Baseball reaches cable agreement
Major League Baseball and In Demand on Wednesday night ended a nasty dispute over whether cable television customers would be able to buy a fan-friendly package that makes out-of-market games available. The months-long standoff had enraged thousands of hard-core baseball fans and drawn Congressional scrutiny.
MLB, which kept the talks going past last weekend’s self-imposed deadline, said it signed a seven-year “agreement in principle” that will make its Extra Innings package immediately available to cable customers through In Demand.
In Demand, a consortium owned by Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable, also agreed to make the game package available to other cable operators’ customers.
The surprise deal comes four weeks after MLB announced an exclusive, seven-year, $700-million deal with DirecTV that gave the satellite TV provider rights to Extra Innings, as well as a 20% equity stake in the MLB Channel, set to launch in 2009.
DirecTV also agreed to place the 24/7 baseball channel on its most popular tier, which reaches 15 million subscribers. But that agreement excluded fans who had subscribed to Extra Innings through their cable provider. Some refused to switch to satellite; others complained that they were unable to add satellite dishes or receive signals.
Wednesday’s deal drew praise from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who used a Congressional hearing last week to urge the two sides to keep talking.
“All we ever wanted was a victory for the fans and this outcome is a big step forward,” Kerry, a Red Sox fan, said. “Everyone kept talking and pressing until we had a deal that protects the rights of most fans to follow their hometown team.”
The dispute had turned on baseball’s decision to tie Extra Innings to its new channel, insisting cable operators make space for it on a basic digital tier, not a premium tier. But cable officials balked. Wednesday’s agreement, however, calls for In Demand to place the new channel on basic digital tiers, making it available in about 40 million homes.
MLB and In Demand wouldn’t comment whether an equity stake was involved. But the Associated Press reported Wednesday night that In Demand and DirecTV each will receive about 16% equity stake in the new channel. MLB said it is willing to resume talks with Echostar’s Dish Network, which also offered Extra Innings last season.
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