Apparently, you have to have this little gizmo that attaches to your modem. Then, you have to connect the signal from that little gizmo to your phone or tablet (NOT a laptop). Then, you can access your DVR, but only within the range of the DirecTV signal in your larger area, say, Arizona.
There is no technology yet, silly me, that will allow you to access your DVR at home when you are 5,000 miles away in the middle of the Pacific ocean. What was I thinking?
The only solution was to purchase access to all the games, on any given day, through MLB.com. I got a break on the price, though, because the season is nearly half over. It was only $19.99 to watch on my laptop; however, to get access to the games from the "Smart TV" they gave me (that's another story), I had to pay an extra $5 to upgrade to "Premium." OK. $24.99 for any game, any time on MLB.com. Not bad. Here's what I have to choose from today:
But there's a few things I've learned about MLB from this experience. Like most things, there are good things and bad things about it.
- The League enjoys total control over every broadcast, every game. This should not surprise me, but the totality of their stranglehold actually does give me pause. There is no radio, television, cable, or satellite (including satellite radio) broadcast that does not require MLB permission to air or to watch/listen to. And "access" means "pay us." They are like a farmer, who, upon recognizing that people need to cut across his land to get where they are going, sets up a toll booth and turnstile, charges whatever he wants, and sits there, day after day, collecting the tolls from travelers. There is no other competition to keep the price low. They enjoy a monopoly, and all the benefits that come with it.
- Every game, in both leagues, looks essentially the same. Two announcers, one doing play-by-play, one doing "color commentary" (read: former player or manager who makes observations, compares the play in the game to his experience, colorfully recalling past highlights), and one "girl reporter" out in the stands, among the people/fans/hoi-polloi, doing the "special interest" stories. It does not seem to matter which teams are playing, which city/stadium they are playing in, or what the standings are. The games--along with American society and culture--have been homogenized to be palatable to any watcher, of any shape or size, preference or loyalty, race, creed, color, socioeconomic status, or political affiliation. The cameras are placed in the same positions throughout the stadium, so that how we see the game remains the same. You can count on instant replays of every play, pitch, catch, tag, or bobbled error. Commercial breaks happen only in between half-innings, or whenever a new pitcher comes in. Always the same. Give 'em points for consistency.
- Even the promotions are the same. Each team has a deal with Taco Bell: If the home team scores 6 runs or more in a game (win or lose) Taco Bell offers a special deal. Only the deal itself changes per city. In Arizona, if the Diamondbacks score 6 runs, you get 3 free tacos with the purchase of large drink (a Pepsi product, since Pepsi and Taco Bell are owned by the same parent company, Yum Brands, which also owns KFC). Other cities may get a free burrito with a drink purchase, or an order of Nachos Bell Grande, or something. Bobbleheads of players, backpacks with team logos on them for the kids, mini-bats, and for Mother's Day, handbags and/or earrings, specially made with the team insignia, are offered in every city, for every team.
- Every city has a customized RV that offers rides to and from the game to fans who live outside driving distance of the city's stadium. In Arizona, that means that people in Tucson (south) or Prescott (north) can "get on the bus" and go the game with about 50 of their closet friends and strangers. I'm not sure how much this costs, but I would imagine it's not cheap. The RV is customized with Diamondbacks logos and insignia; in other cities, of course, their RVs are decorated with their teams colors and mascot. In Denver, for example, the RV is purple and white, and has mountains painted on it, while in Arizona ours is red and black, and has the rattlesnake and cactus images.
- Every stadium has a collection of bobblehead figurines.
- Every stadium's organ player plays the same, lame music during the innings.
And finally:
"Blackout" rules still apply. So, when the Diamondbacks play anywhere in California, I am blocked from watching the game--although I can listen to radio broadcast. And I'm supposed to consider myself fortunate for being offered that small consolation. Now, I'm having trouble understanding how in the world the blackout rule would apply to us in Hawaii for games in California. Blackouts are entirely out-dated anyway.
In the early days of television coverage of sports, the fear was that if the game was televised, people would stay home and watch on their TVs, and not go to the game at all. They were, seriously, afraid that very expensive players would be playing in empty stadiums. Seriously.
Well, that fear now seems ludicrous. Even for losing teams, they still get people to the stadium for the game, TV broadcast or not. So why has the "blackout" remained in force?
And do they *really* think that people in HAWAII should go to games in California? Really? Have they even checked airfare prices these days?
I have streaming issues only occasionally. All it takes to get the game back is to re-load the page. Commercial breaks are actually simply silent, with the MLB logo and "Commercial Break in progress" displayed on the screen, for about 2-3 minutes. It's kind of nice to not have to watch commercials!
When, for some odd reason, there was no television coverage of the Diamondbacks game locally (meaning, in Arizona), I could watch it by accessing the feed to the away team's broadcast. They do not post the scores on the list of televised games, so last night, I could watch the first 4-5 innings, go out to dinner, and come home and pick up the game right where I left off, without the outcome being spoiled. That's absolutely the best thing about it.
Also, if for some reason I am prevented from watching the game live because I have other obligations, I can watch it later, from the beginning, or can jump to any inning, either the top or the bottom of the inning. That's pretty cool. The only thing I can't do on this Smart TV is fast forward, like we can on a DVR. But that's OK. I'm not all that offended by that.
All in all, this has been an interesting experience. I definitely think that it is worth the $25, blackout restrictions notwithstanding.
And once again, I am reminded of how good our announcing team, when I am exposed to other announcing teams around the league.
But the main thing I've learned is: We must all pay homage to the MLB, and worship at the altar they have built. They demand it. And we pay.
Baseball or no baseball, Juli, enjoy HAWAII!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me, I am! How could I not?
ReplyDelete:)