MLB makes bush league move complaining about Slingbox usage |
When I bought a Slingbox last year, some wondered how this ultimately would be treated by content owners. MLB may soon stand for Major League Bitching instead of Baseball, if they decide to put any serious heat on Sling Media over customers placeshifting MLB games using Slingbox.
Sling enables TV viewers to access their set-top or TiVo boxes from anywhere in the world via any device that connects to the Web. MLB says that’s fine, but if viewers want to watch on multiple devices, they have to pay multiple times.
Yes, you read that right, Major League Baseball actually, seriously thinks this is ripping them off, somehow, some way (they cite deals with cable / satellite companies per city) and would like Slingbox owners who view Major League Baseball games to pay them multiple times for multiple devices. I’m holding up three fingers and the middle one is for you, MLB. Who are you taking your cues from, the RIAA and MPAA?
Now I’m going to rethink whether I want to sign up for mlb.com internet radio subscription. I like baseball but don’t like this at all. Greed, anyone?
Did this post make you go hmm?
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Greed.
Comment by Sterling Camden — June 7, 2006 @ 11:39 am PST
The lost revenue is from people who travel a lot and no longer pay for the mlb.tv subscription every year just to watch their home team. Then there are those with a cooperative relative living in the home area of a favorite team who allow the poor out-of-towners tune in to all the games via a Slingbox. I have an MLB radio subscription, a MLB Extra Innings tv subscription and four XM radio subscriptions, but no relatives in the Chicago area to help me watch the Cubs lose via a Slingbox. MLB gets its money out of me.
Comment by davestr — June 7, 2006 @ 5:30 pm PST
I just wish the consumers had the money to fight the big companies. These big companies (MPIA, RIAA and now MLB) have been screwing people over for many years. They get rich by taking the hard earned money from all the rest of us.
I don’t subscribe to MLB to hear or watch my favorite team play. If I did, my team would probably fall under the blackout anyways. I live on the border of San Diego and they consider me in the L.A. area when I am many many miles from L.A. When I moved here, the satellite companies wouldn’t let me get San Diego channels (understandable) But they also blacked out any Charger games and there is no way to get cable channel 4 which shows all Padre games.
Technology is getting to where the smarter than average joe can even the playing field, and the big companies are crying foul. Personally I love it. Lets apply the pressure so the artists get more money for there music than the recording companies, Lets force the TV stations to give us better control over what we do with content that we pay such outrageously high monthly bills for, lets take away the monopolization the oil companies have that keeps gas prices so high ( I live in the most expensive part of the country as far as gas prices go).
It sickens me that big business bitch and whine so loudly about how much money they will lose, when so many of us struggle to make enough money to get by and have some of the things we enjoy, I.E. new music, good television content.
Power to the little guys!
Comment by R H — August 27, 2006 @ 2:15 pm PST