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The clearest picture I've seen of the MLB Network set.
Always a brightly shining beacon of innovation, Major League Baseball is at it again. At 6 p.m. eastern time tonight, MLB became the first sport to launch its own television channel – the MLB Network.
What’s that? The NFL already has a channel? Well, MLB became the second sport to launch its own television channel.
The NBA has one too? Wow. Maybe MLB is not that innovative after all. At least they have the pathetic, nearly non-existent NHL beat.
NO WAY!! Even the can’t-get-out-of-its-own-way NHL has its own television network!?! Well then, there you have it. Tonight, MLB became the LAST of the four major professional sports leagues to launch its own television channel.
For Rays fans here in the Tampa Bay area, if your cable provider is Bright House Networks, you can watch the MLB Network on channel 159. If you have DirecTV, then you can find the MLB Network on channel 213. If you have none of the above, then you are out of luck for the time being.
I am a Bright House customer myself, and I have been flipping to the MLB Network during commercials of the Orange Bowl. Apparently there is a problem with the feed Bright House is getting because the picture I am receiving is terribly scrambled and unwatchable. No audio either. I did see Harold Reynolds on there a couple of times. After a few seconds it just goes to a black screen. Just terrible. This is almost as embarrassing as TBS airing the Steve Harvey Show instead of the first inning of ALCS Game Six.
I am e-mailing Bright House Networks to tell them to get their feed straightened out. If you are having the same problem with the feed from Bright House, click here to let them know they need address the situation.
Former Rays’ TV color man Joe Magrane is now one of the analysts for the Network, and the Rays are still looking for a replacement. I always enjoyed Magrane’s work with the Rays and I am looking forward to watching him on the new Network.
The Network will broadcast a total of 26 games this season and its featured program will be MLB Tonight which will supposedly be a quick-hitting jaunt throughout the league that airs from 6 p.m. eastern until the end of action Monday through Saturday.
Find all the information you need to know about the MLB Network by checking out their website here.
Hopefully the network becomes watchable in Tampa Bay soon. Even the NHL Network comes in for crying out loud!
As always, comments are appreciated and I can be reached via e-mail at raysexaminer@live.com
Comments
Rob, what channel is MLB for comcast customers??
What I objected to was the programming: the one-hour "Baseball Tonight"-like talking heads show alternating with the replay of Don Larsen's perfect game, scheduled to run from 6 p.m. Jan. 1 until 2 p.m. today? Is that the best they could come up with? Toss in a baseball movie or two, or use another of the scores of documentaries that have been done. I see from the upcoming schedule there will be at least a little more variety, but if they wanted to start with a bang they should have used that strategy from the get-go.
Perhaps it was the timing. My wife suggested they had a "soft opening" to try things out before going "for real." New Year's Day? Before a long weekend? Sure there's the logical point to starting at the beginning of the year, but maybe they should have waited until the opening of spring training of even Opening Day.
Ron Kaplan
rksbaseballbookshelf.wordpress.com
On Comcast in New England, the MLB Network is on channels 269 - which I believe is the HD version and 185. The Network is now coming in perfectly in Tampa Bay, lest I slander Bright House any further for not having a proper feed. Ron, I agree with you that the programming seems limited and they didn't seem to stack the debut lineup with anything really attention-grabbing. We'll see how it goes.
After the soap opera with Bright House and Viacom I am glad I have DirecTV because the threat of losing stations and the launch of MLB Net was never in doubt.
However, as star-struck as I was to finally see my favorite sport get its own place on the dial and while the HD picture was to die for, I believe the debut fell flatter than a soufflé at a day care center. There was no "juice" to it and it seemed like they wanted to get through the first day without any mistakes. There were none but they better start looking at ESPN on how to make their programming more energetic and appealing.
examiner.com/x-626-Tampa-Sports-Examiner
The signal issue is probably one of those dugutak compression scheme thingys. They have to allocate enough of a "stream" to keep the signal from breaking up.
I care more about matching audio levels and commercials that don't blare out at twice the volume of the show content. I'm not saying that is happening with MLB network channel, but it sure does happen on many cable channels and it seems like it is happening more and more lately.
I watched the Red Sox retrospective of their two World Series wins. I was kind of shocked no mention was made of the most pivotal moment in game seven of the 2007 Boston vs Cleveland A.L. Championship series.
Kenny Lofton was stopped at third on a single even though Manny was already going to throw to second anyways.
Kenny's run would have tied the score and maybe Jake Westbrook goes back out there instead of Betancourt.
Everybody talks about the green monster but the jutting left field foul stands can play havoc on balls hit down the line, and that was the reason given for stopping Kenny at third instead of waving him in.
By the way, I felt badly that Harold Reynolds was thrown off the air a couple of years ago. I don't know what exactly he was alleged to have done, but it seemed like he didn't really get a warning.
Nice to see him get a second chance and I hope whatever it was the first time that got him fired was just a fluke.
www.Cooler-Heads.com
Excellent point about the left-field stands at Fenway. I don't know if Indians fans will ever get over that series.
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