I want my M(LB) TV

 OK, dating myself once again, I have shamelessly hinted at the the lyric from the Dire Straits song in 1985 which, in turn, came from the MTV slogan of the same time.  

Today I called MLB.TV to find out what is going on with the DSG failure to pay their payment to MLB and how that is going to impact my watching the Guardians on the MLB Network this year.

You see, there are a number of ways this can go in the next 30 days during which time DSG has to come up with a decision/plan.  Here are some of the options being floated around

• DSG gives the rights to broadcast these games back to the teams (how the teams can cobble together a package to broadcast these games is still unclear and potentially very problematic)
• DSG gives the rights obtained from the teams back to MLB who then are free to broadcast the games (again, same issue.  How will this be done and what will it look like for us Cleveland fans)
• DSG keeps the rights to the games and broadcasts them, although whether MLB would air those games is questionable and you might have to get your games through a streaming solution like FUBO.
• Instead of cash, teams get their 'money' back in the form of owning piece of the restructured DSG company and the games are broadcast on MLB Network as if nothing happened.

I am sure there are many other possible outcomes but these are the 4 I have heard.

Rob Manfred said if DSG doesn't fulfill its obligations MLB would be in a position to step in and broadcast the games.

But what does that mean?

So, today, I called MLB.TV to get some answers, if there were any.  My question to the polite lady who I talked to was this:

If DSG fails to deliver on its commitments what does that guarantee us Guardians' fans:

1. Will we get to see games broadcast with Cleveland announcers on a Cleveland-produced game?

or

2. Will we be guaranteed to see our team play but the broadcasts will come with some combination of our opponents' broadcast or, in cases where both teams broadcasts are controlled by DSG, we would have to listen to generic MLB announcers do our games, essentially turning it into a Game-of-the-week  or a playoff situation, totally removing the Cleveland-biased situation that I think we have all grown to love over the years.

 

Well, after doing some research, my customer service person came up with the following:

• Broadcasters change every year 
• Maybe I could look into other streaming services 
• She really didn't have any other answers for me and I should check back later.

Well, with that ringing encouragement I hung up and cancelled my automatic re-up with MLB.TV as well as my automatic re-up with MiLB.TV.  

Imagine having to listen to Guardians games on the Yankees network or with the guys who broadcast MLB games on YouTube!  I mean, once or twice a year but 162 games like that....just to watch the team I love?  I don't think so.  And if you are thinking you just turn down the sound and listen to the game on MLB radio with the Cleveland broadcasters, my experience is that the TV and the radio broadcasts are hardly even in sync although I am sure that the deep thinkers at MLB.TV would have to be able to find a way to make that work, right?  For those of us that had MiLB.TV subscriptions last year we can tell you how much of a sure thing that was not!

So, I repeat, I want my MLB TV...with a Cleveland broadcast with the Cleveland announcers I have become accustomed to hearing/seeing.

One more thing.  Right before I hung up I asked her "Is this a question that you are hearing a lot?"  Her response was that it was the first time she heard it today.  When I asked "What about before today" her response was something like we were just talking about the present ?!?!?!  She did volunteer that she had heard a buzz from other agents that this question was coming up.  Hopefully I am not alone in seeing how this could easily go sideways really fast and Rob Manfred's guarantee only takes our money, an increase over last year, without giving us the same product as we had last year.  Pick your words carefully, Rob, or it could look like your first name also said what you are trying to do to us.