The City of Oceanside is just one of a handful of cities that cannot watch Padres games because parts of Oceanside is in a Time Warner zone.

While Mayor Wood says he has other priorities to worry about in the city, he admits he has heard gripes from Oceanside residents not being able to watch the Padres on television.

CHICKEN FRIARS: Can you confirm for me if Oceanside is a region in San Diego County that has Time Warner cable?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: That is correct.

CHICKEN FRIARS: What do you make of the whole Fox Sports San Diego and Time Warner Cable issue?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: Well personally, I don’t get involved in it. It is not a question for me.  I understand some residents in Oceanside are not very happy with it because I guess it is blacked out for them and they can’t see the games.

I certainly would be concerned because in a town like this that is military related, we are adjacent to Camp Pendleton up here, a lot of military personnel like the games, sports, and certainly in the community a lot of the seniors are retired military and they like the games, they like to watch it. So I am a little disappointed and sad for them. I am usually to busy to keep track of either the Padres or the Chargers, I have too many things going on. But the other people certainly would like to have the Padres on Time Warner.

CHICKEN FRIARS: But have you heard complaints from residents about this issue?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: Most people usually don’t call the mayor’s office to complain, but once in a while I hear a voice or two about it when I am wandering in the community, someone might say something about it.

But generally speaking, I hear a lot more from the seniors in the community who want to see the games. They may not want to drive down their (Petco Park), they may not have the money because they are in fixed incomes, but they like to hear or see the games.

CHICKEN FRIARS: What’s the latest news you’ve heard regarding negotiations with FSSD and TWC?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: I haven’t heard a thing, and I am sorry to say that I am not a part of it really because I have other things that are priorities in my city.

Chicken Friars: San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is trying to do everything in his power to put the Padres on TWC, do politicians have any power to put the Padres on television?

 MAYOR JIM WOOD: There is always some positions like that. Let’s face it, Mayor Bob Filner is the mayor of the largest city in San Diego County, and representing a lot of people numbers wise. I am in the third largest city in County and a larger city in another county. Certainly that might mean I represent more people, larger numbers, and sometimes people listen to that.

However, like I say, Bob is down there where people really are in tuned to the Padres because its in downtown San Diego. I am sure that’s part of his reasons for being involved.

I haven’t been approached by anybody else saying “could you get involved or would you try to be involved. I haven’t had anybody or any group come up and do that.”

Now, I wish I understood. I don’t really watch the Padres or the Chargers because it seems like I don’t have the time to do it. Big city politics keep me busy, so I don’t have the time. But you know, prior to that, yes I paid attention to the Chargers and the Padres  as a city councilman when I had a lot more time on my hands.

CHICKEN FRIARS: Even though you don’t pay attention too much to them, is it fair to say you’re a Padres fan?

 MAYOR JIM WOOD: Yes I am.

CHICKEN FRIARS: I know you said you have other priotities to deal with in your city, but do you feel you have any authority to step in on negotiations with FSSD and TWC.  Not just Mayor Filner, but other local councilmembers and politicians are getting involved too.

MAYOR JIM WOOD: Like I told you, I haven’t had anybody approach me to try and say ‘can I get involved’ from the city or the mayor. Lets face it, Bob Filner is a friend. I talked to him about week ago. Like with any other mayor who has an issue who thought we should be involved, we generally  will call each other and see if they can be involved. I haven’t had that happen to me, so I haven’t been motivated to do anything.

CHICKEN FRIARS: Are you a Time Warner Cable subscriber?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: I am up here with Cox. Cox North County.

CHICKEN FRIARS: So not every area of Oceanside has Time Warner Cable?

 MAYOR JIM WOOD:I don’t know what they exactly are or where the boundaries break with Cox North County.

 CHICKEN FRIARS: So you do have the ability to watch the Padres, if you chose to do so?

 MAYOR JIM WOOD: I am not sure. I don’t know what the cable (channel) is, and like I said, I haven’t followed them. If we are having a problem up here it would be interesting.

You’re the first person to call me on it. Well, let me know if any other mayors want to get involved, they have my support, let me know.

Like I said, I haven’t been watching tv and/or watching cable for quite sometime because I have been to busy with the economy in a big city up here in the North. I wish I had more time. Some people, not many people have said things to me. I know when some of the games don’t get sold out they get shut out or blacked-out too.

CHICKEN FRIARS: Being that Oceanside is at the end of San Diego going North, and that there are so many transplants in Oceanside being that  it is a military town, would it be a concern to the Padres that they would be losing fans for not having their games on Time Warner?

MAYOR JIM WOOD: I think fans would be upset that they don’t have coverage to the games and I think Time Warner should be concerned about losing subscribers.

A lot of people enjoy sports and lets face it in a military town like this, its kind of like San San Diego. More Navy down there, up here it’s Marines. And like I said, not just the active Marines but the retired ones that are still around  this community certainly I know are involved with the Padres and Chargers, so it’s a big deal.

I thank you for the call. I wish I had more information for you but this hasn’t been something that I’ve been pressured about or had people asked.

The cause however, has not fallen upon deaf ears, as several City Council members, including Sherri Lightner as well as San Diego Mayor Bob Filner have played a role in trying to help sort out the mess.  Although the City’s power is limited in terms of what they can directly do – they can apply pressure and bring attention to the issues in a public forum.  The Mayor has sent up an e-mail account, for any type of outreach desired - constructive, inquisitive, and even the vent frustration type at gopadres@sandiego.gov.

So what are some of the issues at hand, and what is publicly known about the matter?  As stated before, one company, Fox Sports San Diego, is the content provider that has rights to the Padres games.  It is similar to any other media company having the rights to content or a show like Dancing with the Stars, or Survivor.  The cable company, or Time Warner, is the distributor and has the direct relationship with the end customer.  Time Warner has deals with various content providers and can package and the sell the content to the end user.

Time Warner services about 22 percent of San Diego exclusively in San Diego North County area, which is another way to say monopoly.  Satellite providers are an option for homes, but there are transactions costs involved, and in business it is well known that the status quo has momentum.  It takes a lot to force a change at the customer level.  A story about Netflix, for example that demonstrates the power of the status quo, was that they had a lot of “shadow” customers that were continuing to pay the monthly subscription fees without or barely using the service.  Basically, people were continuing to pay money for something they didn’t need or use, simply because they had started doing it at one point.  However, when Netflix made an unpopular attempt to split the company between the streaming and dvd services, that woke up a lot of these customers, made them realize they didn’t want to keep paying, and triggered them to cancel service.  Essentially, people keep going with what they have unless something important comes up that causes a change.  It is only human.

Through the mediation of the City, Fox Sports San Diego has been able to establish that it has given the same deal to four out of the five major TV providers in San Diego.  It has offered the same deal to Time Warner, which has countered that this offer is higher than the previous deal with Channel 4 Padres, and thus is not in the best interests of the company to accept.  Time Warner Cable is also countering with market research that implies that San Diegans are not willing to pay extra to watch the Padres on top of their existing cable packages.  In the game of baseball, Time Warner wants to play hardball.

July 21, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Fox TV analyst Mark Grant (right) interviews San Diego Padres right fielder Chris Denorfia (left) before a game against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

At this current time, it is the dollars that is pushing Time Warner’s hand.  It just doesn’t have any incentive, to agree to pay Fox Sports San Diego extra money to show the Padres.  It would rather not pay Fox Sports San Diego, not show the Padres, and collect the existing fees it has from its customer base.  This course of action, maximizes money from Time Warner’s perspective, which is rationally optimal.  However, it is playing a dangerous game of creating frustration and slowly destroying good will.  People are now starting to ask, well can we take away this monopoly?  Ironically, before this dispute, Time Warner was probably flying under the radar over this extremely advantageous situation.  The question I’m interested in asking now, is if this exclusive North County provider status can be changed.  I mean, why not?  Add a little bit of heat to the Time Warner party line.

As for the end users, and the customers that have been dragged into this situation, there are other options available.  It is possible, although at extra cost, to use the internet to sign up for streaming content, such as MLB TV, to watch the games.  It is a choice that is available for those that feel deeply upset over the sense of helplessness that the impasse is causing and need to do something.  Another socially inclined option, would be to go a local restaurant or sports bar and catch the games you want to see.  Personally, I hate being left without options, which is why I prefer to think about other pathways to pursue.

However, for the long-term, a solution has to be made.  As a blogger, and as a concerned North County resident within the Time Warner jurisdiction, all I can do is also just bring attention to the issue.  Don’t let people forget if there is some wrong that is being done.  Time Warner, we are watching you.

Members of the media and prospective clients were on hand Friday (March 1) for a special sneak peak of the newly remodeled 2,700 square-foot studio.

“What you’re seeing today is pretty badass,” Fox Sports San Diego’s General Manager, Henry Ford said. “Nothing compares to this, we are trying to be uniquely San Diego. We are not trying to be LA or New York.

Ford continued to boast about the studio: “If you look at Fox Sports studios, this is keen to see what we’re doing. LA doesn’t come close to our set.”

With the redesign, the production at FSSD will be one of a kind.

Here are just some simple production plans FSSD hopes to bring to the viewer at home:

- FSSD will still use the Park at the Park set for home games, with more unannounced stuff planned.

- There will be an alternate location for post game shows on Padres’ fireworks night.

-The main set will have the ability to change out backgrounds, depending on  the situation

- Interviews can now be done in studio.

The terrific FSSD broadcast team of Mark Grant, Mike Pomeranz and Mark Sweeny were also in attendance for this event, being goofballs as always.

A soft launch of the studio will be March 29 when the Padres play the Texas Rangers at the Alamo Dome.

Courtesy: Robert Moreno

The photo above  is the amazing view of the stadium as you look out at the FSSD studio window. However, this area by the window will soon contain couches to conduct prerecorded interviews for shows.

Caption: Robert Moreno

This is the main television set which will be used by Mike Promeranz and Mark Sweeny  for road games. Home games will continued to be hosted at the Park at the Park. There are three monitors in studio ( I only captured one and a half) that are interchangeable with team logos.

As you can see, the set was designed to immulate the one from the NFL Sunday pregame show.

Courtesy of: Robert Moreno

This is a side view of the studio.