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Trying to understand Dish Network and Regional Sports Networks

post #1 of 6
4/16/12 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
We have a summer cabin in Iowa, and Mediacom, the local cable provider, has gotten super expensive (from my perspective). Last summer, the bill approached $80 after taxes a month. So we're considering switching to Dish Network; I like the idea of one box allowing us to control multiple TV's in the house with one primary television and another channel elsewhere in the house.

One reason we're considering a Dish is for major league baseball games. No, not interested in spending more for DirecTV and then paying even more for Extra Innings. One member of the family is a huge St. Louis fan, but Mediacom sends us FS North and the Twins. Adding insult to injury, when the Cardinals are on ESPN, the game is blacked out in Iowa because it's supposed to be available locally...but it's not because we're getting the Twinkies.

According to everything I've seen, Iowa is considered a local market for the Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Royals, and Cardinals. Would Dish Network unblock all of those games, or just one team's games. Do I have to sign up for the sports package to ensure that all of the region's teams are available?
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post #2 of 6
4/16/12 at 10:53am
I'm not sure about Dish, but I can tell you that with DirecTV if you had the sportspack and service in Iowa you will get the games for all 6 of those teams. You wouldn't need Extra Innings if you only want to watch those 6 teams.
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post #3 of 6
4/16/12 at 1:42pm
Go here: http://www.dish.com/entertainment/channels/local/ and punch in your zip code. That will show you which RSN's that you will get in your area. If you purchase the "multi-sports pack", beware that almost all professional games, not in your area, will be blacked out (and I can't hardly believe that isn't the case for Direct as well). It does include MLB Strike Zone now though (like NFL's Redzone for baseball).
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post #4 of 6
4/16/12 at 10:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lobosrul View Post

Go here: [url] If you purchase the "multi-sports pack", beware that almost all professional games, not in your area, will be blacked out (and I can't hardly believe that isn't the case for Direct as well).

That is the case with D*, also. The reason a person living in Iowa would receive the broadcasts of six different teams is because those teams claim Iowa as their market. I live in Vegas and six teams claim Vegas as their home market. As a result, I receive the games of all six teams via the "sportspack". All out of market games are blacked out, of course. The same is true with Dish Network. They have no choice. It's the league that sets the rules, not the providers, so they have to give you access to those games.
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post #5 of 6
4/16/12 at 10:52pm
Keep in mind that Dish carries about twice as many HD RSNs as they actually have room for at any given time. That means on busy nights, especially at the beginning and ends of seasons when MLB/NHL/NBA overlap, some games will get bumped and be available in SD only. No such problem with DirecTV.
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post #6 of 6
4/17/12 at 10:20am
Thread Starter 
Standard def is a huge upgrade over no games available. Heck, the cabin only has one flat panel TV set; a small one in the kitchen, so HD isn't really necessary. (Though if we make this move, we'll probably buy a new TV for the living room.)

I understand that the other teams will be blacked out; the main ones I was interested in were the Cardinals and Cubs. I just didn't want to commit to Dish only to learn that the problem still remained.
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