When you had local radio and TV an that was IT!

[ForeverRoyalKC]

Ok...I'm about to be the old man saying "back in my day," but I'm only 56 years old. I am SOOOOOOO @#$%&+! sick and tired of subscriptions, streaming, Apple, YouTube, Peacock, "marketing areas" and so on.
I so much want for sports to go back to the "you have local radio and/or TV and that. was. it. The Chiefs were on 81 KCMO radio and you could hear every. single. game. period. If they sold out, then you get to see them at home on TV.
Royals were 980 KMBZ am. You heard almost every. single. game. A Game of the week, or playoffs or World Series, you get to see them at home on TV.

That's it. And the key thing was...they were ALWAYS r-e-l-i-a-b-l-e. No subs, streams, packages, just pure radio or pure tv. This sh*t today needs to go...like yesterday! I am just outside of Springfield, MO. and have connected to the Chiefs and Royals new station, 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City via the internet. I have been told that "due to contractual rules, this game is not being broadcast in your area" or something to that effect. I'M IN MISSOURI! Get this...if I have a strong enough radio to pick up 96.5 out of Kansas City, then I can hear a game. BUT...my strong INTERNET connection, due to whatever gobbledygook bull crap, I can't hear the game in my area.

Uh, ok. So I can listen to the game in my area if I have a strong enough radio signal, but I CAN'T listen to my game in my area on the internet.
So I'm ineligible for one, but not the other.
It's all sheer, raw, bull crap!

[Westheim]

"Local Blackouts" are absolutely stupid and should die.

On the other paw, without streaming I would not have baseball at all, so I have to disagree with you.

I say "local blackouts" in those twiddly things, because even the word "local" is horse crap. As if people in Fargo, ND were local to the Twinks, or Nova Scotians were local to the Blue Jays.

[Amazin69]

As I keep mentioning, I have to watch every Braves broadcast they feel like throwing my way, as I'm "local" at 193.6 miles from Atlanta.

If they want to stream overseas, that's fine. But the previous local structures should not be demolished.

[Hrycaj]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Ok...I'm about to be the old man saying "back in my day," but I'm only 56 years old. I am SOOOOOOO @#$%&+! sick and tired of subscriptions, streaming, Apple, YouTube, Peacock, "marketing areas" and so on.
I so much want for sports to go back to the "you have local radio and/or TV and that. was. it. The Chiefs were on 81 KCMO radio and you could hear every. single. game. period. If they sold out, then you get to see them at home on TV.
Royals were 980 KMBZ am. You heard almost every. single. game. A Game of the week, or playoffs or World Series, you get to see them at home on TV.

That's it. And the key thing was...they were ALWAYS r-e-l-i-a-b-l-e. No subs, streams, packages, just pure radio or pure tv. This sh*t today needs to go...like yesterday! I am just outside of Springfield, MO. and have connected to the Chiefs and Royals new station, 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City via the internet. I have been told that "due to contractual rules, this game is not being broadcast in your area" or something to that effect. I'M IN MISSOURI! Get this...if I have a strong enough radio to pick up 96.5 out of Kansas City, then I can hear a game. BUT...my strong INTERNET connection, due to whatever gobbledygook bull crap, I can't hear the game in my area.

Uh, ok. So I can listen to the game in my area if I have a strong enough radio signal, but I CAN'T listen to my game in my area on the internet.
So I'm ineligible for one, but not the other.
It's all sheer, raw, bull crap!

You should see what's in the on-deck circle. Pay-per View playoffs in neutral sites.

[ezpkns34]

a vpn would presumably help avoid that in case it's something that might affect you frequently

[Bagpipes5]

Originally Posted by ezpkns34

a vpn would presumably help avoid that in case it's something that might affect you frequently

It doesn't anymore. MLB stepped up their VPN detection technology. If they sense you are behind a VPN, you'll get an error message and no game. Things are in very bad shape.

[CONN CHRIS]

I have always found the MLB.tv blackout rules aggravating and counter-productive for them.

I get MLB.tv to watch the Tigers as I live in CT. If I lived in Michigan and wanted to see Detroit games, I assume that I would have no need for MLB.tv.

Living in CT, all the games that they play with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are blacked out.

Were I a Sox or Yankees fan, I would see all the games that I want to on local cable.

Isn't MLB.tv's main target folks like me (an out-of-market fan). I must be missing the logic.

[Bagpipes5]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Isn't MLB.tv's main target folks like me (an out-of-market fan). I must be missing the logic.

I don't think we are anymore, even though we are the one's who pay the premiums to attend games. My $15 ticket from 2005 is $150 now, not even considering parking or concessions and souvenirs. No offense to the racoon above but I think they are angling everything for the overseas market and taking the Marvel Studios route (which is 'woke' but that's another story). America conceded years ago that they aren't making movies for America anymore, they are for a global audience. My youth of flipping channels and coming across a handful of games to watch are long over, I'm lucky if I even get to watch the home team at all anymore and I live in market. Why MLB would turn their backs on paying fans like me who have been around about 50 years I have no idea, maybe they figure there is no way they'll lose me but think again.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Bagpipes5

No offense to the racoon above but I think they are angling everything for the overseas market

There's no reason why there couldn't be both: baseball on your local Channel 7 and for me on MLB.tv. Kidding, of course there is: corporate greed to the max.

The problem with all media and entertainment is that paradoxically through all the mergers and acquisitions there's ever fewer players to divide the cake, but they slice the cake into ever tinier slices. You still have money left in your wallet - GIVE IT!!

Btw, I can't speak for other countries, but there might be seven people watching in Germany, for I get NO advertisements during ad breaks. It's highlight clips, and teasers for various shows on MLB Network, which I can't even get, and then the absolute atrocity that is "baseball zen" which I have raged about before. Basically ASMR BS like a close shot of a pitcher scratching around the edge of the rubber with his cleats, and it is INSANELY LOUD.

While you *can* get baseball elsewhere over here, it's basically by-catch like a game or three per week in the dead of night, like on the other sports channel I have for NASCAR. F.e. tomorrow they have the Red Sox-Yankees game, and a repeat of that on Sunday morning. Then the Barves-Mets game on Sunday evening and a repeat of that on Monday morning... If you want to watch a particular team, regularly, this is useless.

Hence I sing the highest praises of MLB.tv, but I also don't get blackouts*.

*Except for Crapple TV games, which are blacked out live but available to rewatch from the archive later on. Because where would we be in a world without asterisks??

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Ok...I'm about to be the old man saying "back in my day," but I'm only 56 years old. I am SOOOOOOO @#$%&+! sick and tired of subscriptions, streaming, Apple, YouTube, Peacock, "marketing areas" and so on.
I so much want for sports to go back to the "you have local radio and/or TV and that. was. it. The Chiefs were on 81 KCMO radio and you could hear every. single. game. period. If they sold out, then you get to see them at home on TV.
Royals were 980 KMBZ am. You heard almost every. single. game. A Game of the week, or playoffs or World Series, you get to see them at home on TV.

That's it. And the key thing was...they were ALWAYS r-e-l-i-a-b-l-e. No subs, streams, packages, just pure radio or pure tv. This sh*t today needs to go...like yesterday! I am just outside of Springfield, MO. and have connected to the Chiefs and Royals new station, 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City via the internet. I have been told that "due to contractual rules, this game is not being broadcast in your area" or something to that effect. I'M IN MISSOURI! Get this...if I have a strong enough radio to pick up 96.5 out of Kansas City, then I can hear a game. BUT...my strong INTERNET connection, due to whatever gobbledygook bull crap, I can't hear the game in my area.

Uh, ok. So I can listen to the game in my area if I have a strong enough radio signal, but I CAN'T listen to my game in my area on the internet.
So I'm ineligible for one, but not the other.
It's all sheer, raw, bull crap!

I am older than you, so believe me when I say that I feel your pain. I want to respond, but I am at a loss as to what to say. Let me try; perhaps inspiration will come to me.

Two things that I have learned in my long life, commonplace of course but must be individually discovered: 1) Time and change wait for no man, and 2) The majority rules when it comes to supply and demand.

Regarding 1): Face it. We are never going back to those days of "local TV and radio was it!" even though it seems that we were happier with that situation than we are now. All sorts of choices and opportunities are offered now, all of them costing money (plus requiring ad-viewing, which paid for everything in the past) and involving a bewildering array of arrangements and procedures. They are here to stay, and get even worse, because of 2).

Regarding 2): As much as we may rant and rave — and I hope you feel a bit better, having indulged — we are in the minority. The sad fact is that all of this stuff sells. Big time, humongous revenue. That's because to folks younger than us, this is what they grew up with and see no problem with at all. It's all natural to them, even if they do eventually wake up and wonder where their money has gone. My favorite example is the cell phone. All of a sudden, you were paying for making AND receiving calls. Also, you were expected to keep your phone only for a couple of years at most, spending hundreds if not thousands to upgrade bi-annually. Enough people went along with it and now, well, just try going without a cell phone.

So I guess my advice is this: Go with the flow, because it's not going to change. Without jumping on the bandwagon as so many others do, pick and choose what you may want to go along with and reject the rest. Find other ways to enjoy sports and take advantage of opportunities that arise.

One other thing that I will mention is something that I am working on: broadening my sports horizons. You mention the Chiefs and the Royals. For me, at one time, it was the Yankees, Knicks, Rangers, and Giants. I am fully aware that, eventually, all of them will be broadcasting as PPV or on specialty streaming sites. It is for this reason that I recently said that I would be interested in a Mariners-Brewers World Series (if I still had access to it). It is for this reason that I recently expressed my delight in finding telecasts of minor league baseball games. It is for this reason that I have taken an interest in various sports that I have previously ignored.

Change with the times without jumping on bandwagons. Pick and choose. Broaden horizons.

[Bagpipes5]

Originally Posted by Westheim

There's no reason why there couldn't be both: baseball on your local Channel 7 and for me on MLB.tv. Kidding, of course there is: corporate greed to the max.

I totally agree with you! We have the internet, the audience should be global and there is no reason you shouldn't be able to watch your team if you want to. It's a manipulation and corporate greed is at an all-time high.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I have always found the MLB.tv blackout rules aggravating and counter-productive for them.

I get MLB.tv to watch the Tigers as I live in CT. If I lived in Michigan and wanted to see Detroit games, I assume that I would have no need for MLB.tv.

Living in CT, all the games that they play with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are blacked out.

Were I a Sox or Yankees fan, I would see all the games that I want to on local cable.

Isn't MLB.tv's main target folks like me (an out-of-market fan). I must be missing the logic.

Have you considered getting DirecTV and MLB Extra Innings? (This may also be available on Dish Network and Spectrum; I'm not up on their latest offerings.) You should be able to see all Tigers games through that…you wouldn't get Jason Bennetti when they play the Mets, Yanks, or Sawx, but you'd get the game, at least.

(Obviously, there are more issues in choosing a TV provider than this; I merey raise the issue.)

[CONN CHRIS]

And then there are nights like this where it's on apple tv. May as well be a blackout for me.

I just want to watch my team folks, stop jerking my chain.

[mytreds]

As an old guy, enjoy the fact you saw the best of the sport when you did, and you saw/listened to it in the best way. I feel sorry for young people today, they’ll never get to experience that.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

And then there are nights like this where it's on apple tv. May as well be a blackout for me.

I just want to watch my team folks, stop jerking my chain.

Were there multiple Crabapple games tonight? I know Mets-Braves played on it.

(Do Crabapple games not even get a MLB highlights package, due to Apple owning all the rights? Boooo.)

[ForeverRoyalKC]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I am older than you, so believe me when I say that I feel your pain. I want to respond, but I am at a loss as to what to say. Let me try; perhaps inspiration will come to me.

Two things that I have learned in my long life, commonplace of course but must be individually discovered: 1) Time and change wait for no man, and 2) The majority rules when it comes to supply and demand.

Regarding 1): Face it. We are never going back to those days of "local TV and radio was it!" even though it seems that we were happier with that situation than we are now. All sorts of choices and opportunities are offered now, all of them costing money (plus requiring ad-viewing, which paid for everything in the past) and involving a bewildering array of arrangements and procedures. They are here to stay, and get even worse, because of 2).

Regarding 2): As much as we may rant and rave — and I hope you feel a bit better, having indulged — we are in the minority. The sad fact is that all of this stuff sells. Big time, humongous revenue. That's because to folks younger than us, this is what they grew up with and see no problem with at all. It's all natural to them, even if they do eventually wake up and wonder where their money has gone. My favorite example is the cell phone. All of a sudden, you were paying for making AND receiving calls. Also, you were expected to keep your phone only for a couple of years at most, spending hundreds if not thousands to upgrade bi-annually. Enough people went along with it and now, well, just try going without a cell phone.

So I guess my advice is this: Go with the flow, because it's not going to change. Without jumping on the bandwagon as so many others do, pick and choose what you may want to go along with and reject the rest. Find other ways to enjoy sports and take advantage of opportunities that arise.

One other thing that I will mention is something that I am working on: broadening my sports horizons. You mention the Chiefs and the Royals. For me, at one time, it was the Yankees, Knicks, Rangers, and Giants. I am fully aware that, eventually, all of them will be broadcasting as PPV or on specialty streaming sites. It is for this reason that I recently said that I would be interested in a Mariners-Brewers World Series (if I still had access to it). It is for this reason that I recently expressed my delight in finding telecasts of minor league baseball games. It is for this reason that I have taken an interest in various sports that I have previously ignored.

Change with the times without jumping on bandwagons. Pick and choose. Broaden horizons.

Yeah...I know the simpler times are long gone. But just like everyone else on planet Earth, people get their bills and still gripe even though it's a part of life and nothing they can do about them. I did have an interest in hockey for quite awhile and it just kinda faded out. I loved the NBA as a boy and teenager, but it went with the greats that retired (Bird, Magic, Dr. J., etc) and I never could latch back onto it even in the Jordan days. So I am still a fan of the Chiefs and Royals, NFL and MLB, and am still stuck with this idiotic streaming, subscription crap like I am those aforementioned bills.

[ForeverRoyalKC]

Originally Posted by mytreds

As an old guy, enjoy the fact you saw the best of the sport when you did, and you saw/listened to it in the best way. I feel sorry for young people today, they’ll never get to experience that.

Amen, friend. And I'd go back to it in an eye's blink.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Yeah...I know the simpler times are long gone. But just like everyone else on planet Earth, people get their bills and still gripe even though it's a part of life and nothing they can do about them. I did have an interest in hockey for quite awhile and it just kinda faded out. I loved the NBA as a boy and teenager, but it went with the greats that retired (Bird, Magic, Dr. J., etc) and I never could latch back onto it even in the Jordan days. So I am still a fan of the Chiefs and Royals, NFL and MLB, and am still stuck with this idiotic streaming, subscription crap like I am those aforementioned bills.

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Amen, friend. And I'd go back to it in an eye's blink.

Well, you could jump into Pomme de Terre (Potato) Lake and end it all, or you can make the best of things as they are now. I would prefer the latter!

I groused about cell phones but I have one and literally cannot function without it anymore, as intended. I enjoy it for the instant access to information that I need, and I don't get lost these days.

I still have cable, and like I said, I do get some interesting sports without waiting for the axe to fall at the ESPN, YES and MSG networks concerning formerly favorite teams. Sure, I pay for cable but the wife also gets her cooking shows, dress shows, and murder mysteries.

I think Amazon Prime is worth the annual fee, and low and behold, the Yankees are on there periodically. (I try to watch those games for the baseball, not for the rooting.)

So, said simply, seek sports serendipity!

[BaseballMan]

I understand the frustration but I would not want to go back to those days.
Having to wait for halftime to see scores on NFL Today or later waiting for highlights on Sports Center.
At least now I have the option of paying to see them.
Its not so much the price but i wish everything was just packaged together.
If you want the whole NFL, conference or your team only games.
But I know that won't happen cause they want those subscriptions.
They just hope you just give in a keep the subscription or you forget about it.
I don't see it changing.

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Ok...I'm about to be the old man saying "back in my day," but I'm only 56 years old. I am SOOOOOOO @#$%&+! sick and tired of subscriptions, streaming, Apple, YouTube, Peacock, "marketing areas" and so on...

I've said this many times, but because you've stated things so wonderfully, I'll say it again: watching sports on TV should be simple.

I'm older than you. Let's just say I'm in my upper 60s. We don't have any "streaming" in our house. Just over-priced cable. We don't have a smart TV...just a regular large flat screen TV we bought years ago. We will continue to use it until it doesn't work any more.

We bought another TV around 5 years ago, but that was for my mother, who spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home, suffering from severe dementia. The facilities guy at the nursing home had said "Don't buy a smart TV, because it won't work here." So, now that my mother is gone, we have 2 non-smart TVs. We use only one of them.

We are not planning to buy yet another TV, just so we can have a "smart" TV. Idiots in another online forum laughed at me when I said we don't have a smart TV. My reply to them: "We are elderly and our income is limited. Are you going to send me money for a smart TV? Or maybe we should not buy my wife's medicine for a couple of months, and use that money instead to buy a smart TV?" I never got an answer.

One morning early this year I sat down and did some online searching and crunched some numbers. Getting Roku and subscribing to all the streaming services we would need to keep watching the channels we watch right now would actually cost MORE than our current overpriced cable.

Watching sports on TV should be simple. I've had online conversations with idiots who insist that streaming is not complicated. "All you do is this and this and this and this!" Really?

A couple years ago we got a flyer in the mail from Amazon. It told us that from then on, if we wanted to watch Thursday night football, we would have to take these steps...download an app, create an account, sign up for blah blah blah... I just threw the flyer into the garbage and laughed.

A couple years ago when MLS went streaming, via Amazon Prime or Apple Prime or some such nonsense, I just laughed and said, "OK, you guys don't want me as a fan anymore." Now I watch NWSL on the Ion channel and don't miss MLS one bit.

When the Cavaliers and Guardians go streaming, we will just not watch them any more. I don't care. I can read a book or take a walk with my wife. If my wife said today, "Let's get rid of TV. I'm tired of it," I would immediately end our service.

I refuse to jump through hoops to watch sports, or anything else. It amazes me that the entertainment industry has successfully convinced millions of people that they should jump through hoops to watch sports and other TV shows. I keep seeing people on other forums complaining, "Where can I watch [insert hot sporting event]? I have so-and-so streaming and this other streaming and I can't find it!"

Watching TV on a teeny tiny phone or a tablet? No thanks.

Young people can laugh at me all they want. I could not possibly care less.