A Study in Frustration: The WBC, the MLB Network, and the Fan
March 18, 2009 by Josh Deitch · 5 Comments
A week ago, after the Netherlands upset the Dominican Republic, I decided that the World Baseball Classic had officially moved to must-see-TV status. From then on, I dedicated myself to catching every meaningful game, especially if it involved the U.S. team. Last night, as the U.S. put together a ninth inning rally for the ages, I missed it again! However, I didn’t see David Wright’s game winning opposite-field single because I was otherwise occupied with the DVRed exploits of Jack, Kate, and Sawyer or Clark, Chloe, and Lana. I missed it because the game aired on the new MLB Network.
I had focused my entire evening around watching the rematch between Puerto Rico and the U.S.  I returned from an afternoon showing of Watchmen, saw the close score and the late innings, and got even more psyched to watch. But, I couldn’t because the cable company already takes almost $200 a month from my fiancé and I, and we don’t want to pay more. So, there I was, at eleven o’clock at night, desperately searching for some updates on the game, despairingly watching the crawl on the bottom of ESPN’s coverage of the opening round of the NIT tournament, and ultimately giving up and following the game on Gamecast on MLB.com. I don’t have a proper analogy to describe my level of frustration. It would be as if the producers of Friday Night Lights, instead of airing all of season 3 first on DirectTV and then on NBC, presented every other episode on NBC. Could you imagine if Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams decided to broadcast the penultimate episode of Lost on Showtime, but promised to allow fans to follow the episode on a live blog? No matter how good the new Star Trek movie was, no amount of police protection could keep the two of them safe from the torch and pitchfork-carrying mob that would form.
Once again, Bud Selig and the rest of the used car salesmen that run Major League Baseball have screwed their national fans in favor of the bottom line. Moreover, Selig has the gall to bemoan the fact that though the Classic has been an unmitigated success overseas, the United States still hasn’t caught on to the excitement and revelry of the tournament. Selig and his cadre of Willy Lomanesque suits point to graphs and flowcharts showing how the tournament simply can’t compete in the U.S. with March Madness, but they never gave the World Baseball Classic a chance. The NCAA tournament airs on CBS, the WBC on the MLB Network. When you broadcast a game on a channel not universally available, how do you expect high ratings? Ultimately, Selig and company are happy to collect their network-driven revenue, build their product overseas, and force the average baseball fan to pay extra to watch a game supposedly open to the world.
While I watched the highlights of Shane Victorino subtly deflecting an errant throw from the outfield, Carlos Beltran pulling a Brian McCann drive back from beyond the centerfield fence, Brian Roberts stealing second base by a millimeter, and the U.S. players excitedly celebrating like Little Leaguers after Wright’s walk off single, a lot of emotions ran through me. I felt pride, some nationalism, and more than a little awe at the level of baseball being played this early in March. But moreover, I felt let down.
Between tuning in to television and radio broadcasts, attending games in person, and writing these Seamheads columns, I have devoted massive amounts of time, energy, and money to Major League Baseball. I’m not looking for a medal or some kind of recognition. All I ask for is a little consideration. If the MLB wants to build their network and its income through the WBC, fine. Just don’t blame fans like me for the tournament’s mediocre success in the states.
Second that emotion.
I feel similarly, in that I think the MLB has ignored Canada. I’ve been complaining that we don’t even have the OPTION of getting the MLB network in Canada through ANY cable or satellite provider.
BUT the silver lining in that is that one of our sports networks has carried all the WBC games. (just a shame Canada only played in 2 of them)
While I feel your pain about not being able to see the games, I also don’t see you making much of an effort to voice your displeasure.
So your cable system doesn’t get the channel? Switch to DirecTV and get it. I’ve had it since Day 1, and love it.
BTW – $200 a month for cable is a crime. Nothing I’ve seen on TV is worth that much.
On another note – isn’t wasn’t until after the Netherlands-Dominican Republic game that you decided it was must-see TV. I’m sure a lot of TV execs and fans feel the same way, thus why it wasn’t on channels with better penetration into more homes. And remember – those decisions as to “must-see” or not are made months before the first pitch is ever thrown or rosters are set.
I would have probably been in that same camp – especially if you’d have asked me if I wanted to watch the Netherlands play. Unfortunately, it was only after the fact interest was sparked. This is one of those great lessons baseball can teach us – anytime two teams step on the field, you never know what will happen. You can’t write off a game just because of its participants.
However, the Japan-Cuba game is on ESPN2, which is how I’m watching it right now. I’m not sure where those decisions get made, but somehow that game got picked up.
What you hope happens is that each WBC generates more and more momentum and that coverage continues to improve with each successive one. It also takes consumers asking their television service provider to cover the games and displaying a genuine interest in the games – buying the merchandise, reading the websites, and making it a topic of conversation.
I saw several of my friends updating their Facebook pages after the USA win yesterday – that’s the kind of ground swell that will facilitate improved coverage going forward.
Pat–
First of all, thanks for reading and commenting.
1) I live in an area where the cable company monopolizes the area, we use it for internet, phone, and cable, which is why the bill is high. DirecTV is not an option because of the building in which I live.
2) Just because the WBC wasn’t appointment viewing didn’t mean I didn’t want to watch the games. Like the Olympics, anytime the US was on, I wanted to watch, and like regular season baseball, interesting games would pique my interest and draw me in. Selig and co. never gave us that chance (although the remainder of games will be on espn2). We couldn’t pick and choose what we wanted to watch, the networks and schedulers chose for us.
3) That’s fine, it’s a business. I get it. The NFL network does the same thing, luckily they tended to show games like Bengals-Browns last season. I just bristle when the suits throw their domestic fans under the bus despite not providing the product to the widest possible audience.
Thanks for the clarification about your cable provider/DirecTV. That lack of choice really stinks. I understand how you’re a bit handcuffed in that regard.
Have you looked into any kind of movement online, or thought about starting one to get your provider to add MLB Network? I’d be doing it just for the channel, irregardless of the WBC coverage. I would think there would be a group of people feeling the same way you do, and would only grow once the regular season rolls around, assuming of course that MLB Network provides good or better programming than the competition.
In regards to the second point, this is a downside of being on the consumer side of the broadcasting equation – we don’t always get to choose what we see.
Imagine if your local team’s TV partner carried 150 of the 162 games, and they were all on cable/satellite. Obviously that limits the audience, but they made the choice.
Then imagine if one of those 12 games that wasn’t on TV ended up being a perfect game.
Outrage, right? I would be to – maybe more disappointment than anything, but a bit of outrage mixed in for good measure. They didn’t know that game would be so worth watching, they went with what they had at the moment. It stinks, but it’s the way business is done on the broadcaster’s side.
Maybe I don’t feel like I’m being thrown under the bus by MLB – although I completely understand and almost entirely agree with your assessment of making the games available to as many people as possible.
I think they do that already via the internet and Extra Innings package, although it’s an added expense and again, limits the amount of people who can see it.
Maybe this stems into a broader question about the expectation we have of people’s access to things? Do people have a right to have access to entertainment such as baseball with minimal cost? Then could the same argument be made about movies, theater, art galleries, etc.?
It’s another discussion, but the idea of entitlement to access is one that does fascinate me.
Regardless – maybe we can all work together to get the 2013 WBC on more channels!