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I was always under the impression that those rules were designed to protect the venues, not the broadcasters. I.e., if you're local and want to watch the game,
by frankbattaglia 11y ago
I was always under the impression that those rules were designed to protect the venues, not the broadcasters. I.e., if you're local and want to watch the game, you should come to the ballpark and watch it live. As I recall, there was a time when a game would be blacked out on local broadcast as well if the stadium wasn't sold out.
- remarkEon 11y agoSince baseball stadiums rarely sellout (unless you're AT&T Park) I think it's more to protect the broadcast agreements with whatever local cable network it is that caries the game. The NFL used to have agreements like the one you mentioned, where the game was blacked out unless the stadium sells out - but I think they got told they couldn't do that anymore.
- frankbattaglia 11y agoI did a bit of reading and apparently it varies by sport. I.e., the NFL blackouts work as I understood them to protect the stadiums, but the MLB and NHL blackouts work differently and are designed to protect the local broadcasters. TIL.
- slg 11y agoMaybe initially, but the markets carved out are so huge to make attending a game from most of the market impractical. For example, Iowa is in the local market for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. [1] That means that people in Iowa on any given night might only be able to watch 9 of the 15 games on MLB.tv. [1] - http://deadspin.com/mlbs-awful-blackout-rules-are-finally-under-attack-in-c-1683259431 http://deadspin.com/mlbs-awful-blackout-rules-are-finally-un...