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[SCREWED BY MUSIC] Tonight’s Game Is Blacked Out Due To Rays’ Saturday Night Concert Series
Uncategorized May 24th. 2008, 2:35pmTonight’s game at the Trop between the Rays and the Orioles will not be seen on the MLB’s “Extra Innings” package.
Why? Because of The Commodores.
Tonight is the first of several scheduled postgame concerts that the Rays will feature following Saturday home games. To accommodate the concerts, the Rays have moved the start times of Saturday home games up to 6:10 (as opposed to the normal start time of 7:10).
Of course the new start time falls within the Fox Network’s national exclusive broadcast window.
From MLB.tv…
National Live Blackout (Regular Season): Due to Major League Baseball national exclusivities, for each Saturday game beginning April 19, with a scheduled start time after 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET, and for each Sunday game that begins after 5:00 PM ET, all scheduled webcasts of such games will be blacked out.
Therefore, even though all of the Fox games broadcast in the Eastern Time Zone will be over long before 6:00 pm, the “Extra Innings” package still cannot broadcast the game, because the Rays want to subject fans at the game to the arthritic stylings of The Commodores.
Although I cannot find an explanation, the game appears to still be available on MLB.tv, even though the same blackout rules apply.
For those of you that rely on the “Extra Innings” package to follow the Rays, please be advised, you will not be able to watch another Saturday home game until August 30th.
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Fox games start at 3:55PM, and go to about 6:30 PM and that is a quick and not bosox or yank games. not before 6.
Wow, I’d be surprised if the game were on MLB.TV.
Doesn’t apply to this game, but I believe there is a slight difference in the blackout rules: On Saturdays, MLB.TV allows games starting at 1PM or before to be shown (or so I am told — I don’t have the online package), while Extra Innings blacks out all games with start times prior to 7 PM.
i am not in St. Pete this weekend. I would have assumed that the Tampa market would get the Yanks game and that started at 1. So which game did the Tampa market get? The Atlanta game?
the game is on MLB.tv, but it is still not on EI.
that doesn’t make any sense? should we be surprised?
and it would not surprise me if the team moved the games up an hour to force a blackout to try and get more fans to the game
Rays management is finally figuring it out. I’m always happy to find my team on TV but I’ve always thought they televise too many home games. I think they’re smart not televising Saturday home games. I was at tonight’s game and am thankful for the early start. The post-game concert was well worth staying late for but it ended just short of 11 p.m. We would have still been in the stadium at midnight if there had been a 7:10 start. I hope they stick with the early start even if they don’t schedule a concert.
I completely understand being upset about not being able to see the game on mlb.tv, but I don’t know if I can live hearing the bad mouthing of the commodores. We’re talking about Lionel Richie… Three Times a Lady, Sail On, and Easy….an amazing collection. Now I’m not even a Rays fan, I am hoping they win the East (and hopefully the AL), but don’t get mad if you miss a game…. especially if the commodores are performing. Lionel Richie Rules!!!
I understand why the Rays started the game earlier. I also understand why the St. Pete fans preferred the early start. What doesn’t make sense is the way MLB Extra Innings treated the game. Why not join it in progress at 7:00 p.m.? What’s the big deal?