astros through WB.
Thanks man, that is a big relief. I never miss a game unless it’s blacked out in the region. I think this is an Atlanta market, so I’ll miss those games.
Don’t the RSN’s sell and collect the advertising revenue themselves? And they use this revenue (where the price point is based on ratings) to judge what they pay the Astros in rights fees? They’ve also already negotiated carriage rights with all the TV providers. If they go under and cease broadcasting, the Astros would need to arrange distribution/air time with another network… and then take over the management of all ad revenue. Not to say this is impossible, and it does certainly open more possibilities for direct subscriptions of consumers to the Astros for streaming purposes… but there has to be a reason why the teams chose to go this route all these years…. Its still the easiest and most profitable for them to reach the largest local audience via a RSN.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...etwork-bankruptcy-astros-rockets-17805557.php Despite the dire nature of the network’s impending collapse, fans will not lose access to their local teams’ games, because the Astros and Rockets have contracts to have their games telecast on DirecTV, AT&T and Comcast’s Xfinity cable service through 2032. The main question as the Astros prepare for their season opener and the NBA season wraps up, then, is not whether the games will be available on DirecTV, AT&T and Xfinity but on which channel the games will air and who will pay production costs for telecasting the games. Spokespeople for the Astros and Rockets declined comment regarding the letters, the receipt of which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal and Sports Business Daily.
I think you’re right on both questions. Maybe I’m painting too rosy of a view. EDIT: I like the article in that last post! Anyone have any ideas for what network would pick up the opportunity?
Will there even be a local broadcast? If AT&T drop coverage what will Kalas & Blum do? Will they still do a broadcast for MLB.tv? Is that already how it works and AT&T just had a contract to distribute? Really not sure... Worse case scenario you should be able to see the opponents feed.
Radio is a step up from looking at the box score in the paper the next day. However; The station in my area which carried them has now gone off the air permanently. Most of the time I can get a 790 stream if they aren't airing some meaningless alternative game.
Kalas/Blum/Julia all work for the Astros. They will be broadcasting the games regardless. just remains to be seen what network they’re on.
WBD is working with the teams it works with to try to give the rights fees back to the teams in exchange for getting out of the deal and end things on good terms (presumably, they'd pay some cash upfront and give them all the broadcast equipment). But by all accounts, unlike the Bally Sports mess, it seems like WBD has been working with the teams on this. Over the past several months, league sources privately have praised WBD Sports’ RSN leadership, led by AT&T SportsNet President Patrick Crumb, for working with the teams to come up with a plan that would enable the company to get out of the RSN business. In the letters, WBD said that it will allow the teams to use the same production staff and equipment to continue producing the games.
I hope this is the case. But it's a bit like asking Boros how negotiations are going before a deal has been made. Only one side is talking.
There are many parties to satisfy to resolve this including creditors, advertisers, teams, providers/cable and locals before we even get to MLB agreements. It is complex and unlikely to be resolved without some hiccups. But I have a dream that the final resolution involves 162 games and post season streaming for the fans of every team without deals blacking them out.
