My Brush with the Whole MLB TV Lawsuit Thing
So, I’ve been meaning to jot down my experience with this whole MLB TV lawsuit situation. It wasn’t like I was in the courtroom or anything, but I definitely paid attention, mostly ’cause I was pretty ticked off myself.
It all started a few years back. I love baseball, right? Wanted to watch my team, the whole season. Signing up for MLB TV seemed like the obvious move. Paid my money, thought I was all set. Then bam! Game time comes, I try to watch my local team… blacked out. What the heck? I paid for this service specifically to watch baseball, and the main team I care about is blocked?
I remember being really confused at first. Did I do something wrong? Checked my settings, my internet, everything seemed fine. So, I started digging around online. Just typing stuff like “why can’t I watch my team on mlb tv” or “mlb tv blackout stupid”. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. Loads of people were complaining about the exact same thing. It felt like a raw deal – paying for a service that deliberately blocked the content most local fans wanted to see.
Then I started seeing bits and pieces about a lawsuit. People were actually suing MLB over these blackout rules and how they packaged the games. The argument, as I understood it from reading fan forums and maybe a news article or two, was that it wasn’t fair competition. They forced you into these packages and used the blackouts, and it just felt wrong.
I got pretty interested then. Felt like, yeah, finally someone is calling them out! I looked into it a bit more. Found some website talking about a class action. You know, where a few people sue on behalf of a whole big group.
- I checked the details – who was included?
- Did my subscription years count?
- Was there anything I needed to do?
Honestly, it was a bit confusing. Lawyers use fancy words. I think I filled out a form on some website once, putting in my email, hoping maybe I’d get a piece of the settlement or at least see the rules change. Mostly, I just kept an ear out, checking for news every few months.
Legal stuff moves slow, like really slow. Felt like ages went by. Heard they reached a settlement eventually. Got an email maybe? Can’t quite recall the specifics. Think there was a small payout for some subscribers, like a few bucks back. It wasn’t much, barely covered a beer at the ballpark.
So, what changed for me? Honestly, not a whole lot right away. The blackout rules are still a pain. Maybe they tweaked how single-team packages worked or something? I don’t know for sure. The main frustration, not being able to easily watch my local team without cable, even after paying MLB, that didn’t just vanish overnight. It was interesting following the lawsuit, felt a little bit like rooting for the little guy, but in the end, the game on the screen is what matters, and that part still feels unnecessarily complicated.
