Why Baseball 'Blackouts' HDTV

Commentary
Why Baseball 'Blackouts' HDTV
By Boyd Gohl
HD Observer

Washington, D.C. (August 22, 2006) -- Editor's Note: Sports blackouts continue to frustrate and baffle satellite and cable viewers. Most times, the blackout is ordered by the league for various reasons; but sometimes, the TV provider just makes a mistake. Either way, it's a frustrating experience. HD Observer Don Leiffer today posted his tale of woe (See below) in trying to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers in high-def on DIRECTV. However, HD Observer Boyd Gohl offers another view below:

I believe the reason Don gets the "Not available in your area" on some HD broadcasts is (Assuming Don Lives in LA) because the HD feed is from San Francisco.

Don living in LA is only allowed to get the LA feed of the game -- mostly likely carried only in Standard Def -- because DIRECTV is using the Giant (broadcast) for HD. I get this all the time living in northeastern Indiana because of Major League Baseball's stupid territory rules. (Editor's Note: Major League Baseball does not allow one market to receive a broadcast from a different market's regional sports channel.)

(Regarding Don's complaints about DIRECTV's customer service), it's very frustrating trying to communicate with DIRECTV. After long holds, you generally get a rep that knows little about HD and sports programming,

Below is Don Leiffer's original post:

DIRECTV (recently) announced they would be providing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels in HD via Fox Sports Net channels. That sounded good to me so I arranged with (DIRECTV) to come and install a 5lnb dish to go with my H20 HD receiver at NO cost and that was even better.

That gets me in the MPEG4 game for future DIRECTV HD (channels). (Note: DIRECTV will switch to the MPEG4 transmission delivery system in the coming months; an MPEG4 receiver will be needed to display HDTV signals when the switch occurs.) Install went very well with an upgrade of the receiver software included. That very night I watched the Angels in HD. More than a week later the Dodgers and Giants were in the program grid but when I tuned in it said "not available in your area."

I spent an hour on the phone with DIRECTV who could not answer why an HD broadcast of the same coverage in Standard Definition would be blacked out. (The SD version was not blacked out.) They said contact Major League Baseball. I have yet to make a human contact there.

In a month, there have been only THREE HD games (on DIRECTV.) I'm still working on this -- more to come.

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