Not having the Reds on TV is a big issue for me. There are few evenings where I dedicate 3+ hours to full the game but I like having it on in the background. I miss Thom Brennaman.
I'm an OG paying too much for cable for the convenience of access to every Reds, Bengals and Xavier game. The Bengals and Musketeers are priorities but the Reds are no longer as they have been bullied into irrelevance by the league's uber rich franchises. With Altafiber now on my street, it's time to begin the tedious process of evaluating their service and the various streaming services versus my cable set up. TV has become too complicated and expensive for my limited interests. Streaming is less expensive but very fractured when it comes to figuring who's going to have the games and programs you want, and then there's the annoying "buffering" issue. Does UC basketball have the worst TV contract of all Cincinnati sports? I feel sorry for UC basketball fans trying to find their games, especially early in the season.
Have to agree that the Moody first hit was their best...also liked Tuesday Afternoon. Still lean toward Americana. Ever listen to the quirky, Feeling Good Again by Texan, Robert Earl Keen, Jr.? It paints some very clear, fun, and relatable pictures.
I originally bought AtBat app partly because we could not watch Reds via Frankfort Plant Board cable. And the radio reception varies wildly from one part of the road to another.
I prefer listening to watching, checking up on things via phone.
Cable system added Reds station a few years ago. Still mainly rely on the app.
1. Big Reds fan. Went to 5-6 games a year. Watched 30-35 on TV.
2. Fox Sports becomes Bally Sports and stops broadcasting games in Cincinnati on all but 2 cable services). Mine was included in the cut.
3. I was immediately disengaged from the team because I couldn't watch. The roster was gutted and I didn't know the players; I stopped checking the schedule; I stopped going to games.
4. Last year I only went to opening day. I didn't watch a single game on TV.
5. Joey Votto's Instagram is the only thing I care about seeing.
The entire deal for Diamond Sports Group, the company that owns Bally Sports Network and thus the rights to 14 teams’ local broadcasts, was set up to fail from the beginning. DSG was spun off as an independent subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting Group in 2019. Feel free to check out this link for details of some serious tomfoolery, financial trickery and other nonsense that I can't even begin to understand. I suspect, however, that someone or some group got very rich in this deal...
The first step toward true competitive balance, possible salary caps/floors, etc is MLB taking a Top Down role in TV, a la the NFL. The SNYs, YESs, and NESNs of the world are going to go kicking and screaming, but that's where the conversation has to start.
Give MLB to 3 major cable networks, say FS1, TBS, and ESPN. FS1 American League, TBS gets National League. TBS would carry 5ish of the local games (Reds) per week, plus one nationalized game. FS1 does the same thing for American League teams. ESPN gets to carry 2 national games per week of their choice, say Sunday & Wednesday nights. If you want out-of-market games, buy the MLB ticket.
I can't get Bally channels anyway after cutting the cord years ago, so no loss for me. But this subject does bring up some related peeves.
First, MLB blackout rules. Can anyone tell me why Reds/Cubs games are always blacked out in central Missouri? We're in "Cardinals Country" (ask anyone around) and proclaiming Cubs fandom could get you spit on. And I haven't met more than one or two other Reds fans in 15 years of living here. But Reds/Cubs games are always blacked out here.
Second, what's the deal with MLB Network locking out YouTubeTV? YTTV works well for our household, so we probably aren't switching. And I'm also a thinwallet, so I won't be buying FUBO or any of the MLB packages. Are they working on fixing this or will I become a former baseball fan? Hmmm...
Three years ago I would have cared about no TV coverage... this year, not so much. And on a pretty sunny day, I can take a ride in the convertible and then if the mood hits me, listen to the Reds on the radio. I knew that someday it would happen...Doc would write something I disagreed with. I HATE the ghost runner!
Great song and we do You Tube tv. It’s cheaper than the others and more channels, even though you don’t need that many. It’s a shame we don’t get CBS Sports Channel because we won’t see Xavier tonight. I’ll have to go to St. Bernard Eagles!
I dated a girl in high school named Lorna Doone. I'll tell ya one thing, she was one smart cookie.
YouTube is deepdiving into sports, particularly baseball. So are other entities. I seriously doubt there will be much problem finding good candidates to fill the slack if Bally/Diamond goes belly-up. Their demise might be one of the quickest of all time. Get rich quick is turning into go broke even quicker.
I have been saying this for a couple of years now, especially around playoff time. Baseball is dying b/c of these contracts plus cord cutting and kids can't watch it. My son just turned 14 LOVES playing baseball, has since he was 5. I bet I could count on one hand the number of games he has got to watch b/c baseball games are too hard for the avg kid to even be able to watch. Nearly everyone I know (I'd say 80%+) have ditched cable long ago. To watch MLB someone has to pony up for a subscription to MLB pass, and then your local team is blacked out, so pick a new team/new city. Most kids only exposure to current MLB is via what they see in highlights via TikTok videos, YouTube video or in the MLB The Show baseball game. At this rate, once the current MLB fan base dies/ages out, I am not sure what is to become of the sport... The money hungry NFL has figured out a way to make money with free broadcast games, not sure why MLB can't figure something out and try to grow the sport instead of just holding on to what it has...
Not having the Reds on TV is a big issue for me. There are few evenings where I dedicate 3+ hours to full the game but I like having it on in the background. I miss Thom Brennaman.
I watch any Baseball game I want with Uzzo Tv. $120/ year. Also all nfl and all nba.
I'm an OG paying too much for cable for the convenience of access to every Reds, Bengals and Xavier game. The Bengals and Musketeers are priorities but the Reds are no longer as they have been bullied into irrelevance by the league's uber rich franchises. With Altafiber now on my street, it's time to begin the tedious process of evaluating their service and the various streaming services versus my cable set up. TV has become too complicated and expensive for my limited interests. Streaming is less expensive but very fractured when it comes to figuring who's going to have the games and programs you want, and then there's the annoying "buffering" issue. Does UC basketball have the worst TV contract of all Cincinnati sports? I feel sorry for UC basketball fans trying to find their games, especially early in the season.
Have to agree that the Moody first hit was their best...also liked Tuesday Afternoon. Still lean toward Americana. Ever listen to the quirky, Feeling Good Again by Texan, Robert Earl Keen, Jr.? It paints some very clear, fun, and relatable pictures.
You should give “It’s Up to You” from “A Question of Balance” a shot. Moody Blues had some chops at times.
I originally bought AtBat app partly because we could not watch Reds via Frankfort Plant Board cable. And the radio reception varies wildly from one part of the road to another.
I prefer listening to watching, checking up on things via phone.
Cable system added Reds station a few years ago. Still mainly rely on the app.
Here's my brief Reds history:
1. Big Reds fan. Went to 5-6 games a year. Watched 30-35 on TV.
2. Fox Sports becomes Bally Sports and stops broadcasting games in Cincinnati on all but 2 cable services). Mine was included in the cut.
3. I was immediately disengaged from the team because I couldn't watch. The roster was gutted and I didn't know the players; I stopped checking the schedule; I stopped going to games.
4. Last year I only went to opening day. I didn't watch a single game on TV.
5. Joey Votto's Instagram is the only thing I care about seeing.
70 sunny degrees in Ft. Mitchell. No red tide.
The entire deal for Diamond Sports Group, the company that owns Bally Sports Network and thus the rights to 14 teams’ local broadcasts, was set up to fail from the beginning. DSG was spun off as an independent subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting Group in 2019. Feel free to check out this link for details of some serious tomfoolery, financial trickery and other nonsense that I can't even begin to understand. I suspect, however, that someone or some group got very rich in this deal...
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/diamond-sports-groups-bankruptcy-could-rock-the-baseball-revenue-boat/
The first step toward true competitive balance, possible salary caps/floors, etc is MLB taking a Top Down role in TV, a la the NFL. The SNYs, YESs, and NESNs of the world are going to go kicking and screaming, but that's where the conversation has to start.
Give MLB to 3 major cable networks, say FS1, TBS, and ESPN. FS1 American League, TBS gets National League. TBS would carry 5ish of the local games (Reds) per week, plus one nationalized game. FS1 does the same thing for American League teams. ESPN gets to carry 2 national games per week of their choice, say Sunday & Wednesday nights. If you want out-of-market games, buy the MLB ticket.
I can't get Bally channels anyway after cutting the cord years ago, so no loss for me. But this subject does bring up some related peeves.
First, MLB blackout rules. Can anyone tell me why Reds/Cubs games are always blacked out in central Missouri? We're in "Cardinals Country" (ask anyone around) and proclaiming Cubs fandom could get you spit on. And I haven't met more than one or two other Reds fans in 15 years of living here. But Reds/Cubs games are always blacked out here.
Second, what's the deal with MLB Network locking out YouTubeTV? YTTV works well for our household, so we probably aren't switching. And I'm also a thinwallet, so I won't be buying FUBO or any of the MLB packages. Are they working on fixing this or will I become a former baseball fan? Hmmm...
Three years ago I would have cared about no TV coverage... this year, not so much. And on a pretty sunny day, I can take a ride in the convertible and then if the mood hits me, listen to the Reds on the radio. I knew that someday it would happen...Doc would write something I disagreed with. I HATE the ghost runner!
Great song and we do You Tube tv. It’s cheaper than the others and more channels, even though you don’t need that many. It’s a shame we don’t get CBS Sports Channel because we won’t see Xavier tonight. I’ll have to go to St. Bernard Eagles!
I dated a girl in high school named Lorna Doone. I'll tell ya one thing, she was one smart cookie.
YouTube is deepdiving into sports, particularly baseball. So are other entities. I seriously doubt there will be much problem finding good candidates to fill the slack if Bally/Diamond goes belly-up. Their demise might be one of the quickest of all time. Get rich quick is turning into go broke even quicker.
Snooze on the article, haha, but a great song Doc! Safe travels home!
I have been saying this for a couple of years now, especially around playoff time. Baseball is dying b/c of these contracts plus cord cutting and kids can't watch it. My son just turned 14 LOVES playing baseball, has since he was 5. I bet I could count on one hand the number of games he has got to watch b/c baseball games are too hard for the avg kid to even be able to watch. Nearly everyone I know (I'd say 80%+) have ditched cable long ago. To watch MLB someone has to pony up for a subscription to MLB pass, and then your local team is blacked out, so pick a new team/new city. Most kids only exposure to current MLB is via what they see in highlights via TikTok videos, YouTube video or in the MLB The Show baseball game. At this rate, once the current MLB fan base dies/ages out, I am not sure what is to become of the sport... The money hungry NFL has figured out a way to make money with free broadcast games, not sure why MLB can't figure something out and try to grow the sport instead of just holding on to what it has...