It's not that you don't want to pay for the access to games. It's been proven that when provided with convenient, legal way of consuming a product, audiences will overwhelmingly choose that option. Look at iTunes or Netflix or even Spotify. Hell, look at the current subscriber count of NHL GameCenter Live. All of those people have the alternative of viewing an illegal stream, but choose to pay the league for access anyway.
Any sports fan in their right mind would choose to watch their team on a legal, league-provided Internet stream or service. The quality isn't even comparable, it's much more convenient, you don't feel like a cheap pirate, and the NHL gets the money they deserve for their product. Everybody wins.
* * *
All they have to do is eliminate the Draconian blackout policies that have existed since before the Internet was a thing. We understand why local blackouts still exist on NHL GameCenter Live: local broadcasters have influence, and they want everybody watching them, not the NHL's Internet feed. But the league is in control here. It's ultimately their product and they get to decide how it's viewed.
From NHL Editor Travis Hughes, talking about how professional sports leagues' blackout restrictions end up encouraging illegal downloading/streaming.
4 months ago
Adam J. Morris
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MLB is in the dark ages of broadcasting.
The technology exists to provide the internet user with the precious local broadcast they are so afraid of losing viewers for.
Why shouldn’t the person on a PC or Mac be able to watch their regional sports network with the local commercials? That’s the point, isn’t it? To get eyeballs for those commercials?
Why not feed the RSN’s to MLB.TV, the same way they do for MLB Extra Innings?
That would solve the issue. You’d think.
Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation
Judging by this board
about 30-40% with access to mlb.com would still choose illegal streams.
Of course, this board isn’t representative of the entire population…
I don't think so
I think most people here would actually be okay with paying for MLB.tv if they weren’t blacked out. Not everyone of course, but a lot less than 30-40%.
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
Yeah
you apparently aren’t in game day threads much. People won’t even pay the $10-15 for playoff games. Grown men with jobs tell me how poor they are.
Well the 10$ for playoff games was highway robbery
You didn’t get the TV feed, you didn’t get to see replays, and in my case I had already paid for an mlb.tv subscription. For an non-metroplex resident it was a no-brainer to get the app for the regular season though. I could stream it to my TV, watch it on my iPad, or even the phone app when I was at work during day games.
@AdamLikesBeer If you are in Minneapolis I can tell you where to get a good brew.
by TargetField on Jan 19, 2012 11:03 AM CST up reply actions
Yeah, I paid for MLB.tv.
And in the playoffs, I started using streams, because the quality of the playoff thingy was just not good enough.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth - Christopher Fittz is better than porn!
Links to illegal streams in GDTs will be deleted this year, btw
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 19, 2012 11:07 AM CST up reply actions
It's not about SOPA.
It’s the way SBNation wanted it the entire time, apparently.
Ever been in a boardroom, or a gang fight? Ever save a life? Ever won a court case against the odds? Ever held a dying buddy in your arms?.- jackanape on "perspective," 11/8/2010.
"do you a jet ski rental place would work here" - Mike E, 5/10/2011.
As they should
"A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous." - Sam "MayDay" Malone
A lot of the people who use those are blacked out
And really? Grown men with jobs can’t be poor?
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
grown men with jobs can afford $10
And no, they were not blacked out. People who said they were not blacked out refused to pay
if the games weren't in the middle of the day while I'm at work
I would love to be at home watching the game which I’ve already paid to see
Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures.
by kevinkinsler on Jan 19, 2012 12:05 PM CST up reply actions
Grown men with jobs can't always afford 10 dollars for a MLB.tv subscription
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
It was a one time fee of $10 for the playoffs (yearly if you really want to think about it like that)
and if you can afford to get on the internet, you can afford a one time fee of $10.
In fact, I would like someone to step forward who has a job who cannot pony up $10 once and I will immediately fix their life for them.
the 10$ fee was a rip off.
just fwiw
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:39 PM CST up reply actions
lol
Okay then ab03. It is inexcusable for a grown man to not be able to spend 10 bucks on streaming playoff games.
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
Thank you
See AJM? It’s not just about opportunity. $10 a month, even when it is the most important month of baseball, is still more money than people are willing to spend on baseball.
if it had been the tv or mlb.tv broadcast, it would have been different
10$ for what they gave you was a rip off.
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:44 PM CST up reply actions
ok i will repost it at the bottom
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:48 PM CST up reply actions
I don't think you have any idea what point I was making
Are there those that won’t pay 10 bucks despite having jobs and the income to afford it? Sure, those people exist. But to make a blanket statement that no grown man with a job has any excuse to spend that money elsewhere if they want to watch the playoffs is a stupid thing to suggest. There are plenty of people out there who really can’t afford to be spending 10 bucks on things they can get for free.
Josey Wales: "And if you think intangibles really do exist, how in the F could you vote Ellsbury as the MVP?"
Adam J. Morris: "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."
I wonder if people's actions would fall into line with this.
I’d be curious to know what people said about whether they’d pay for music back in the heyday of Napster et al. I doubt that many foresaw how much they’d spend on iTunes…
You don't understand
I am not talking about idle hypothetical talk. I am talking about people with access to mlb.tv that weren’t blacked out who refused to pay.
Fair enough.
I can’t really argue with that… I’d guess that there wouldn’t be many who would fit that description, but I could certainly be wrong about that…
Like I said
you’re prone to finding people willing to look for illegal Texas Rangers streams on Texas Rangers message boards.
BTW, I paid for the 10$ playoff feed and then used an illegal stream
It was a ridiculous feed that I didn’t want to use. I could get a feed of the actual TV stream so I could get replays and the k-zone overlay. I think your theory is way off.
@AdamLikesBeer If you are in Minneapolis I can tell you where to get a good brew.
The music industry is what I think of
I can’t imagine that there are that many people doing illegal downloads of music now, given how cheap and easy it is to get a legitimate copy.
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 19, 2012 11:31 AM CST up reply actions
You haven't been in a music thread lately
There is illegal downloading of tons of stuff still going on in the right demographic.
This is true,
but I think it’s changing. The older demographics are used to paying (much more) for music and hopefully the generation below the Napster and Limewire generations are raised thinking that they should pay for music. With the growing popularity and availability of Pandora, Spotify, etc, I think/hope we’ll see people pay for it.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 11:42 AM CST up reply actions
It still happens a lot
I am your age but I just graduated from a large university in the tech field. A large number of the 20-25 year olds that I took classes with were still downloading music, movies, software, or whatever they could get their hands on illegally.
"A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous." - Sam "MayDay" Malone
Yep. I teach HS.
Kids feel about music the same as they do sex. Why pay for it when they can get it for free.
"the PGT isn’t about alerting drunk guys on their mobile as to what the score was." --goET 7-24-11
"Replace Ace? Done. Ace's was too long anyway." --Micah 1-17-12
you dont think that being in a tech field had anything to do with skewing your results, do you?
come on dude.
i used to download music. instead i now pay 10$ for spotify. i use the hell out of it.
i used to d/l movies and/or TV shows, now i have DVR and netflix.
i used to d/l cracked versions of games. now i buy them on steam.
yes, i am a tiny tiny tiny sample size. yes it still happens. yes your results are skewed due to your industry/field.
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:36 PM CST up reply actions
uhhh, what?
I am your age but I just graduated from a large university in the tech field. A large number of the 20-25 year olds that I took classes with were still downloading music, movies, software, or whatever they could get their hands on illegally.
sorry, but i dont believe that all college kids = the same. especially when many of those in question are in tech-centric classes.
thats going to skew the results.
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:40 PM CST up reply actions
wait for what?
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:44 PM CST up reply actions
It ppssibly did
You don’t have to be very tech savvy anymore to steal stuff off the internet though. And I think it has more to do with the age of the people involved and when they started having access to this kind of stuff.
"A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous." - Sam "MayDay" Malone
Also
I don’t understand why you think it is cheap. It’s the same price it ever was.
Do you just buy individual songs?
Largely
If I download a full album, though, it is still generally cheaper than buying a CD was, back when I was buying CDs.
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 19, 2012 11:49 AM CST up reply actions
And it's getting cheaper.
Amazon entered the market two years ago and Google is trying to get into it as well. Their moves to incorporate cloud computing are likely the impetus for Apple to move that direction as well.
Amazon routinely has famous and new albums on sale for $5.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 11:51 AM CST up reply actions
The comparative price of things frequently seems peculiar to me.
Particularly with literature.
Like, I can buy a paperback copy of Walt Whitman’s life work for the same price as a sandwich… I know why that is, but it sure seems funny…
And now you can get a digital copy for $0.99 or free (not having a Kindle/iPad, I don’t really know)…
Any literature in the public domain I can get on my Kindle for free
I read Crime and Punishment for free last week, have a few other classics that I’ve downloaded for if/when the mood strikes me to read them.
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 19, 2012 12:22 PM CST up reply actions
The only issue with the free versions
is that they aren’t always edited well, sometimes contain typos, etc. But that is a minor complaint
Get your money back.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 12:46 PM CST up reply actions
I figured as much...
I might have to finally break down and get a Kindle…. Someone gave me Murakami’s new book in hardback for Christmas. As I read it on the plane last week, I thought: “This is ridiculous.”
I just finished that a couple of weeks ago
One of the great things about the kindle is that I can bring my whole library when I fly or travel…I don’t have to bring four or five books and hope I’m in the mood to read one of them
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 19, 2012 1:04 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah, I need to do this...
What’d you think of IQ84, incidentally?
Of the Murakami I’ve read, my favorite by far is Wind Up Bird Chronicle…
by VM on Jan 19, 2012 2:39 PM CST up reply actions
It depends what type of eReader you get.
If you get the electronic ink ones [which are on their 3rd or 4th interation and have very good contrast], then you’ll find it’s very similar to reading from a book in terms of eye strain.
If you get a color eReader, then you get a similar amount of eye strain as you do from staring at a computer screen.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 12:56 PM CST up reply actions
eInk is very solid by now
im blown away at how good the “screensaver” looks on my dads kindle (last generation before touch)
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 1:08 PM CST up reply actions
This is why I have no interest in one of the color ones.
It defeats the whole reason I thought Kindles were awesome.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth - Christopher Fittz is better than porn!
My mom has pretty bad eyes at this point
and she’s old – and she loves her 1st gen kindle (maybe 2nd gen – can’t remember)
I was just thinking
our age difference probably accounts for it. CD’s were probably closer to $20 when they first got on the market. When I really started buying CD’s, I rarely had to pay more than $12
Yeah, at this point the only time I'd bother with pirating music is if I just can't find it.
The ease and reliability of an iTunes purchase is worth the money they charge me.
See also: Steam and video games.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth - Christopher Fittz is better than porn!
Exactly.
Though there is still a lot of illegal downloading, it is pretty clear that iTunes has done quite well charging for music. I don’t see why televised sports wouldn’t be similar.
The music industry, of course, missed the boat and a third party came in and solved their problem (piracy) for them. And so they missed out on much of the profits and suffered more than they would have if they’d developed a way to monetize digital music on their own.
It’s too bad that baseball is less of a free market. A tech company couldn’t come in and do what Apple did for the music industry.
A lot of music companies got fat on $20/CD though
and are pretty mad about the success of iTunes, especially when it comes to just buying the one song of a one hit wonder as opposed to their entire album.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 12:47 PM CST up reply actions
Perhaps.
They’ve had to shift how they do music…
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 12:56 PM CST up reply actions
it happens all the time
i just dont “own” music at all now, and have access to basically everything via spotify.
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:36 PM CST up reply actions
I don't think that's the case at all.
There are a lot of people who sign up for the MLB AtBat app and other forms of paying the MLB for media.
OurDailyBears.com
by Prashanth Francis on Jan 19, 2012 11:39 AM CST up reply actions
I, for one, would happily pay for a good internet stream.
I think I would pay up up to $200 for access to Rangers games.
You reading this, Bud? Make it happen, for God’s sake.
Ah yes
The old “if they would just give it to me for free I wouldn’t have to steal it” argument.
"A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous." - Sam "MayDay" Malone
Who is arguing for it to be given away for free?
(I didn’t read the link, but the quoted portion doesn’t seem to indicate that)
Yeah, you are right
I misread it myself.
"A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous." - Sam "MayDay" Malone
I'm an MLB.tv subscriber who was tricked into the $10 playoff thing.
I immediately shut that off and found other means to watch the game. What a ripoff.
HNNNNNNGGGGG
by JoseTres on Jan 19, 2012 12:43 PM CST via mobile reply actions
I think it is absurd
that I can’t legally stream games here in Houston. I have to hope and pray that the Texas game is on at a different time from the Astros, and that FS Houston decides to air the game.
That is the only way I can watch my team.This isn’t going to make me go to more games, its just going to make me not watch.
I would gladly pay the MLB.tv subscription if I could not be blacked out.
i would pay above/beyond the mlb.tv cost if i could stream it.
just stream the commercials that are on TV for all i care.
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:45 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah. Directv
They have both FSSW 676 and FSH 678.
"the PGT isn’t about alerting drunk guys on their mobile as to what the score was." --goET 7-24-11
"Replace Ace? Done. Ace's was too long anyway." --Micah 1-17-12
xx
if it had been the tv or mlb.tv broadcast, it would have been different
10$ for what they gave you was a rip off.
by knockoutking on Jan 19, 2012 12:44 PM CST
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
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