Sports and sporting culture surround us as a nation, engaging millions on a weekly basis. From Sunday Night Football to Christmas Day basketball to the NHL playoffs, millions around the country tune in weekly to watch their favorite players and teams compete at the highest level.
But for some living in Iowa, watching their favorite teams has become more challenging than expected. The main issue lies with egregious local MLB broadcasting rights and selfish media blackout deals.
For those unaware, TV blackouts occur when a scheduled game is intentionally not shown in a specific area due to local broadcasting rights. This can happen in any major sport to protect cable networks that have deals with specific teams.
This, in theory, works if you live in a market with just one team and are willing to pay for cable. However, for many living in Iowa — especially college students — watching their hometown teams has become harder than ever.
Iowa is the only state in the country with local broadcast blackouts for six teams: the Royals, Twins, Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, and Cardinals. This means if you’re a Midwestern baseball fan and want to watch your team play the majority of their 81 home games, on top of buying a subscription to MLB.TV — a $120 purchase — you also have to buy specific cable packages for networks like NBC Sports and Bally Sports.
Marquee, the Cubs’ local broadcasting network, is unavailable on most streaming services. The only way to watch Cubs home games in Iowa is by purchasing a DirecTV cable subscription, which can cost upwards of $60 a month, or by purchasing additional services through the Marquee app for around $20 a month.
These extra fees are frustrating for many, especially those living in the Des Moines area, in part because the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs, is located downtown. Due to these unrealistic and extravagant fees, many families won’t be able to follow their favorite players after they get called up to the majors.
Moreover, these additional costs can be difficult for working adults to justify, even if they can afford them. For those on a fixed income, like college students, they can add an extra financial burden.
On top of necessary college expenses, the costs to watch baseball come on the heels of other subscription fees that already weigh heavily on college students’ wallets. Many students who want to watch any sport, regardless of team, need multiple streaming services like YouTube TV and Peacock.
Coupled with MLB.TV and local broadcasting subscriptions, these costs can burn a hole through college students’ wallets and hinder their viewing experience.
When asked about his battles with MLB.TV and the abundant blackout games, University of Iowa junior and loyal White Sox supporter Sam Howser said the service doesn’t seem worth the price
“It’s actually crazy how many games seem to be blacked out all the time, and then they add the option to listen to it on the radio as if that justifies not being able to watch it,” Howser said. “It’s definitely getting close to not being worth it at all.”
These financial decisions by local networks and Major League Baseball are aimed at getting more fans to attend games in person rather than watch from home. The high prices reflect MLB’s plan to boost interest in baseball, especially since attendance and viewership have declined in recent years.
According to the Michigan Journal of Economics, the league has seen a decline in attendance for nine consecutive seasons — excluding 2020 due to COVID-19 — resulting in a 14 percent drop overall.
This drop can be attributed to several factors, many of which revolve around the rising cost of subscriptions and difficulty of watching baseball regularly.
Adam Kempenaar, a professor of practice at the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication and former vice president of marketing and content for the Chicago Blackhawks, said blacking out the sport hurts the industry.
“Cable cord cutting should only continue to increase, and the obstacles in place to stream the games you want to see due to blackout restrictions certainly isn’t aiding in attracting or retaining fans,” Kempenaar said.
This disinterest from new sports fans has the MLB scrambling for solutions, which has created additional issues, such as the implementation of new rules like the pitch clock and a rise in player injuries.
Despite these new initiatives, true baseball fans shouldn’t be punished for trying to support their team from outside the designated market. Nor should their wallets be forced to cater to the whims of cable companies.