Cable Strikes Out With MLB

Cable subscribers looking to catch out-of-market games next year may be stuck in the outfield: Major League Baseball has rejected a deal with cable company In Demand to carry the popular "Extra Innings" series. In Demand, a major cable conglomerate, says it has matched the $700 million, seven-year DirecTV offer, but MLB claims the company's offer misses the mark.

Company president Robert Jacobsen isn't backing off. "By rejecting this matching offer, MLB has proven it never intended for In Demand to have a fair and equal opportunity to bid for Extra Innings," Jacobsen says. It may fall to John Kerry to settle the dispute: the debate over "Extra Innings" goes before the Senate Commerce Committee, which Kerry chairs, next week. (More Madrid bombings stories.)