Link to an original source about the TV deal
The Time Warner deal is derided. One recent source commented:
The worst. TV. deal. ever. results in, like, 14 people being able to watch games for the next two years. Was Precourt trying to snuff out the red-hot passion of the Nordecke faithful? Let’s just say he wasn’t not doing that.
Another source said:
The team (or the league… or its broadcast partner(s)… it’s not exactly clear who’s responsible) has instituted a 75 mile radius to black out all Crew games on MLS Live and MLS Direct Kick. Home and, inexplicably, away. How blacking out a road game makes any sense whatsoever is some kind of Neil deGrasse Tyson stuff. This means that if you live within 75 miles of Crew Stadium you can only watch games on TWC, every other option will be blacked out.
Yet another source says:
So if you’re a Crew fan who is hoping to watch your team locally on television, you are firmly SOL if you aren’t a Time Warner subscriber. By signing with Time Warner Cable and instituting this harsh blackout policy, the Columbus Crew effectively cut off a huge portion of their local fanbase from watching the team play. What’s more, there is only one Crew game on the national television schedule this season. To make it all the more unnerving, FC Dallas, another Time Warner team, does not black out their games on MLS Live. Why does Columbus have a blackout policy but Dallas does not? It’s a serious question that incredibly at this time nobody seems to have a decent answer to.