Baseball Musings: Bud TV

February 15, 2007

Bud TV

Bud Selig spoke on ESPN Radio this morning, and a reader sends this summary:

While being stuck in a truly nightmarish traffic jam this morning, David, I had the opportunity to hear Bud Selig tell Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio that though the DirecTV deal is not yet done, still Mike would be surprised how very few people are effected by this loss of programming. Selig said that some committee incuding folks like Tom Werner had studied this potential deal and concluded it was the right thing to do. Should've known the Red Sox were involved in some way!:)And then of course, Bud went on to tell us again that there's lots of baseball available for viewing[just not the out-of-market team of your choice, cable subscribers]. He also said that when the deal is finally done, he or Bob DuPuy will come back on ESPN and discuss it fully with them. And of course, he was noncommittal on just about anything else mentioned. And he reiterated that we still have 3 more years of his "reign."

I would actually be surprised if Werner was in favor of this deal. I don't think John Kerry would come out against the contract if his supporters in the Red Sox organization were for it.

Posted by David Pinto at 10:53 AM | Broadcasts • | Commissioner | TrackBack (0)

Comments

I heard this as well. I don't know the exact number but his "small number" of impacted parties is at least 100,000 of his most loyal and passionate fans. He shouldn't ignore us. To ponder whether we're really hurt at all is insulting and shows that he is not aware of the impact of this proposed action. To say that there's a lot of baseball on anyway means that he equates all games and ignores fans loyalty. I'm a Mets fan in DC. Watching the Nationals play the Pirates isn't the same as watching my favorite team.

Posted by: Jeff at February 15, 2007 11:00 AM

I don't know the exact number but his "small number" of impacted parties is at least 100,000 of his most loyal and passionate fans. He shouldn't ignore us. To ponder whether we're really hurt at all is insulting and shows that he is not aware of the impact of this proposed action. To say that there's a lot of baseball on anyway means that he equates all games and ignores a fan's loyalty. I'm a Mets fan in DC. Watching the Nationals play the Pirates isn't the same as watching my favorite team.

Posted by: Jeff at February 15, 2007 11:01 AM

Exactly, Jeff, and that's pretty much what I've tried to tell Bud in my letter previously posted here, and in subsequent attempts to reach him. As far as Werner's involvement, well, he did always say that he wanted to make NESN the regional sports information destination in New England, and perhaps might even have his eyes on a more national reach? Of course, he's probably more consumed with his new in-game dating show set to air this summer, taped at Fenway. And then of course, Bud has seemed to have a special relationship with this Sox ownership group which he helped to put together. And remember Lucchino and George Mitchell were on Selig's old Blue Ribbon committee. Anyway, the bottom-line is, Jeff, our numbers are small. And though we are passionate, hardcore fans we probably will have to accept that this deal is going to be done. What real clout do we have, anyway? Right now we can only hope that the Commish gives us a reprieve, so ... i'm afraid it's time to realize that we'll have to settle for MLB.TV or our local teams' coverage[which of course, is out of the question for me, a Yankees fan living in the heart of Red Sox Nation, who is also represented by Sen. Kerry, who still hasn't answered my 2 letters about this issue, by the way ... ]. My question is now: Will former Extra Innings cable subscribers switch to DirecTV if they can, or will they become avid users of MLB.TV and/or audio, or will they just watch less baseball and become far less passionate and loyal to Selig's MLB?

Posted by: Jan Bottone at February 15, 2007 11:28 AM

Unlike Jeff, I'm a Yankee fan who lives in New York so I have no problem seeing my favorite team play (or his favorite team play for that matter). I was a faithful subscriber to the Extra Innings package because of roto concerns and my general passion for baseball and the Direct TV option isn't one available to me because of where I live and it's something that I'll really miss. I'd love to hear DuPuy, Selig or anyone, really, explain why this is the best move for baseball as opposed to the best move for MLB coffers.

Posted by: The Feed at February 15, 2007 11:38 AM

I am a Red Sox Fan living in D.C. I attempted to switch to DirecTV specifically because I knew the extra innings package was moving to it. However when the guys came out to my house they could not do it because of trees blocking the line of site to the satelites. So now what do I do? Do I switch to MLB.TV? Who wants to watch baseball games on a little computer screen when I have a 55" HDTV. And will I be able to watch games that are not live? With cable I could just record the game with my DVR if it was a day game so I could watch it when I got home from work. Now I dont know if I will be able to watch the games that are on during the day. I am just hoping that the negotions stretch out too long and they are not able to get this deal done this year.

Posted by: RT at February 15, 2007 11:55 AM

Selig is a piece of trash, plain and simple. I too have tried to contact and speak with someone in particular about this and all I get is the usual "we have nothing to announce" garbage. Selig should have to answer to each and every fan that he shuts out. Some kind of accountability for this piece of slime would be nice.

Posted by: Roger at February 16, 2007 05:04 PM