THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!

Suppose we'll be able to watch these guys on MLB.com in 2011? If you don't understand this post, start reading below.

Thanks to ESPN, We See Giants Win NL West

The Giants clinched the National League West Division title today, and although millions of fans in the Giants’ “home territory” watched the game on the mainland, Giants fans in Hawaii were denied that pleasure until the top of the 9th inning.

That’s when ESPN inserted the final three outs into its “Baseball Tonight” show. Thank you, ESPN, for your broadcasting savvy, common sense and fan appreciation. Comcast, which owns the Giants television rights, showed once again it has no such qualities, for reasons detailed in this blog, below. Baseball fan Jim Loomis adds his perspective on his own blog.

Major League Baseball has demonstrated another quality – indifference. MLB executives stand on the sidelines, washing their hands of the Infamous MLB Blackout of Hawaii, saying in essence “it’s not my job.” They reason that since Comcast has done a deal with DirecTV, Hawaii fans are taken care of. News Flash to MLB: DirecTV has less than 5 percent of the Hawaii television market!

We now look forward to watching the Giants in the first round of the post-season, beginning Thursday against the Braves. We trust the playoffs are beyond the reach of the Comcast/MLB evil empire, but after two seasons of being blacked out on MLB.com and the largest cable system in Hawaii, nothing would surprise us now.

MLB Washes Hands of Blackout Mess; Executive Tells Hawaii Giants Fans: ‘Go Fix this Yourself’

5 pm Update: Predictably, the blackout is still on.

Emails have been flying through cyberspace today on the Hawaii Giants Blackout, including one from Major League Baseball’s senior vice president for broadcasting, Chris Tully. Mr. Tully told us nothing we didn’t already know and essentially took it upon himself to wash MLB’s collective hands of the blackout.

His advice: Fix it yourself. Go tell Time-Warner you want them to cave in to Comcast’s dollar demands, or subscribe to a “more fan-friendly television programming distributor.” Can you believe it? We’re not in the Time-Warner camp, but isn’t it obvious that TWO corporations are involved in this impasse -- the other being Comcast?

That’s what we told Mr. Tully in our response, as well as our incredulity that MLB executives are once again turning their backs on the fans. Here’s this morning’s correspondence – first Mr. Tully’s email to Phil Kinnicutt followed by our response to that email in Phil’s unavoidable absence.

From: Tully, Chris
To: Phil Kinnicutt
Cc: Brosnan, Tim; Hilgefort, Susanne
Sent: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 11:12 am
Subject: Availability of Giants game telecasts in Hawaii

Attached is a copy of my letter to you dated 10/21/09. In that letter, I noted the continuing efforts of Comcast to secure distribution within Hawaii of Athletics games on CSN-California and Giants games on CSN-Bay Area.

As I’m sure you know, earlier this year Comcast Sports Net reached a deal with DirecTV for carriage of both of those networks in Hawaii. This resulted in approximately 280 telecasts of regular season games involving either the Athletics or the Giants being made available to DirecTV subscribers in Hawaii (in addition to the full slate of games of the Angels and Dodgers available through DirecTV on FSN West and FSN Prime Ticket, respectively).

We are fully aware and appreciative of the many A’s and Giants fans in Hawaii, and for that reason have included the State within the home television territory of both of those Clubs. We are basically treating fans of those Clubs in Hawaii the same as A’s and Giants fans in the SF/OAK market -- i.e., all of the CSN-BA and CSN-CA telecasts of the teams’ games are available for distributors to include in basic programming packages and “blackouts” apply only to that limited number of national network telecasts involving those teams that are distributed solely on an out-of-market basis and to our out-of-market subscription packages (MLB Extra Innings and MLB.TV).

Unfortunately, your local cable operator may not be as aware and appreciative of A’s and Giants’ fans and still has not agreed to carry these networks. Accordingly, we continue to encourage fans such as yourself to contact their cable operator to express their displeasure and/or to avail themselves of all of these games by switching to a more fan-friendly television programming distributor.

Christopher S. Tully
Senior Vice President, Broadcasting
Major League Baseball

From: Doug Carlson
Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:55:13 -1000
To: Chris Tully
Cc: Phil Kinnicutt , Jim & Paula Loomis, "jlitner@comcastsportsnet.com" , Lonnie Shupp , Alan Pollock , Scott Ostler , "flewis@staradvertiser.com" , Dave Reardon , "bob.dupuy@mlb.com" , Larry Baer , CSN Bay Information
Subject: Re: Please Lift the Blackout of Giants Games in Hawaii!

Mr. Tully, your email has been forwarded to me by Phil Kinnicutt. As I noted in my email correspondence (below your email) with Comcast in the Bay Area, we already know this. It’s not news to us — and let’s be clear, it’s also not just a Time-Warner issue. Comcast is the other “unmovable object” in this scenario, and so are MLB and the Giants, apparently.

It is inconceivable that you and other MLB executives simply wash your hands of an obvious impasse that hasn’t been solved for two years. Your advice to Time-Warner to essentially cave in to Comcast’s dollar demand doesn’t help one wit.

Where is MLB’s concern for the fans? You seem to think MLB did Hawaii fans of the Giants and A’s a favor by including us in those teams’ home territories. PLEASE, PLEASE “un-favor” us immediately, because all your generosity has gotten us is a two-season blackout! How can that possibly help us? Treat us like any other market more than 2,000 miles from the Giants and A’s and let us watch the games — and not just on DirecTV. Let us watch their games on MLB.com at home and other networks at home.

This is about money — that we all know. Now, is there room within the consciences of executives at Comcast, Time-Warner and MLB to shove the money issues aside for three lousy games in 324 — the total number over the past two seasons that this blackout has been in effect? Give us the games this weekend. Let us watch the Giants win the division or not. You have just over 4 hours to step up for the fans. Will you do it?

Doug Carlson
--
Comma`aina News — http://commaaina.blogspot.com

FOUND: Comcast Executives’ Email List; To Help Lift Giants Blackout in Hawaii, Write these People

The Giants are playing for the National League West pennant today, and unless something happens in the next eight hours, Giants fans and all baseball fans in Hawaii won’t see the game. The Giants have been blacked out here for two seasons for reasons described in previous posts, below.

Here’s the URL for a list of Comcast executives you can write if you’re tired of this ill treatment because the suits can’t come to an agreement in the best interests of baseball and its fans:

http://bit.ly/csEK8q

The only interests that count so far are their own! Tell these people – be civil while you’re at it – that Comcast’s image will be immeasurably improved if they do the right thing. We recommend you concentrate on Mr. John Litner: jlitner@comcastsportsnet.com

Here’s the email we sent Mr. Litner 15 minutes ago:

Mr. Litner, I've pasted below an email sent this morning to Mr. Larry Baer of the San Francisco Giants. It is self-explanatory, I hope, and is an appeal to those involved in the Giants’ broadcasts -- including Comcast — to help lift the unsustainable blackout of Giants games in Hawaii. Today would be an excellent day to take note of the PR disaster this blackout is for everyone concerned — the Giants, MLB, Oceanic/Time-Warner and Comcast.

Please cut a deal this winter to allow the Giants games to be televised in Hawaii, but today — please let us watch the Giants win the pennant!

Thank you.

Doug Carlson
Honolulu, HI
--
Comma`aina News — http://commaaina.blogspot.com — a website with posts on the infamous Hawaii Blackout

Email to Larry Baer, San Francisco Giants:

Mr. Baer, we haven't corresponded since 2009, the first year the infamous "Giants Blackout of Hawaii" was initiated. Now as then, we Giants fans in the Aloha State can't watch your team on MLB.com or on television unless we pick up and go to a bar, where some coverage can be found now and then. That means the only people who are watching the Giants in Hawaii are those who leave the babies behind and head to a tavern to sock down some beers.

We're trying to be light about this, Mr. Baer, but lightness is hard to come by when our favorite team's televised pursuit of a pennant is denied us due to the rights owners' and Oahu's Time-Warner/Oceanic cable's inability to sign a deal. Giants management can't possibly believe this is a good situation.

Our request: Issue a papal bull or something that will allow this weekend's series with the Padres to be shown in Hawaii . Surely the Giants have influence with Comcast. Please do this, and then encourage the parties to come to an agreement over the winter. For the good of the fans, the Giants and MLB, something must be done in the best interests of the game.