Carlisle, Pennsylvania is one of those towns in the middle-ish of our state that is stuck right in the middle of hometown markets for the Phillies, Orioles, Nationals, and sort of the Pirates. If you're a Phillies fan, good luck trying to find the Fightins on your television set -- or your iPad for that matter.
Here's a pretty interesting look at just how awful life can be in Carlisle if you're a Phillies fan thanks to MLB's blackout policy. Most of you probably know how it works. If you're in a team's "home market" then you can't watch those games on MLB TV online or on your mobile device. Alas, Carlisle is technically in the Phillies home market, but their games are rarely broadcast on television there, according to Linus Edwards, who writes:
In Carlisle, while it is technically a home market for the Philadelphia
Phillies, almost none of their regular season broadcasts are shown here.
In most areas of the Phillies home market, games are shown on the
Philadelphia Comcast Sportsnet channel, however, in Carlisle we get the
bizarro Mid-Atlantic Comcast Sportsnet channel which doesn't show any
Phillies games and mostly concentrates on Washington and Baltimore
sports.
Thus, as long as I am standing in Carlisle, PA, I can’t watch Phillies
broadcasts.However, if I go a half hour to the west in Chambersburg,
PA, Phillies games are not shown on television, but also are not blacked
out in the packages.If I go a half hour to the east in Harrisburg,
PA, Phillies games are blacked out in the packages, but shown on local
television. Therefore, this tiny strip of land in Central PA is the only
spot in the entire country that one can not legally watch Phillies
games. It is purgatory for a Phillies fan.
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That's a pretty tough call. Having to go to Chambersburg or give up on watching the Phillies. I think I'd stick with Franzke and L.A.
Either way, the blackout rules suck for many people. I have a feeling they're not going anywhere anytime soon.
Any of you people have a similar horror story?
[joke about how not having to watch the Phillies saves you from the horror]
>>The sad state of MLB's blackout policy [VintageZen]
[via DF]