John Kerry's Web

Lets Celebrate! Major League Baseball is coming to cable!

Oh screw that! I don't have cable.

So DirecTV is the cow for Extra Innings - something MLB was able to milk for all it's worth and get they wanted from more people.

Cable companies are the chicken - easily accessable, and had by everyone.

What about me?

I have DISH Network! I have the back bacon, the honey-baked ham, the yummy, yummy pork chop of broadcasting. I have TV Pig. I have the other sattelitte dish!

I'm still screwed, no Extra Innings for me.

Why's everyone always hating on the pig!

So c'mon DISH Net people, stand up.

Below is the text of my email to the Senators from my state, as well as the Patron Saint of Baseball Fans (or something like that) John Kerry.

You can find a listing of your senator here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Send the same letter, send a different one, it doesn't matter.

But do your part, like the little spider and her tricky webs with laundry detergent slogans, we have to save the Pig!

Dear Sirs:
As you are aware, Major League Baseball and a conglomeration of large cable providers agreed this week to make the Extra Innings package of out-of-market games available to subscribers of their services.

This has been heralded as a great victory for baseball fans, as presumably all will be reasonably able to subscribe to this package if so desired.

However, I hope you do not let the issue go quite so simply because it’s made headlines. If anything, the voices of leadership need to be louder now that those excluded are in a great minority.

There is still a segment of the population who subscribe to DISH Network from EchoStar Communications that is unable to receive the Extra Innings package, as well as presumably from cable companies that are not a part of the InDemand conglomerate.

Various articles on the internet list EchoStar as having 12 million subscribers.

Senator Kerry, your original statement on the matter remains true: “I am opposed to anything that deprives people of reasonable choices. In this day and age, consumers should have more choices, not fewer.”

I subscribed to DISH Network shortly before the end of the year, prior to the announcement of the originally exclusive deal. As a part of my agreement with them, I am obligated to continuously subscribe to the service for 18 months.

So my choices are be without baseball for 18 months, or pay fees on a contract I agreed to with the reasonable expectation that Extra Innings would be available to me, as it has been in the past when I was a DirecTV Subscriber.

18 Months - That’s two baseball seasons without being able to see my Texas Rangers.

Please do not make the mistake of declaring victory when millions of your constituents are still being excluded.

Major League Baseball and the cable companies crumbled under the pressure of the majority.

Your voices are needed now, more than ever, to help pressure them for the minority.