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The defending ALCS Champion Tampa Bay Rays will face the Boston Red Sox as the first of 21 games … [+]
On Monday, Major League Baseball and YouTube announced that for the third year, the two will embark on showing an exclusive MLB Game Of The Week Live on YouTube that will give fans free access to games around the world. As the league broadcasts games across regional sports networks, national television broadcast partners, and its MLB.TV Premium streaming service, can MLB continue to balance it all so that subscribers and media partners remain happy?
The deal will see 21 games shown exclusively worldwide throughout the course of the 2021 season, starting with the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays facing the Boston Red Sox on April 7 at 1 pm ET. The partnership between the Alphabet-owned YouTube and MLB is now a decade long. Since that time, Google
The additional games on YouTube are bound to satisfy a long-standing desire of fans: games free, without blackouts, anywhere around the globe.
The games on YouTube are not simulcasts, but rather all 21 broadcasts are produced by MLB Network’s production team. The game between the Rays and Red Sox will be called by Scott Braun, Hall of Famer John Smoltz, and former MLB veteran Carlos Peña. All games on YouTube will also see pregame coverage. For the Ray-Red Sox game, it will begin at 12:30 p.m. ET with MLB Network’s Stephen Nelson and Bill Ripken.
To add to the originality of the YouTube broadcasts there will be several unique production aspects not found elsewhere. That will include bringing back a live chat featuring game commentary from over 40 sports-focused YouTube creators. There will also be in-game polls to keep fans engaged and connected with the announcers throughout the game. Fans watching on YouTube TV with a membership will also have the ability to re-watch key plays tied to the exact moment they are watching, as well as check out real-time stats from the game.
For MLB, it’s all a delicate balance. Toying with streaming platforms has been something the league has been experimenting with and gauging interest. Games that streamed exclusively on Facebook saw a mixed bag from fans and the media: while it was free, watching games in the Facebook interface felt awkward. YouTube appears to be in a better position given the growth of internet-enabled televisions, many with YouTube apps pre-installed on the market that allow for the best viewing form-factor for games.
As the evolution of television and streaming media has progressed, so too must fans become conditioned to finding games across various channels and platforms. Where the Game of the Week in the ‘60s and ‘70s used to be on one of the three major networks, to finding games on cable, to now adding in streaming services, how the leagues promote games becomes paramount for fan engagement as they seek them out.
For MLB, they are constantly in need of seeing how far they can push the envelope without cannibalizing live game content and diluting other agreements with media partners. The YouTube deal straddles it all nicely as there is just one game a week. In doing so, cord-cutters and never-corders have an option to view at least some MLB content without being hitched to a subscription of some sort. At the same time, the inventory of 21 games across the season allows for national broadcast partners such as ESPN, FOX, TBS, and MLB Network, and the regional sports networks for all the clubs to not feel short-changed given the lucrative amounts they pay for the right to air games.
For YouTube, the partnership allows them to differentiate themselves from other streaming services by offering top-tier live sports programming.
“Our partnership with MLB is always a highlight on the sports calendar for us and 2021 is going to be our biggest year yet,” said Tim Katz, Head of Sports and News Partnerships, YouTube. “YouTube shows up for its partners when and where they need us by offering unique in-game features to engage fans of all ages across the globe. With two successful seasons under our belts, we look forward to delivering 21 games this season to fans who have come to expect our creative presentation that is both easy to access and engaging, and we look forward to taking it to even greater heights.”
Other games early on the MLB Game Of The Week Live on YouTube broadcast slate include the Los Angeles Angels take on the Houston Astros at 8 pm ET on April 22 and the two-time defending AL Central Division champion Minnesota Twins traveling to Cleveland to take on the Indians on April 28 at 1 pm ET.