On Tuesday, U.S. senators urged Major League Baseball to let every cable and satellite company carry out-of market games and hinted that they might intervene if the sport pursued an exclusive deal with DirecTV.
Just four days before the season opener, senators pressed a top baseball executive to explain why the league was prepared to sign a deal that effectively would give DirecTV exclusive rights to carry the popular "Extra Innings" baseball package.
"It works a real inconvenience with a lot of people," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who convened the hearing at the Senate Commerce Committee. "A lot of baseball fans are very disappointed and some are very angry."
Kerry has asked the U.S. regulators to probe whether an exclusive marketing agreement is legitimate, while other senators suggested that Congress could take action if the disputants can't reach an agreement.
"We are not entirely powerless," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Added Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.: "Having it solved here is not a particularly good idea."
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