It was reported last week that MLB was on the verge of signing a deal with DirecTV to make its Extra Innings package the exclusive property of the satellite broadcaster. Enter Senator John Kerry. The Baltimore Sun reports Kerry said he is “concerned about exclusive carriage deals in the sports industry”. Kerry says he is sure there are business advantages, but asks, “what is the impact on fans?”
Perhaps the good Senator needs a staffer with a background in principles of microeconomics on his staff who can explain the consequences of monopoly. Actually, I shouldn’t be so hard on Senator Kerry. So far as I have seen, he is the only legislator to have expressed concerns about the deal. The rest are probably all hoping to get box seats for the Washington Nationals’ home games.
But of course, MLB broadcasts are not monopolized by DirecTV. Some wiley fans know what to do when they face an increased price or reduced supply of some good. That’s right, they substitute to a competing product. So it is no surprise that some fans have also expressed concern about the DirecTV deal and have decided they may subscribe to MLBs online broadcast package. Now won’t that fix that greedy MLB!?
