Let me tell you, I'm not a super huge sports fan. I only watch occasional sports and "big" games... So it seems unusual that I would be into having ESPN on my Xbox 360.  I stopped getting cable TV in January and haven't looked back. The reason I was so excited about hearing ESPN was coming was it started to look like bigger media was seeing the power of reaching audiences outside of cable.   Hearing that ESPN was coming meant that you wouldn't need a cable subscription to enjoy sports programing (not all of it, I'm sure).  
 
Then I read something that really pissed me off. You can only get ESPN on 360 if your cable provider is on the list of approved providers. Say what? The whole point of the internet is that you don't need to be in a specific location, region or anything - it's world wide and lets you get anything. So upon reading the approved list - guess what? My internet provider isn't on it. I can't get it because my provider doesn't feel the need to pay for it. 
 
This is complete. utter. bullshit.  
 
If you want money for ESPN - Get Microsoft to pay for it. You have to be a gold subscriber anyway. Or how about charge me... I'll pay. Don't make it up to someone ELSE to pay for me.  Here I am, willing to pay for it, and i can't get it. Not because they can't deliver it to me - I have internet and an Xbox 360, but because they won't let me see it because of my internet provider - which I can't change. 
 
Anyone else on the "black" list and unable to get this service?  This pisses me off so much - It wouldn't be that big of a deal if you could easily change to another internet provider - but you can't - because of the stupid laws that let different companies control who provides internet. This is mostly a US problem, but where does it end?