Even though any such action could benefit me, I’m against this out of principle:
The government is investigating a proposed deal between Major League Baseball and DirecTV Inc. that has had fans in a tizzy.
Remember that Senator John Kerry sent a complaint letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
Martin, in reply, wrote Kerry: “I share your concerns regarding this proposed deal.”
…“I am concerned whenever consumers cannot purchase the programming they want or are forced to purchase programming they don’t want,” Martin wrote.
…Martin wrote that the agency has “contacted the parties and requested additional information about their proposed arrangement. Once we have this information, we will report to you on the deal’s implications for consumers and any recommended changes to the law to ameliorate any harms to consumers.”
As I stated before, the FCC shouldn’t involve itself in this. As stupid as I think it is, Major League Baseball should be free to be stupid. If they’re prevented from being stupid, the market won’t get the chance to teach them how to take care of customers. In the end, we’ll just have more madness from Bud Selig and Co. because there is no legitimate pressure put on them to signal what is and isn’t wise. I’d rather rip this band-aid off now and let the backlash finish it.
Or not, of course. I could be in the minority of fans negatively affected by this who cares enough to complain and not switch to DirecTV. Whatever the truth, let’s find out the right way.