TuneIn and MLB broadcast - getting a recorded blackout message but I don't think that's correct

[johnmcgrann]

I’m not sure if this is a Rivian issue or a TuneIn issue, I’m planning to start a ticket with Rivian but thought I’d ask for advice here first.

I want to use TuneIn to listen to Philadelphia Phillies baseball, this is broadcast on Philadelphia’s WIP radio station. I was able to listen to this broadcast on TuneIn in my Rivian through the end of the 2024 season. Starting in 2025 I heard this message when attempting to listen to these games:

“You are tuned to an Audacy station that is airing a Major League Baseball game. Due to league restrictions, you are not in an area where this game is available.”

I know that MLB's blackout rules suck, but I don’t think this is correct. I live about 70 miles from Philly. I can listen to these broadcasts via the Audacy app on my phone, and I can listen to this broadcast on the TuneIn app on my phone. I can do both of these things while I’m sitting in my Rivian getting the recorded message described above. Yesterday, I was actually driving close enough to Philadelphia that I was receiving WIP on the FM tuner, and was simultaneously getting the “not available” message above.

So as a workaround when I can't pick up the FM broadcast, I dial up the game on a phone app and play over my Rivian Bluetooth connection, but that’s annoying and frustrating and also requires me to use my phone while I’m driving rather than the Rivian user interface.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any insights or advice?

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[Dasoss]

I’m not sure if this is a Rivian issue or a TuneIn issue, I’m planning to start a ticket with Rivian but thought I’d ask for advice here first.

I want to use TuneIn to listen to Philadelphia Phillies baseball, this is broadcast on Philadelphia’s WIP radio station. I was able to listen to this broadcast on TuneIn in my Rivian through the end of the 2024 season. Starting in 2025 I heard this message when attempting to listen to these games:

“You are tuned to an Audacy station that is airing a Major League Baseball game. Due to league restrictions, you are not in an area where this game is available.”

I know that MLB's blackout rules suck, but I don’t think this is correct. I live about 70 miles from Philly. I can listen to these broadcasts via the Audacy app on my phone, and I can listen to this broadcast on the TuneIn app on my phone. I can do both of these things while I’m sitting in my Rivian getting the recorded message described above. Yesterday, I was actually driving close enough to Philadelphia that I was receiving WIP on the FM tuner, and was simultaneously getting the “not available” message above.

So as a workaround when I can't pick up the FM broadcast, I dial up the game on a phone app and play over my Rivian Bluetooth connection, but that’s annoying and frustrating and also requires me to use my phone while I’m driving rather than the Rivian user interface.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any insights or advice?

The audio system may be using your home location setting in the navigation system rather than the location from the GPS, or vice versa. Program blocking is based on the station's "coverage area", whatever that is. It's probably a general geographic area, rather than your actual coordinates. The take away is that there is nothing that anyone can do about it. You might try resetting your home to another place, but that will mess up a lot of stuff. I can't guess why your mobile phone behaves differently.

 

[johnmcgrann]

The audio system may be using your home location setting in the navigation system rather than the location from the GPS, or vice versa. Program blocking is based on the station's "coverage area", whatever that is. It's probably a general geographic area, rather than your actual coordinates. The take away is that there is nothing that anyone can do about it. You might try resetting your home to another place, but that will mess up a lot of stuff. I can't guess why your mobile phone behaves differently.

Thanks. I did perform a soft reset on Monday, and after that, I *was* able to get the broadcast on TuneIn in my Rivian. I'll check another game sometime soon and see if that reset made a permanent difference.

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