I have no idea what this really means but ... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lawsui...kout-policy-allowed-to-proceed-015544096.html
What they're saying is that if someone has the appropriate TV package, they'll see a ton of out-of-market channels such as FOX Sports ___________ and Comcast SportsNet ______ for areas they don't reside in. MLB has their Extra Innings package, MLS has Direct Kick, etc. If I understand this correctly, a viewer MAY eventually be able to tune to that channel and not get a blackout screen during a live event. What they're trying to do is make those packages (such as Direct Kick) get thrown out. My guess? It'll never happen. When someone spends upwards of $150 (maybe even upwards of $200 in some cases) for these packages, most of that money goes towards the leagues. I'd imagine that quite a few multi-millionaires get their paychecks based off these packages. If these packages did go away, then watch your sports pack or whatever tier skyrocket.
It concerns every cable TV and the internet broadcasting package that is offered by the US pro leagues that are defined as private entities. It may skip NCAA, which are considered public entities and, on top of that, have major political power behind them. Yes, sort of people like me who want to see the Packers on demand, not on a whim of the NFL directorate. Yes and this also applies to the (legal and paid for) internet streams for the out of the market fans. When lawyers get involved, prices do usually go up. Obviously, a lot of broadcasting deals will black out the local markets, usually because the leagues want the fans to go see the game live and in person, while receiving the commensurate admission fees in the process. At other times, networks will simply black out games due to a scheduling preference. Since the broadcasting industry is slowly but surely moving to the "everything on demand via the internet" model, this law suit may set a precedent what is offered, when and how, if not at what price. And that concerns every pro league and every broadcaster.
Does anyone else find it odd that most American pro sports leagues have the same policy that the plaintiffs are seeking to overturn, but the lawsuit involves the MLB, who enjoy an exemption from anti-trust laws?
A long time ago, Major League Baseball divided up the country into territories, and teams were able to call a certain territory their home for television purposes. What this did was allow local networks who carried the games to black out national television distribution because the teams wanted everyone to watch the local channel because they didn't wan to lose on advertising. Unfortunately for fans of baseball, MLB went too far, and started claiming areas that are far, far away from the actual cities they play in as home territories. As you can see from the map below, there's not an inch of American land that isn't claimed by at least one Major League Baseball team. Many people are upset at this because this prevents them from watching their favorite team, even if their not even close to their home market. This is particularly angering for baseball fans in Nevada, who are blacked out from seeing Diamondbacks, Padres, Angels, Dodgers, Athletics, and Giants games on MLB Extra Innings and MLB.tv, even though they are about 400 miles from the closest Major League stadium. A long time ago, these 6 teams deemed themselves the home market in that territory. Let's say you lived in the small town of Glendive, Montana, and you were a Mariners fan, you would find yourself about 1,040 miles from Safeco Field in Seattle, and if you had MLB.tv or Extra Innings, you'd be blacked out from every Mariners game. If you signed up for Root Sports to watch the Mariners, you wouldn't be able to because you're not in that RSN's home area, so you'd be blacked out there, too. What this lawsuit is trying to do is remove the places that aren't considered the home markets of teams, and allow them to watch the games they want. This has been ongoing for a long while now, and it's most likely that the fans won't win because TV is too powerful.