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November 9, 2007

MLB's Email Alert

This email from MLB just appeared in my inbox. It includes the same information I quoted yesterday. I'm assuming this was sent as part of a mass email effort to any previous digital download customers.

Has anyone else out there received a similar email?
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12 comments:

  1. winchouNovember 9, 2007 at 8:16 AM

    Yep. Got it. Strange that they have different formats for regular and post-season. I'll give it a try. And BTW, this year's post-season is also available via iTunes Music Store -- still DRM-ed, but not tied to a specific machine, rather an account on iTunes. I've nver had trouble going from machine to machine on ITMS:

    http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=264833587&s=143441

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 9, 2007 at 8:19 AM

    I just got an email myself -- I replied back to the customer service email.

    But, since I am a Mac user, I still won't be able to play my copy of game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Why can't they just release these without DRM or at the very least, partner up with someone that is committed to supporting more than just Windows?

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  3. UnknownNovember 9, 2007 at 8:27 AM

    Got that email this morning, too, as did a friend of mine, so it looks like they did a blast email based on their records.

    This part--

    Please note that all Regular Season games will be available, in the originally purchased format, and all Postseason games will be made available, in the same format currently used on mlb.com/downloads.

    --makes me potentially cranky. I downloaded games 4-7 of the 2004 ALCS and wanted to keep them because they were non-FOX, international feed with static camera work during half-inning changes instead of commercials. I will be displeased if I download the same damn Fox broadcast that's on my WS04 DVDs.

    But anyway -- great job on this!

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  4. BrianNovember 9, 2007 at 8:49 AM

    Yes, I got it. But I don't believe for a second that I'm part of a 'small subset' of customers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JoyNovember 9, 2007 at 9:08 AM

    Yup, I got mine at 10:35 am.

    ReplyDelete
  6. allanNovember 9, 2007 at 9:31 AM

    Cool.

    From what I understand, the regular season games will be in the same resolution as they were before, but any post-season games will be in a higher resolution (even though when you first downloaded them, they were in the previous lower resolution). So there appears to be an improvement in that area.

    MLB says there was a "small subset" of people affected by this, but when I criticized them yesterday for what I thought was a broken promise, I received a reponse saying that they were sending out the emails, but it "involves
    thousands of customers" so it would take some time.

    Now, whether thousands of customers is also a small subset of their overall customers, I do not know.

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  7. chipNovember 9, 2007 at 10:35 AM

    I got the email this morning, although I'd already emailed them yesterday. I noticed a change in their wording. Their original statement said

    "Please note that all Regular Season games will be available, in the original format, within three business days of your request. All post-season games will be made available, in the same format currently used on MLB.com/Downloads, within seven business days of your request."

    The new email states:

    "Please note that all
    Regular Season games will be available, in the originally
    purchased format, and all Postseason games will be made available,
    in the same format currently used on mlb.com/downloads."

    They've basically relieved themselves of any sort of time limitation. That doesn't sit well with me at all. If you're reading this MLB, I'm still expecting my downloads within 7 business days, as that is the statement to which I officially replied.

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  8. allanNovember 9, 2007 at 10:53 AM

    During the conference call, they also mentioned the three-day period.

    I'm curious how long it actually takes from when someone informs MLB that he needs to re-download a game from August 2005 and that game is made available again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. allanNovember 9, 2007 at 10:59 AM

    I deleted someone's comment because I thought it was spam.

    A blogger named Rorschach saw a post about this at DeadSpin and he commented on his own blog here.

    Three things:

    1. It was not only classic games being made available. It was almost any game being played during 2004 and 2005. There was about a two-week window during which you could purchase any game that had been recently played.

    2. His post title is bizarre. Why would this experience make me not want to watch the Red Sox in 2008 and beyond? There is no connection.

    3. "The last 15 years"? Does he think that MLB did care about fans up until 1992, and then stopped?

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  10. AnonymousNovember 9, 2007 at 3:22 PM

    I got it today at 10:33 a.m. I had already requested a replacement for Game Four of the 2004 WS, thanks to redsock.

    The "small subset" line seems like a big lie to me. Unless the DRM differs from download to download, why would it not affect everyone. Is there anyone out there who has a download from before 2007 that still works?

    Ben

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  11. DevineNovember 10, 2007 at 10:17 AM

    I got my email today...the only game I ever downloaded was the July 2004 game with the A-Rod/Varitek fight and the 3-run winning rally against Rivera in the 9th.

    My download still works just fine, though.

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  12. Baer TierkelNovember 10, 2007 at 11:25 AM

    I got the email and I only have bought 2 games...

    ReplyDelete