MLB has announced that the cable company's who want to continue offering the Extra Innings package to its customers will be able to do so. The cable company's need only match the terms that DirecTV has accepted. This is a public relations stunt worthy of the best politicians in world.
MLB must be banking on the general public skimming over the announcement and coming away with just the meme that cable companies, themselves worthy of scorn, weren't willing to match the price DirecTV negotiated. End of mental exertion.
However, the poison pill is the necessity of the cable companys' meeting the "carriage requirements" term for The Baseball Channel. Very simply, DirecTV has agreed to carry TBC on its basic tier, and the cable companies will refuse to do so. MLB knows this and that is why it make the announcement.
It is hardball negotiating between billionaires and has nothing to do with satisfying hard-core baseball fans. In a worse light, MLB is continuing to treat its is most devoted fans as chumps. (operational defintion of "most devoted": willing to spend an additional $200 per year for the option of watching most of the daily baseball games.)