Blackouts
I hate 'em. Not the electrical kind--although they're bad enough--I mean sports blackouts. The "I'm sorry, sir, we haven't sold enough tickets, so we won't be putting the game on television." ones. I hate 'em.
I understand the reasons why they have them. The need to protect their market, and respect other markets, so that the revenue-sharing plan can keep all the teams in the black. But what do you do when you aren't in a market? Or, at least, it seems like you aren't in a market?
At my house, the closest team is the Colorado Rockies. They're 320 miles away, so I guess that puts me in their market. But, there's no possible way that I can tell the kids, "Go pile in the car, we're going to a ball game!" The Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have a AAA affiliate here, so you'd think maybe we'd get Angels games on the radio or tv, but no. I do get Rockies games on the satellite, but like I said, it's not likely I'll be dropping in at Coors Field for a game.
Anyway, Tuesday night, I'm working in the kitchen and looking for something to watch on tv. The Sports Alternate channels showed four games going on: Cubs @ Brewers, Yankees @ Orioles, Tigers @ White Sox, and Twins @ Royals. Every one of them was blacked out. The closest game to me was the Twins/Royals (which was also the one I would really liked to have seen). As the crow files, it's about 920 miles to the ballpark, so it's pretty unlikely that I'd get a chance to see the game in person.
The satellite receiver knows where I am. So why isn't the system smart enough to say, "Gee, let's let this poor schmuck watch this game."
I know why. They're protecting their market. I don't know who's market, but they are protecting it.
Never mind they're missing yet another opportunity to attract fans by trying to grow their market.
I understand the reasons why they have them. The need to protect their market, and respect other markets, so that the revenue-sharing plan can keep all the teams in the black. But what do you do when you aren't in a market? Or, at least, it seems like you aren't in a market?
At my house, the closest team is the Colorado Rockies. They're 320 miles away, so I guess that puts me in their market. But, there's no possible way that I can tell the kids, "Go pile in the car, we're going to a ball game!" The Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have a AAA affiliate here, so you'd think maybe we'd get Angels games on the radio or tv, but no. I do get Rockies games on the satellite, but like I said, it's not likely I'll be dropping in at Coors Field for a game.
Anyway, Tuesday night, I'm working in the kitchen and looking for something to watch on tv. The Sports Alternate channels showed four games going on: Cubs @ Brewers, Yankees @ Orioles, Tigers @ White Sox, and Twins @ Royals. Every one of them was blacked out. The closest game to me was the Twins/Royals (which was also the one I would really liked to have seen). As the crow files, it's about 920 miles to the ballpark, so it's pretty unlikely that I'd get a chance to see the game in person.
The satellite receiver knows where I am. So why isn't the system smart enough to say, "Gee, let's let this poor schmuck watch this game."
I know why. They're protecting their market. I don't know who's market, but they are protecting it.
Never mind they're missing yet another opportunity to attract fans by trying to grow their market.
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