Thread: mlb.tv

But, if they put the commercials in, there would be no difference. But because advertisers and tv stations are stuck in 1970.....

The only way around the MLB.TV blackout restrictions is to subscribe to or reroute your routers to use a different IP Address Proxy. This basically makes the controlling factors which determine your location think that you're actually located in a different place within the country and therefore you wont be blacked out.

Originally Posted by FranTheMan

I am in-market for Twins games, but bought mlb.tv yesterday, so I will be able to see the AL Central rivals, plus the Rockies and Dbacks (closet fan of both, even before Cuddyer and Kubel) and be able to hear Vin Scully all game. I paid $124.99 for premium. One improvement this year is premium buyers get the At Bat app, unlocked for mlb.tv, no blackout radio and GameDay graphics, included for no extra charge. Have it set up on my iPad and iTouch and worked great for yesterday's Yanks/Phils ST game. Last season, this app cost $14.99 and if you wanted it on more than one device, you had to pay that price for each device.

I LOVE the At-Bat app for Apple devices. They did make it "universal" this year, which means it works on iPad, iPhone, etc. all on the same account for one price. I had it on BlackBerry for a couple of years, and it was nice to have, but since the phones suck, this is at least 3 times better. Granted, much of the content (game highlights, box scores, etc.) is available on computers for free. Doesn't matter. The app works great and allows you to follow the games as they happen. You get the radio feeds for ALL games (including in-market), which is nice for smartphones. Plus, the "free game of the day" is pretty damn cool. Yes, it's randomly selected, but I've already been exposed to some NL teams, etc. that I basically never see on TV.

Originally Posted by TwinsMusings

The real culprit in this issue is the FCC. They established the Sports Blackout Rule following 1999 legislation. Here is the page where you can find the detailed documents. According to news reports a couple of weeks ago, there is a move by five Democratic Senators to get that rule changed.

Those of us in Iowa are also caught in this blackout rule for the Twins, but in our case it includes 6 major league teams because Iowa is supposedly in the media market for all of those teams.

I'm really hoping for a change soon, but not holding my breath.

I also am in Iowa and for any of you this is relevent to, the only way I can watch Twins games here was by getting DirecTV with the regional sports package. Mediacom defaults to carry FSMidwest, which shows Cardinals. I called and complained several times because they are arbitrarily choosing the Cards out of the 6 blackout teams, but what do I know apparently. Needless to say, Mediacom won't be getting business from me anymore if I can at all help it.

MLB app is free on itunes this year

Originally Posted by TwinsMusings

The real culprit in this issue is the FCC. They established the Sports Blackout Rule following 1999 legislation. Here is the page where you can find the detailed documents. According to news reports a couple of weeks ago, there is a move by five Democratic Senators to get that rule changed.

Those of us in Iowa are also caught in this blackout rule for the Twins, but in our case it includes 6 major league teams because Iowa is supposedly in the media market for all of those teams.

I'm really hoping for a change soon, but not holding my breath.

I don't think the rule applies to mlb.tv since it's not satellite transmission. MLB.tv is purely internet based, and the blackout rules are set by MLB. They very well may be based upon the FCC's satellite rules, but I don't believe they have to follow those rules for internet transmissions. I think the blackout rules are in place to protect local tv revenue, especially since now all local games are moving to paid channels like Fox. Teams are getting huge rights fees for the local cable/satellite only stations, and those stations are in turn charing the providers huge monthly fees, which we all pay. MLB isn't going to mess with this revenue stream, not when you see it contributing to people bidding over $1B for a bankrupt Dodgers team.

I used a proxy a few times when the Twins were playing the White Sox (didn't want to listen to the Hawk during the broadcast). Kind of a pain to find a good enough proxy for the initial connection. But once you have the game loaded, you can turn off the proxy and stream without problem as long as you don't close the MLB Media Player.

Originally Posted by Curt

Wait.. There are commercials? Can I start watching half-way through and zap the commercials like I do with my cable box? If not, it will be a deal killer. I can't stand the idea of watching the same commercials 3000 times.

Sometimes there are commercials, others there are not. They play the same three over and over again. They do have a DVR like setting, but I don't think you can schedule the game to record (Not positive on that)

Can't speak for the "basic" plan, but the premium does include DVR like functionality. You can elect to start watching an in-progress game from the beginning. You can fast forward or simply skip to a different point in the game. However, my experience is that the fast forward is not as functional as most cable/satellite boxes. You can't see the action as your fast forwarding so you have to guess at when to stop and get back to the action. There are a few commercials, but usually you just see a commercial break place holder.