Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

With the popularity of Sling Media’s Slingbox growing, more and more Big Content is taking notice, and they are not happy. For instance, check out Major League Baseball’s view of the Slingbox:

MLB is of the opinion that the Slingbox violates contracts it has signed with cable and satellite TV companies and that Slingbox owners are redistributing content without MLB’s express written consent whenever they place shift. The fact that Slingbox owners are watching content—encrypted to hinder piracy—that they paid for (or free, over-the-air transmissions in many cases) is irrelevant to the major leagues.

MLB is trying to protect MLB.tv, which lets you watch every out-of-market baseball for an annual fee just over $100. It is a great product in which MLB should have more confidence. Quite frankly, I cannot imagine there are that many people using Slingboxes to watch out-of-market baseball games. MLB should be encouraging all fans to watch baseball any way possible. Most sport leagues, and the Olympics, protect their product with an iron-fist. Sometimes being a little fan friendly can go a long way.