First Pitch in 4 Weeks; Hawaii Blackout Still On

Here’s an exchange of emails with a representative of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, which has the broadcast rights to the San Francisco Giants and distribution rights for those games in Hawaii, which is in the Giants’ “home television territory.” The Giants open the 2011 season four weeks from today against the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA. We’re still trying to figure out whether those games will be blacked out due to the peculiarities of the Giants’ territorial deal or whether they’ll be shown thanks to the Oceanic Time Warner’s deal with the Dodgers network. Here’s the email exchange:

Mr. Carlson,
I wanted to provide you with an update on the distribution of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/San Francisco Giants in Hawaii. We have recently secured distribution of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and our Giants coverage on Dish Network throughout Hawaii, in addition to the network’s current availability on DirecTV. We are continuing to negotiate with other providers like Time Warner that don't yet carry the channel, and won't give up until we are done. We share your desire to have Comcast SportsNet fully distributed in your community.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks again for your interest in Comcast SportsNet.
Sincerely,
Marisa Veroneau
Comcast SportsNet

Hello, Marisa. Thank you for your update on the status of negotiations between Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC). Without an agreement between your companies, the San Francisco Giants will once again be blacked out for all but a relative handful of television viewers in Hawaii.


As you know, only about 6 percent of Hawaii television sets are served by Dish Network and DirecTV. Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President for Broadcasting, Christopher Tully, has suggested to blacked-out baseball fans in Hawaii that it’s a simple matter to watch Giants and A’s games; just join one of those networks, he says. We say back to Mr. Tully and the other executives in MLB’s head office, “Get off the sidelines and stand up for the fans! Enforce negotiations or whatever it takes to end this ridiculous blackout.”


Please keep us informed of the negotiations’ status, and if you have information you think Hawai`i fans should know about what’s holding up an agreement, please share that with us, as well.


If negotiations appear gridlocked, Comcast might well consider doing something extraordinary — and extraordinarily good for your corporate image: Work with the Giants organization to waive the blackout of their games in Hawaii, just as the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres have done. We fans do not deserve to be held captive for a third season by corporate interests whose actions run counter to the best interests of the game.


Aloha.....DC