OUT OF STATE BASEBALL GAMES ON U-VERSE

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@701tour wrote:

I am a St. Louis Cardinal fan who lives in Southern California.  U-verse does not cover this game in my area.  Does AT&T have any plan to correct this problem?

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That is the way it works, @701tour.  Blame the MLB for that one.  The MLB determines territories and does not allow one to watch out of market games.  There may be online packages that you can purchase but your best bet is to watch the Cards when they play a SoCal team that is in your market, national network games and so on.

Have you checked out mlb.tv? I have had it for the last six years. You can watch all the games except for the nationally televised games. This year the premium package costs is $109.99 and includes spring training games.

I have the MLB.com package which allows me to watch Cardinal games on my computer.  However, I also have U-verse on my TV at a significant monthly cost and get very frustrated when I see Cardinal games blacked out on Channel 1748.

I understand that Direct TV, which is now owned by AT&T, allows me to watch Cardinal games.  I may decide to switch to Direct TV when my U-Verse contract expires next month.  If this solves my problem, I will then be able to cancel my MLB.com package.  Please let me know if my assumptions are correct. 

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@701tour wrote:

I understand that Direct TV, which is now owned by AT&T, allows me to watch Cardinal games.  I may decide to switch to Direct TV when my U-Verse contract expires next month.  If this solves my problem, I will then be able to cancel my MLB.com package.  Please let me know if my assumptions are correct. 

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You might be thinking of DirecTV's MLB Extra Innings package, which, if I understand correctly, is similar to NFL Sunday Ticket (something else DirecTV has that U-Verse does not), in that you can watch pretty much any game live except for the ones that would not be blacked out on the regional sports networks.  I am pretty sure the regional sports networks' out-of-market blackouts apply to all cable and satellite services - in part to get people to pay for things like MLB Extra Innings.

You say that you have the MLB.com package; you might want to look into being able to use a Roku box to access the games on your TV that way.

701tour,

The mlb.tv package is offered by mlb.com for $109.99 this season. Directv offers MLB Extra Innings for 28.99 a month for six months or a one time payment of $173.94. You are also committed to DTV for a two year contract. Yes, you will get great pricing for DTV for the first year but in the second year regular pricing kicks in. You need to do the math and figure out which is the best way to go.

I stream mlb.tv to my big screen tv from the computer.

I had DTV for 15 1/2 years before switching to UV. I left DTV because customer service became non-existent.  I don't know who has the worst customer service, UV or DTV.

Good luck!

GREAT answer to my question about DTV.  Based on your comments, it looks like you got tired of dealing with DTV and moved to UV.  What were some of the key reasons why you moved to UV?

I currently pay $110/month for UV, including all kinds of discounts, on five TVs.  In May, the price will jump by at least $55 unless I can negotiate a better deal.  If I do, staying with UV may be the way to go provided I can stream mlb.tv to my TV.  What is involved in doing this?

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@701tour wrote:

GREAT answer to my question about DTV.  Based on your comments, it looks like you got tired of dealing with DTV and moved to UV.  What were some of the key reasons why you moved to UV?

 

I currently pay $110/month for UV, including all kinds of discounts, on five TVs.  In May, the price will jump by at least $55 unless I can negotiate a better deal.  If I do, staying with UV may be the way to go provided I can stream mlb.tv to my TV.  What is involved in doing this?

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All the info you need about MLB.TV is right here.

I watch MLB.TV on a Roku. There are many devices that can be used to watch on.

I live in Central Florida (the lightning capitol) of the USA. Along with ligthning you also get very heavy rain and thick cloud cover. I got tired of losing the satellite signal especially during a pay per view program. I was the second household in my county to have DTV in 1994 and they were giving you everything to sign up.

In the beginning DTV customer service was outstanding. As DTV grew the service deteriorated to non-existent for existing customers. All their time and energy was focused on new customers. Similar to what UV is doing now.

I moved to UV because of the promotions and their picture quality and audio were better than the local cable company. The customer service six years ago was not like it is today. It was "Customer Service". All of the provider are the same...they give you everything to sign up and then they forget about the customers who got them where they are today.

As for streaming mlb.tv all you need is a HDMI cable from your computer to the TV. If you have a older (non HDMI) TV you can buy a HDMI converter. I did this for one of the older LED TVs.

Thanks for the reason why you left DTV.  Your decision makes a lot of sense to me.  

Since I live in Southern California, I have the option of moving to Time Warner, DTV, or stay with UV.  I have been pleased with the reception and sound quality I have received from UV.  My only problem was not getting the Cardinal baseball games, but thanks to you, this will no longer be a problem once I get the cable you recommended.

Thanks again for all your help.  This is the first time I have used the Forum and am very pleased with the responses I have received.  This is much better than speaking to a rep, either over the telephone or on-line.   

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@701tour wrote:

Thanks for the reason why you left DTV.  Your decision makes a lot of sense to me.  

 

Since I live in Southern California, I have the option of moving to Time Warner, DTV, or stay with UV.  I have been pleased with the reception and sound quality I have received from UV.  My only problem was not getting the Cardinal baseball games, but thanks to you, this will no longer be a problem once I get the cable you recommended.

 

Thanks again for all your help.  This is the first time I have used the Forum and am very pleased with the responses I have received.  This is much better than speaking to a rep, either over the telephone or on-line.   

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Welcome! Don't be a stranger on the forums.  There is lots of great info and folks, on here.

I realize that the way things are is related to the way that MLB does things, but I am outside the local area of the team I like, I saw that the Sports Premium Tier had the local Fox Sports network on it that my favorite team plays on. 

Why is it that the games are still blacked out for me? I talked to my parents who are in the local market and the game is being shown for them on that local station.

Just hoping someone has more information on how this works.

The various Fox Sports Networks with a regional name are known as "Regional Sports Networks" or RSNs. (There are other RSNs than the Fox ones, Comcast operates some as well).

A RSN's deal with MLB allows them to provide games only in the team's local market, as defined by MLB.  Outside their local market, they have to black out the game.  They may also have to black out the game if it's being carried by someone else that trumps their rights, i.e. a local broadcast channel or a national network.

Hi DWPerkins70,

I received a email earlier today from MLB.com. They are advertising MLB.TV for the rest of the regular season for $79.99. You may want to look in to this. You will get to see your favorite team plus others. The MLB.TV blackouts are the nationally televised games.