Good news,
baseball fans -- starting at 6:00PM ET tomorrow, you'll have all the action you can handle, anytime of the year. If your provider is signed on to begin offering MLB Network, that is. Said channel is expected to begin airing in some 50 million homes tomorrow, and the League has high hopes that its 24-hour baseball channel will end up paying for itself ($50 million to launch, give or take) over time. We're hearing that deals with new carriers are being finalized "every day," with
agreements already
in place with DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. As of now, the station is expected to broadcast 26 regular season matchups in 2009, and it's hoping to acquire even more tilts after current TV contracts expire in 2013. For a look at the studios in which you'll be peering at in a matter of hours, check the read link for galleries.
[Via
Reuters]
posted Dec 31st 2008 2:45PM
Hmm - I've had the MLB Network for a few weeks here in Nashvegas from Comcast....
A 24hr station for MLB and they're only scheduled to broadcast 26 regular season games so far? I hope that's just b/c they're finalizing the rest of the schedule or something.
I'm sure there are probably other reasons, but that just seems kind of sad.
NFL Network has only 8 games...For NFL net, that's a little over 3% of total league matchups. while MLB net will open with just over 1% of total match ups.
However, there are way more games to be covered after the fact, as either replays of recent games of note, and of historical games. NFL Net does this too.
Add in minor league coverage, college coverage, international events and there's a lot there.
Is the MLB network on a separate tier like the NFL network, on Comcast?
MLB Network is available on Time Warner Cable here in Dayton, Ohio on Digital Standard Tier channel 178... It was added on December 30 and is playing a promo launch video until they go live on January 1.
Wow. 1.06% of all games.
Times like this make me glad that I'm with cheap ass Charlie at Dish. :(
DirecTV will be carrying the MLB Network at launch in HD on channel 213. You need the Choice package or higher.
you totally answered my question before i could ask it. bravo!
Will the MLB Network be in HD on Verizon FiOS?
Supposedly it will be on 586, but nothing is there yet. Channel 86 has been playing the SD MLB Network promo video loop for a couple weeks now.
Time Warner in Dallas is only saying they're carrying the SD version. That's rather disappointing that they're not doing the HD version. At least they haven't announced it - and they HAVE announced the SD version.
I guess we'll find out for sure come the launch tomorrow what they're really doing, but I'll be bummed with all the new HD that TWC has been launching if they're not doing this too.
MLB Network HD launched quietly on Time Warner Cable here in Columbia, SC on channel 958. The HD version did not appear on the "Upcoming Channel Changes" page nor is it listed in the on-line channel guide, but it is there.
So, no Dish?