Where can I watch Texas Rangers Baseball

April 10, 2006 4:27 PM

Where can I watch Texas Rangers Baseball in College Station, TX (77840)

I'm a big fan of the Rangers, and I'd love to watch every game if I could, but We don't get many broadcasts of the games down here. I looked into MLB.TV but my zipcode 77840 is in the Local Live Blackout list. I suppose I could still watch the games after they air, but that kind of defeats the purpose of watching sports.

posted by Kraki to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

Well, a not entirely kosher approach would be to either lie about your zip code, or (if they have some sort of check on that, like credit card billing address) arrange for someone elsewhere in the country to buy the service, and then give you their ID/password once you pay them back. Any MLB.tv users out there able to confirm exactly how the service verifies your ZIP?

More legally, you could sign up for the MLB Extra Innings service through your local cable company.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:39 PM on April 10, 2006

MLB Extra Innings may not work for him.

Q: WHAT ARE THE LOCAL BROADCAST RIGHTS/RESTRICTIONS?
A: If you live in a zip code area that falls within an MLB team's home television territory, that team's games will be blacked-out from MLB EXTRA INNINGS. These games will generally be available on that team's RSN or team affiliated OTA station. Blackouts protect the local rightsholders who arrange separate distribution agreements for their exclusive territories.

You could use a Slingbox mounted in the home of a non-local MLB Extra Innings subscriber.
posted by ?! at 9:19 PM on April 10, 2006

Maybe get a dish?

As above you might have to sign up with an address outside your area to get the blacked-out games.
posted by SteveInMaine at 7:17 AM on April 11, 2006

Don't get Dish. It has less games than even cable does, and it's impossible to tell which ones you are going to get to watch until the game starts. And if you get MLB Extra Innings, you are still subject to the blackouts. I talked to them repeatedly and at length about it.

I was going to post this exact question about Austin. When I moved from Dallas to Austin I was heartbroken that I couldn't watch all of the games. When I lived 20 miles from the stadium, I could get every game on TV. Now I can get less than half.

If someone in the AxMeVerse knows at the very least who the right person to talk to is in order to get the straight dope, that would be awesome.
posted by popechunk at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2006

This page seems to have all of the authoritative info on who is allowed to broadcast Texas Rangers games.
posted by popechunk at 11:01 AM on April 11, 2006