Senator John Kerry, D.-Mass., has hurled a curve ball toward Rupert Murdoch's deal to sell News Corp.'s stake in pay-TV service DirecTV to John Malone's Liberty Media. Although the former presidential candidate's 2004 appearance at a Red Sox game was deemed insincere by some of his critics, the truth is he must really love the Red Sox, which could explain a letter he sent to FCC chairman Kevin Martin concerning DirecTV's deal to receive exclusive rights to Major League Baseball's Extra Innings service. Currently, out of market baseball games are available via In Demand's pay-TV system and therefore carried on most cable and satellite TV systems. However, DirecTV outbid In Demand for rights to the games meaning that in 2009, only DirecTV subscribers would have the option to purchase the pay-TV package. Consequently, Kerry took up the cause of 230,000 Extra Innings cable subscribers demanding the FCC stop the change. A Los Angeles Times article suggests the outcry against the DirecTV-MLB deal could affect News Corp.'s deal with Liberty Media. —Matthew Wurtzel
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