MLB won’t lift TV blackouts this year

Many of us, myself included, have wondered whether Major League Baseball would lift its local TV blackouts during whatever the 2020 season turns out to be.

We’re not the only ones. The question was raised by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic:

Let’s be clear: Blackout rules weren’t instituted for the purpose of getting fans to go to the ballpark. They were created so that you, the viewer, would call your cable/satellite provider and beg them to carry the regional sports network that covers your team’s games, to protect the RSN’s broadcast rights. This is very 1990s thinking and should have been dumped years ago, but here we are:

Sorry — I’m never, ever going to give up the opportunity to post this ridiculous map when I get the chance.