The blackouts in MLB are by far the worst. I live in Charlotte, NC. we have no major league team in the state. The closest MLB team is the Atlanta Braves (250 miles away). So, you would think blackout rules would not be an issue - you'd be wrong. If I buy the MLB package (I follow the Cubs) I am blacked out of games in 4 markets. You heard that right - 4 market blackouts even when I pay for the streaming service. MLB considers North Carolina to be part of Atlanta (I'm fine with that one), DC, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Yes, Charotte is considered part of the Cincinnati market for baseball games (a 7 hour drive and nearly 500 miles away). So, The Cubs play 162 games and I will be blacked out of at least 32 games (~20%) plus any games on ESPN and any Fox saturday day games. So, for $125+ I would get blacked out of close to 35% of all cub games plus (if I wanted to watch other games) all Braves, Nationals, Orioles and Reds games too.
The government protected and subsidized monopolies we call major sports leagues like to view themselves as fan friendly, community-engaged suppliers of a highly desired product. The are correct about only the last bit and act more like Comcast or TWC in markets where they lack any competition in their level of concern for customer satisfaction. I have been a die-hard baseball and NFL football fan my whole life and was the kind of person who would organize huge parts of my life around not missing games, but years of frustration with both the declining quality of the entertainment and the downright disdain and disrespect shown to the fans and their experience I am for the first time finding myself willing to miss watching games, turning down tickets and buying way less merchandise. I do not think I am alone in this.
According to Posner's logic: "never finds out, and the analyst of course has no idea who this person is. Has a human right been violated? It is hard to identify an affront to human dignity, or even a harm"
So then as long in his world:
--A college guy having sex with a passed out girl who never finds out (as long as she isn't pregnant or has contracted a disease)is neither a "violation" nor "an affront to human dignity".
--Peeping Toms do not violate privacy as long as they never reveal what they are doing and the target never finds out.
--Any corporation/agency/organization can put spyware on your comp, cameras in your house, and GPS tracking on your car and monitor all your activity as long as you never find out and they don't actually "use" it.
This is a creepy line of thinking even if we ignore the naievete of trusting the government never to use it. Allowing the collection of data without seeing its inevitable "use" and abuses is like saying a death threat isn't a violation until the knife point breaks your skin.
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Re: MLB blackouts
Sorry for all the run-ons. It is a consequence of stepping on my soapbox and ranting.
MLB blackouts
The blackouts in MLB are by far the worst. I live in Charlotte, NC. we have no major league team in the state. The closest MLB team is the Atlanta Braves (250 miles away). So, you would think blackout rules would not be an issue - you'd be wrong. If I buy the MLB package (I follow the Cubs) I am blacked out of games in 4 markets. You heard that right - 4 market blackouts even when I pay for the streaming service. MLB considers North Carolina to be part of Atlanta (I'm fine with that one), DC, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Yes, Charotte is considered part of the Cincinnati market for baseball games (a 7 hour drive and nearly 500 miles away). So, The Cubs play 162 games and I will be blacked out of at least 32 games (~20%) plus any games on ESPN and any Fox saturday day games. So, for $125+ I would get blacked out of close to 35% of all cub games plus (if I wanted to watch other games) all Braves, Nationals, Orioles and Reds games too.
The government protected and subsidized monopolies we call major sports leagues like to view themselves as fan friendly, community-engaged suppliers of a highly desired product. The are correct about only the last bit and act more like Comcast or TWC in markets where they lack any competition in their level of concern for customer satisfaction. I have been a die-hard baseball and NFL football fan my whole life and was the kind of person who would organize huge parts of my life around not missing games, but years of frustration with both the declining quality of the entertainment and the downright disdain and disrespect shown to the fans and their experience I am for the first time finding myself willing to miss watching games, turning down tickets and buying way less merchandise. I do not think I am alone in this.
CREEPY
According to Posner's logic:
"never finds out, and the analyst of course has no idea who this person is. Has a human right been violated? It is hard to identify an affront to human dignity, or even a harm"
So then as long in his world:
--A college guy having sex with a passed out girl who never finds out (as long as she isn't pregnant or has contracted a disease)is neither a "violation" nor "an affront to human dignity".
--Peeping Toms do not violate privacy as long as they never reveal what they are doing and the target never finds out.
--Any corporation/agency/organization can put spyware on your comp, cameras in your house, and GPS tracking on your car and monitor all your activity as long as you never find out and they don't actually "use" it.
This is a creepy line of thinking even if we ignore the naievete of trusting the government never to use it. Allowing the collection of data without seeing its inevitable "use" and abuses is like saying a death threat isn't a violation until the knife point breaks your skin.