Multichannel News, March 27, 2007
By Steve Donohue

Under pressure from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Major League Baseball president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy agreed to meet with In Demand Networks to discuss a possible deal that could provide the cable-backed program supplier with the league's Extra Innings package.

The chances of the league cutting a deal with cable operators before Monday — opening day of the 2007 season — are slim. But MLB and DirecTV are facing heat from regulators for their seven-year, $700 million deal that will restrict the league's Extra Inning's package to DirecTV customers.

When MLB struck the controversial deal with DirecTV earlier this month, it set a deadline of March 31 for operators to match DirecTV's offer. But in order for Comcast, Time Warner Cable and other operators to secure Extra Innings for their customers, they'd have to agree to match DirecTV's terms and distribute MLB's Baseball Channel, set to debut in 2009, on their most widely distributed tiers.

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