Well, I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I won't be seeing the Yankees as much this season on my TV. And of course, that offer of a free year of MLB EI on DirecTV doesn't help folks like me who live in condo complexes where such installations are prohibited. But yes, they should show us the numbers, as I fear we probably are just a small, though vocal, minority. I understand this as a bottom-line business choice, but they have not handled this at all well. Unfortunately, it seems that they're banking on the other fact that since EI subscribers tend to be passionate fans, MLB won't lose them for long. But I'm still greatly annoyed with how they're treating us. Thanks for listening, all!

Jan, some of the commenters on the various DirecTV threads say it's illegal for your condo association to ban dishes. You should be able to put one up if you fight it.

David wrote: "Someone should come out and explain the numbers behind the switch."

The numbers behind the switch? The numbers are: MLB is going to be making a sh*tl**d of money! Those are the numbers!

Oh, come on Sabrnar, you know what I mean. Something like, we had 750,000 subscribers, 500,00 of which were on DirecTV anyway due to the original deal. There was no growth in cable subscribers, so we opted for more money from DirecTV.

That makes a bit more sense than let's screw cable subscribers because we can! The non-response makes the latter look more like the actual reason.

I agree that the MLB deal is shortsighted. The lesson they should have learned by now is that there's no such thing (or hardly such a thing) as overexposure. Not too long ago, teams prohibited telecasts of home games because they feared it would hurt gate receipts. There was also initial resistance to radio play-by-play for the same reason. But the widespread exposure has, instead, dramatically increased fan interest and ticket sales. MLB should learn the lesson that exposure is a good thing, and restricting exposure -- even if profitable in the short run -- is a loser in the long run.

Having said that, I have to point out that the new MLB deal appears to be identical to the NFL's Sunday Ticket deal with DirectTV. Why is MLB getting so much grief for something the NFL has been doing for years?

Yes, David, the FCC seems to have said that dish installation can't be prohibited, but when I bought my condo, I also signed that I would abide by their voted-upon by-laws, so wanting to continue to be a good neighbor, I can't see myself fighting this. But if I come across more folks in my complex who are similarly effected, perhaps then we'll approach the board. Ahhhh, condo living ...

Unlike the NFL whose Sunday Ticket has always been on DirecTV exclusively, MLB Extra Innings, though only on DirecTV to begin, then started offering their package via Comcast and other cable providers. Well, for 5 seasons, we got used to it, depended upon it for out-of-market games. So I think it's only natural that EI subscribers are reacting as they are, when this package is being ripped away from them, abruptly and without notification, until the press picked up on the story. Oh well ...

Have we lost sight of MLB's take on the cable offer? It's easy to point the finger at MLB because, on the surface, it looks like a giant money grab on their part. Why hasn't cable stepped up their offer? It seems as if they have been given ample opportunity to do so. If DirecTV can make a bigger offer then cable and cable reaches more households then they do isn't their something wrong with the cable offer. I imagine that the offer from the cable side includes a little more profit taking on their part. Who would we like to see those extra dollars in the hands of, MLB or the cable industry? I rather see an extra couple million in the hands of a small market team then my behemoth of a cable provider Comcast.

As a Sox fan, I can say for certain that Comcast sucks even more then the Yankees!

From everything I'm seeing, MLB isn't even going to make that much money from the switch. It looks like the crux of the problem is their proposed "Baseball Channel".

Beyond John Malone/DirecTV offering more money for EI, it appears that what MLB was trying to extract from all the cable providers, including our Comcast, Steve, is a promise to place their Baseball Channel on basic, rather than on a premium sports tier. MLB wants to be able to collect fees for every single general subscriber that a cable provider has. Sounds a little greedy to me, don't you think? And anyway, InDemand did make a substantially larger offer for the package this season, but Malone has swooped in with an offer MLB probably won't refuse. As to Malone's longer term plans for DirecTV, we'll just have to wait and see.

I hate to be on MLB's side in this (particularly since I don't have DirecTV at the moment), but I don't think MLB is being short-sighted here.

MLB is negotiating this package with DirecTV at a time when they're going to get the most possible money for it. Whether they re-up with DirecTV exclusively, cable exclusively, or allow everyone to sell the EI package, they're not going to get more money for the rights any year other than this year. Technology is just going to prevent it.

Within 3-5 years (tops, in my opinion), services like EI are going to come to us via the Internet. MLB is going to grow MLB.tv. They're just ahead of the curve for the most part.

The technology may not be in place quite yet for us to have the same quality viewing experience that we get with TV, but it will be soon.

And the market for this EI product is relatively small (750,000 people out of the 80,000,000 cable and satellite subscribers). So MLB probably figures it can push people to MLB.tv. The die-hards (probably like 90% of people reading David's blog) are the most likely to become the early adopters.

Yes, it's a fine line between pushing the die-hards away. But where are we going to go? Are we all going to walk away from baseball completely? I'm not. I doubt many of the 750,000 are going to.

Re: "You can still watch the Red Sox games"

I think he meant you can watch Red Sox/Yankees games. I am a RS fan who lived in Queens, NY for seven years. Btw. the Yankees games, ESPN , and Fox games, that was plenty. And if that didn't work, I could always go to a bar and watch the important games. Remember the old days when you couldn't see any games? Or closer when you had to go to a bar to see your home team games out of state? This is not so bad. You guys are making a huge deal out of nothing (IMHO of course). If you can afford the Extra Innings package, you can afford satellite. If not, well you are SOL, just like football fans.

Don't ever forget: this is a money business. Why should they listen to you? You'll still pay.

Direct is pretty much available to everyone, except a few folks who live in condos or apartments that face the wrong way (though a few could still get it if they asked someone and run a wire, but you get my idea). There are a few people who can't get it, but for the most part, it's a non-issue.

I still find it ironic that I've never heard any complaints about NFL's Sunday Ticket being exclusive to Direct.

FWIW the number of available homes for the Extra Innings package prior to the DirectTV deal was 83,000,000. That number drops to 16,000,000 if/when the deal is finalized. The "money grab" by MLB is $700,000,000 over 7 years. That figures out to about $3,000,000 per team per year--just about enough to bring in a 4th outfielder, backup catcher, or utility infielder. Well worth the alienation of diehard fans all over the country, I'd say!