MLB Commish’s Office ‘Explains’ the Blackout

Hawaii baseball fans have turned to our Congressional delegation in the hope federal officials might prompt some positive action from Major League Baseball in ending the blackout of Bay Area teams on the largest cable company in the state. Here’s the response to Rep. Hirano from MLB’s Senior Vice President for Broadcasting, Christopher S. Tully.

Office of the Commissioner

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

December 15, 2010


The Honorable Mazie Hirono
US House of Representatives
1524 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515


Dear Rep. Hirono:

I am writing in response to your letter to Commissioner Selig regarding the availability in Hawaii of game telecasts of the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and Athletics. By way of background, Hawaii is included within the home television territory of each of these Clubs and, accordingly, their regional sports network (RSN) rightsholders are authorized to arrange for the distribution of game telecasts of these teams throughout the State. However, in order to effect that distribution, the RSNs need to reach carriage agreements with the local cable and satellite providers.

I’m pleased to advise you that PrimeTicket’s telecasts of Dodgers games and FOX Sports West’s telecasts of Angels games are carried by both DirecTV and Oceanic Time Warner Cable as part of their basic programming packages. DirecTV also distributes the Comcast Sports Net Bay Area and Comcast Sports Net California RSNs as part of its basic service, thereby making all Giants and Athletics games carried on those networks available to fans in Hawai`i. Unfortunately, Oceanic Time Warner has not yet agreed to carry the two Comcast RSNs. While we continue to be disappointed in the delay on the part of Oceanic Time Warner in carrying the Giants’ and Athletics’ RSN rightsholders, we remain hopeful that a deal will be reached.

As far as MLB Extra Innings and MLB.TV, our out-of-market subscription packages of games, they are intended to supplement the game telecasts available to fans on the RSNs distributed within their local markets. Accordingly, these subscription packages provide fans with access only to those game telecasts not otherwise available in their local market. As described above, game telecasts of the Dodgers, Angels, Giants and the Athletics are already distributed in Hawai`i via their locally-distributed RSNs. While we are not satisfied with the current distribution of Giants and Athletics game telecasts in Hawai`i, we continue to believe that fans in the State are best served by the broad availability of the RSNs that carry Giants and Athletics game telecasts, and we would not want to see their access be limited to the purchase of a separate subscription package. (Blog Comment: Please! Just label this "spin.") We want to preserve not only the access to the games that DirecTV subscribers currently enjoy as part of their basic programming package (and the existing opportunity for other fans to gain access by switching to DirecTV), but also the incentive for Oceanic Time Warner and the Comcast RSNs to finally reach carriage agreements that will afford cable subscribers in Hawai`i the same access to game telecasts of these two teams that they currently enjoy for Dodgers and Angels games.

Please rest assured that MLB is committed to serving the best interests of our fans in Hawai`i and that we will continue to monitor the progress of these carriage negotiations.

Sincerely,


/signature/
Christopher S. Tully
Senior Vice President, Broadcasting


See our comments at the post immediately above this letter.