MLB, Inc. deal with DirecTV--Give MLB men Oscars for THESE ACTING PERFORMANCES. A nation of sheep just watches.

From Richard Sandomir's NY Times article re MLB Extra Innings Free Agent Signing for 7 big years with the hideous DirecTV (a nightmare of a service)--(First, this fraud is only happening because of a weak, sycophantic baseball media, who drool over this idiot man, allow themselves to be silenced with a wave of his hand). (I guess John Kerry had no luck v Bud and the FCC--what a surprise). From Sandomir's report, operators other than DirecTV must hand over 80% of their customers to the MLB Baseball Channel (when it goes on the air) as ONE of the facets of their compliance. EVERYONE ELSE IS DYING TO GIVE BUD ALL THEIR MONEY, SO BUD KEEPS SELLING.

• MLB "will give cable operators and Dish Network, DirecTV’s satellite rival, until March 31 to make a final stab at retaining Extra Innings. Limited time, limited time only. Hardball, Roger Clemens-style. If InDemand, a consortium of cable operators, and Dish fail, their customers will be forced to switch to DirecTV or subscribe to mlb.TV to watch those games."

Sandomir on the discord:

"It is not Extra Innings. It is the fledgling MLB Channel, which does not exist, and will not until the 2009 season. The channel is the root of all discontent, the reason why DirecTV holds such a strong hand.

Consider that baseball wants cable operators to commit 80 percent of the customers in their digital universe (the same offer made by DirecTV) to carry the channel, which is in vitro. Cable has an estimated 32 million digital homes, and baseball is demanding that nearly 26 million of them carry the channel. At that level, cable would be committing far more than the 15 million guaranteed by DirecTV, which is getting a 20 percent stake in the new channel that no one has watched."

(No, I won't be calling my cable company urging them to do the deal. I just don't like bullies).

Sandomir concludes:

"But DuPuy acknowledged that baseball listened to the fans’ anger and adjusted, (HA! sm) which makes one question why Commissioner Bud Selig showed such a lousy grasp on the art of customer relations in his recent declaration that

• the controversy over the potential loss of Extra Innings to DirecTV is “ridiculous.” If it was a silly tempest blown out of proportion by sportswriters, why adjust one’s negotiations for it? If devoted fans around the country willing to pay $179.95 are squawking loudly, why label it ridiculous?

Now InDemand and Dish are entering a 23-day period of negotiations, assuming they get their offers today. Baseball is trying to put them on the defensive, telling them they can choose to be good guys or bad guys depending on their decisions. Baseball wants to shed the image that it was guilty of making Extra Innings less available to its fans, so it is bringing InDemand and Dish back for a final lightning round."

What a joke. Items from NY Times article by Richard Sandomir, 3/9/07, "Baseball Bends on TV Plan But Doubts Linger" (They didn't really bend, just appeared to).

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