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Mondak · 03-11-2004, 08:10 AM

From : http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...aseball10.html

Quote:

RealNetworks sues baseball over use of Windows Media

By DAN RICHMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Seattle's RealNetworks Inc. yesterday filed a federal lawsuit here against Major League Baseball, alleging that the sports organization has breached its recent contract to webcast baseball games in RealNetworks' electronic format.

The suit, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, apparently revolves around the definition of the phrase "baseball season."

It seeks an undetermined amount of damages and an order requiring Major League Baseball to honor its Feb. 8 agreement with RealNetworks. No trial date has been set.

According to RealNetworks spokesman Greg Chiemingo, MLB started webcasting live audio coverage of exhibition games last Thursday, using only the format of Redmond-based Microsoft Corp.

MLB is free to use Microsoft's Windows Media format if it wants, he said, but under the Feb. 8 agreement, it also must use RealNetworks' RealMedia format to provide live coverage of the entire baseball season, including spring training, he said.

"The contract covers 'the season,' which runs from the first pitch of preseason to the last pitch of the World Series," Chiemingo said.

Jim Gallagher, a spokesman for New York City-based MLB Advanced Media, said that the suit is "without merit," adding that MLB "will continue to honor its agreement with RealNetworks."

Through spokesman Wayne Hickey, Microsoft declined to comment on the suit.

Chiemingo said RealNetworks had "a great relationship" with MLB during its first three-year contract, which was signed in the spring of 2001 and lasted through Feb. 7. RealNetworks got 2 percent of its 2003 revenue, or $4 million, from the MLB contract, he said.

But earning the money cost the company more than that, said founder and Chief Executive Rob Glaser during a fourth-quarter earnings teleconference held Jan. 29.

In fact, ending the contract, which also required that all MLB content be webcast exclusively in the RealMedia format, will net RealNetworks $5 million, Chiemingo said.So RealNetworks didn't renew the contract, but on Feb. 8, it signed the more limited agreement with MLB.

The dispute comes as RealNetworks is fighting to maintain a major presence in the digital media market. Windows Media Player controlled about 34 percent of the U.S. market, compared with nearly 19 percent for RealOne player and 10 percent for QuickTime player, according to January data from Nielsen/NetRatings.

The company has pledged to return to profitability after 11 straight quarters of declining software sales and a loss of $21.5 million last year.

I thought this was interesting to anyone reading this thread. Seems like tough ground to defend. I am a subscriber to the MLB feed for $14.95 for the whole season of audio (Go Yanks!) and have to use the realplayer to do it. The real question that I have is WHY? Why would MLB use WMP to do it's spring games? Is Real that much of a pain to use that they decided that they would use WMP for the few games a year that are not a part of the "regular" season? I don't see it being worth it for MLB to do this even if Real is a pain in the ass.