MLB Extra Innings

by jdudas on Apr 1, 2008 8:38 PM EDT Comment 61 comments

I'm strongly considering getting the MLB Extra Innings package through Charter this year. I know that, for reasons that are unexplainable by mere mortals, it is not possible to choose your broadcast (yesterday, for example, my excitement at being able to watch the Indians was tempered by having to listen to the Hawk's word vomit). I think I can deal with other broadcast teams, but I am wondering, from those who have prior experience with the package, about how many games feature the Indians broadcast during the year? Thanks, and Go Tribe!

1 recs | Comment 61 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Could be wrong on this, but my memory tells me that you get the road team's broadcast. Home team if no road coverage. But it's been two years since I had EI.

by macasson on Apr 1, 2008 9:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not sure about Charter, but right now on DirectTV, Extra Innings is allowing you to choose between home and road feeds. Plus the 8 games on the screen at the same time thing which is way cool!

by lilkeysdad on Apr 1, 2008 9:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

How times change ... seems like only yesterday you were complaining about spending the money ...

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here is the link to the Extra Innings schedule for April, showing which broadcast is being picked up.

In April, about 2/3 of the Indians games are the Cleveland broadcast, including the vast majority of the home games.

http://www.indemand.com/sports/mlb/schedule/schedule.jsp

by palcal on Apr 1, 2008 9:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

and here is the link to just the Cleveland games

http://www.indemand.com/sports/mlb/schedule/schedule.jsp?prodId=82880&titleFilter=Cleveland&monthOffset=0&submit=Go

by palcal on Apr 1, 2008 9:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Viewers have never been able to choose which broadcast on Extra Innings or on mlb.tv. If DirecTV is doing this now, I believe it's for the first time.

Related question ... the local Comcast operator said that whatever games are being broadcast in HD, you can see in HD on EI. I'm skeptical that this is true. For one thing, I'm skeptical that every game being broadcast in HD is being carried by EI (centrally) in HD. In fact, I'm not convinced that any of them are. And finally, I'm skeptical that what she told me could be true technically, as Comcast doesn't have any other channels at all that are dual HD/not depending on what box you have.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

by Jay on Apr 1, 2008 10:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am curious as well. A Timewarner operator told me that Extra Innings had no games broadcasted in HD which does not seem right to me

by Roger Dorn on Apr 1, 2008 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is what DirecTV did before they started expanding their satellite fleet. For RSNs most of the time it was SD and then occasionally it would be HD. It's an HD signal technically but it's only carrying 480p quality video when its SD. The same thing still happens sometimes with ESPN when there is SD programming on an HD feed. So technically, it's possible.

However! Having said all of that, I have found time and time again that cable and satellite networks LOVE to insinuate that things will be in HD at a time and date and then fail to live up to that expectation. For you, without an HDTV to know for sure, I'd be scouring message boards looking for other Comcast subscribers interested in the same questions. I used this forum to learn about the DirecTV HD offerings before I subscribed.

by NickFantana on Apr 1, 2008 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd have to say that Comcast operator is wrong, considering none of the channels (in my area, Philadelphia) that broadcast the games, 771-780 aren't HD channels.

Last year they made have played 1 game a week, 2 tops on the channel UHD, which I think is Universal HD, and I'm not sure if you even needed the MLB package to get that.

by ASP on Apr 1, 2008 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

All I know is that there was a link from the Business of Baseball article I put up early to a blog where people were sharing a wide range of comments from Comcast operators on the subject.

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 12:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My Comcast operator told me they aren't doing any games in HD. Still gonna get it, but goddman is Comcast the devil.

Burn on, big river, burn on...

by Turkmenbashi on Apr 2, 2008 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Comcast says its local systems are still deciding whether
they will carry the EI HD games.

DirecTV will offer UP to 40 games a week in HD. Obviously, even there, most games will be in SD.

Other cable operators were still not forthcoming on their plans as of 3/31.

This is still a moving target.

by palcal on Apr 1, 2008 10:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, it's been a very pleasant surprise to see how many games that Directv is showing both feeds - home and away.

As an example, this friday, there are 15 games on. Of those 15, there are 8 where both the home and away feeds are being shown. And of the 15, 12 have at least one HD option.

Tonight I've been watching As-Red Sox, and Rangers-Mariners, both of which have the full four choices (home SD, home HD, away SD, away HD). It's been pretty remarkable so far, for me.

Compared to MLBTV, the biggest downsides are cost (obviously) and the fact that you'll probably miss 4 - 5 Indians games a month. That's not insignificant.

The biggest upside, beside the HD pic if you have it, is that I had plenty of computer struggles with MLBTV. I think they were computer/internet problems, rather than just MLBTV problems, but there were games were it was pretty annoying.

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 12:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

And now I see you that you are talking about "Charter", and I don't know what that is, but please ignore my Directv ramblings. Sorry.

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks everybody for the feedback, and for the links posted earlier. I'm going through Charter cable, which has a chunk of the New England market. Was the missing 4-5 Indians games/month a DirectTV thing, or is that somehow a feature of EI itself?

Railing against the sacrifice bunt since 2000.

by jdudas on Apr 2, 2008 7:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

By the way, while we're on the subject of Comcast, this woman is my hero.

Burn on, big river, burn on...

by Turkmenbashi on Apr 2, 2008 11:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can anyone explain the reasons behind the fact that with Extra Innings I end up hardly ever able to see the Tribe play on Sundays? I know that most of these games are picked up by WKYC, which means there is no STO feed for Extra Innings to pick up. Is is also quite typical that the opposition's feed isn't available as well? Namely I find this to happen each and every time the Tribe plays the Royals on a Sunday. Not sure I can name any other examples.

Between that and the Fox games being only available regionally, it does drive me crazy that I've spent good money to watch the Tribe and then find I'm unable to watch them.

Does MLB.TV have these issues?

by Ohiokie on Apr 2, 2008 12:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There is a Sunday night blackout for ESPN's exclusive contract, just as with FOX on Saturday.

Basically, any Saturday game starting before 7:00 will be blacked out, and any Sunday game starting after 7:00 will be blacked out.

Same blackout rules for MLB.TV.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jay, I don't think it's as simple as you suggest. Last season I rarely got to see the Tribe play on Sunday afternoons having Extra Innings on DirecTV, games that started well before 7pm.

by Ohiokie on Apr 2, 2008 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well I have no idea why that was. Aside from the above blackouts -- and those are exactly the rules, trust me -- all but maybe 2-3 Indians games were on XI and mlb.tv last season. Is it possible you live in an area that is blacked out for the Royals?

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Rarely" was the wrong word for me to choose....I don't mean to overstate this as a problem.

But no it's not Royals market related...as I live in upstate NY. It wasn't a blackout thing so to speak, with a true blackout DirecTV will at least tell you that you're blacked out. For these instances the game simply wasn't an option anywhere on my guide. Again, with the WKYC broadcast always unavailable as part of EI package....which is what, every Sunday for the Tribe contractually?

I'll be sure to post if/when it comes up again this season....pretty sure I won't be alone in complaining at that point.

by Ohiokie on Apr 2, 2008 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it's true that the WKYC broadcasts are never available -- I seem to recall thinking that myself early in the season only to be proved wrong later on. But even if it were true, the other team's broadcast would be carried almost every time.

Let me ask you this, how many channels does your cable system dedicate to XI?

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

April 13. WKYC game, is scheduled to be broadcast on Directv EI. or XI. It may be the A's feed.

But they are not showing any feed of the Tribe games on the 6th or 20th (neither a night game). I assume those will be on MLBTV?

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is indeed going to be the WKYC feed for that game, as per this link which palcal contributed upthread.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting, That page is for InDemand, and shows that the Sunday games on the 6th and 20 will be shown. The Directv schedule doesn't have them. I hope they are on.

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, I don't understand how it's possible (contractually) for them to be shown via InDemand (cable) but not via DirecTV (sat). So perhaps it's not a contractual problem at all. Instead, maybe it's simply that DirecTV doesn't have a system in place to broadcast WKYC games.

It's actually more irritating as an Extra Innings customer to know that I can't get the A's game on April 6th since I have DirecTV rather than my local cable company. I blame Jim Donovan.

Bear with me, this is to be my first embedded link:
DirecTV Schedule

by Ohiokie on Apr 3, 2008 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice work, first link.

I doubt very much the DirecTV will fail to show anything on InDemand. It would be the first case I've ever heard of.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As of this (Friday) morning, Sunday's game (April 6th) is listed on that DirecTV schedule....and it will be the Indians' feed.

It's now obvious that Jim Donovan reads LGT and didn't appreciate me calling him out.

by Ohiokie on Apr 4, 2008 7:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hooray for the April 6 game! Now let's hope April 20 has been shown as well. If Directv is showing all the same games as MLBTV, I withdraw my only gripe with it.

by dgcambridge on Apr 4, 2008 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, I meant it will be the WKYC feed for April 13.

April 6 and 20 games will be blacked out for both mlb.tv and XI, unless you're outside the U.S.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But the games on April 6 and April 20 both start before 7pm on a Sunday.

by NickFantana on Apr 3, 2008 8:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ack ... I really need to get my story straight.

Yes, of course, as Sunday afternoon games, no reason those games wouldn't be televised, and they will be.

April 6, 4:00 p.m., STO feed. April 20, 2:00 p.m., Minnesota feed.

However ... the April 5 game, this Saturday, will not be televised at all. I was mistaken before in saying the local broadcasts take precedence over everything. The FOX blackout can take out a local broadcast based on the start time, and that is the case on Saturday -- it will not be televised. STO says it's the only game all year that will not be televised. It's the only Saturday game scheduled to start earlier than 7:00 p.m., aside from those which may be moved to an earlier time later on specifically TO BE broadcast on FOX.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK, we're officially on the same page. Only remaining question is why in the hell they'd schedule more than three games to be played on a Saturday afternoon. Were they just hoping that Fox'd pick it up?

by NickFantana on Apr 3, 2008 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, Oakland just thinks they'll sell more tickets to a 1:05 game (their time). That's all it is.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well then, they're jerks and I hope Sabathia pitches a really long no-hitter that they find really boring.

by NickFantana on Apr 3, 2008 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The EI schedule link that I posted above on April 1 appears to be for Comcast EI. It shows both games being carried (April 6 and 20) along with their channel numbers. Comcast usually devotes 10 SD channels to EI although in April they are constrained by the overlap with hockey. Several Indians games in April are pushed out of the 461-470 channel range which means that many people won't be able to get them.

Check with your cable system regarding their constraints. Last year, Comcast didn't miss very many games (some becasue no broadcast was available and a few because there were not enough channels available.).

by palcal on Apr 2, 2008 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Last year, at least in Philly, they did have all 14 channels.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Correcting the above ... any Sunday game starting after 5:00 will be blacked out.

And this part was right ... any Saturday game starting before 7:00 will be blacked out.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is it not right to say though that apart from West Coast games, very rarely do they play around the same time as the ESPN game anyway, to give it the added 'exclusivity'?

http://www.on-the-bench.blogspot.com - an irreverant take on EPL football (that's soccer!)

by Luis (Tribe Fan in London) on Apr 3, 2008 8:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, no, they're at that time because it's best for attendance.

Typically Sunday games sell best in the afternoons and Saturday games best in the evenings, especially after the first few months when the weather is warmer. (Sunday evening games would not be as popular as Saturday evening, since folks have work the next day.)

So that's when the games are scheduled by default. Then, ESPN grabs a Sunday afternoon game and moves it to the evening, which is better for TV ratings. It's a natural efficiency that keeps us from having a lot more games blacked out.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

With EI, is it still not guaranteed that you will see the Indians game? I had it for a week last season and promptly canceled when I found out they broadcast only 10 games, and if your game is not one of them, too bad.

Tribe fan from far, far away

by LGT Patrick on Apr 2, 2008 3:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, the Directv version isn't limited to 10 games, but I still think there are games that are not shown on EI that are shown on MLBTV.

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hello everyone,

I thought this might be the best place to mention this, for those who are not aware, but STO is announcing that Saturday's game between the Indians and A's will NOT be shown because Fox refused to pick up the game, and being that the game time (4 P.M. EDT) is within Fox's "exclusive" window, STO cannot legally show it.

So, it's "Hammy" time on Saturday! :-)

That's still better than listening to Hawk and some of these other TV announcers, so it's not bad for one game, in my opinion.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Apr 2, 2008 7:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

saying that Fox refused to pick up the game is a litle harsh; it's a little more fair to say that it was not one of the 3 games (out of 15) that Fox selected

by palcal on Apr 2, 2008 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

by the way, the Fox west coast game Saturday is Dodgers at Padres; as much as it might hurt our feelings, it's not surprising that
Fox would pick that game over the Indians at Oakland

by palcal on Apr 2, 2008 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hello palcal,

Sorry if it sounded a little harsh, but Fox has constantly kept us off the Saturday docket over the last few years, and really haven't televised us much even after we started excelling last season.

Do they pick two games to televise on the West Coast like they do on the East Coast, or just one game? If it's just one game, I can understand why they picked them, even though the Padres were barely a playoff team last season, and I think both the Dodgers and Padres are question marks on returning to the postseason this coming season (I think the D-Backs and Rockies are as good or better bets of reaching the postseason than those two clubs out of the NL West and for the NL Wild Card.)

Of course, the fact that Oakland is rebuilding doesn't help; otherwise, if Oakland was like they've been most of the last 10 years, I would think we'd be a virtual lock to be shown, even against a Dodgers-Padres matchup.

Just my 2 cents - no offense.

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Apr 3, 2008 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who are the scheduling wizards who came up with this one?

I honestly can't believe there continue to be major league baseball games that aren't televised. This actually happens to the Jays up here more often than you would expect considering Ted Rogers owns both the team and one of the main broadcasters of Jays games. Baffling stuff.

by supermarioelia on Apr 2, 2008 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, it's televised, just not outside the Oakland and Cleveland markets.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am so confused right now. Well here's hoping my nation is exempt from these confusing laws.

by supermarioelia on Apr 2, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This one?

by dgcambridge on Apr 2, 2008 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My wireless always seems to cut out when I'm in that giant cave shaped like a mouth.

by supermarioelia on Apr 3, 2008 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Local broadcasts are never blacked out. Indeed, those are the broadcasts that largely are being protected.

But you can't see the locally broadcast game on an XI channel or on mlb.tv, because the local station has the exclusive right to broadcast that game within that local market.

Getting it yet?

Fox and ESPN have national broadcast blackouts. They supersede XI and mlb.tv, but nothing supersedes the local TV deals.

by Jay on Apr 2, 2008 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Got it.

by supermarioelia on Apr 3, 2008 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They're not laws, they're contracts. The difference, of course, being that contracts actually mean something.

Formerly known as "tribefan stuck in boston"

by BostonWahoo on Apr 3, 2008 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hello Jay,

Are you saying then that the game will be on STO or not?

The STO website suggested otherwise, but maybe they meant for those outside the Cleveland market. I'm not sure - I should have double-checked that first.

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Apr 2, 2008 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure what Jay is saying but as far as I understand it, there is no video for the Saturday game. I think we could also summarize this by saying that it has been a rather inauspicious start to the 2008 Indians broadcast season. (Mostly because DirecTV, contrary to all of their promises, is not carrying STO-HD yet.)

by NickFantana on Apr 3, 2008 8:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Noted above, I was mistaken. This Saturday's game will not be televised, apparently the only one all season.

by Jay on Apr 3, 2008 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hello Jay,

No problem - I get confused by all the legal contractual obligations regularly. At least this game is the only one, and it's mostly because it's on the West Coast and they want to play an afternoon game. Normally, they would play a night game at 7:05 P.M. PDT, 10:05 EDT - then, it wouldn't have interfered with Fox's exclusive window.

But, being the only one, that's not a major issue - at least Hammy sounds good on the radio! :-)

Thanks again for clarifying that!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Apr 5, 2008 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The 2 choices to see Sabathia face his nemesis in Oakland are to see it in person (plenty of good tickets available) or watch it on a delayed basis on MLB.tv. I have no idea what they use for the video feed - they probably pick up audio from a radio broadcast)

by palcal on Apr 3, 2008 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That it's Sabathia pitching in Oakland is probably the best thing about it not being televised.

by NickFantana on Apr 3, 2008 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As of this morning, Comcast in Philly is showing 14 channels, 771-784, as they did last season. This is per the instructions that all InDemand providers get from the main office. The system of sharing channels between NHL and MLB also comes straight from InDemand in that format.

by Jay on Apr 4, 2008 9:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs