Major League Baseball’s (MLB) streaming partnership with Facebook has been hailed as a success after 123 million views were brought in during the 2018 season, according to a report from Sporting News.
The partnership, agreed in March, saw 25 games streamed exclusively on the social media giant's Watch platform in the US.
As part of the US$30 million agreement, Facebook also had the rights to stream the selected matches on a non-exclusive basis globally, with the broadcasts produced by MLB Network, the league’s dedicated television channel.
The report, which has been confirmed by Facebook, stated that the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays had seen the highest viewing figures on the social media platform, with 7.1 million people tuning in for the early-season match.
Although no agreement has yet been announced, Michael Treanor, producer of live events at MLB, told Sporting News that he was hopeful of a renewal to the deal that had initially been an viewed as an experiment.
He said: “Based upon the dialogue that I've had with those at MLB and Facebook, I'm optimistic that there will be a season two of MLB Live on Facebook Watch. The relationship between the two entities flourished and I'm hopeful that we'll begin to hear rumblings of a new contract.”
A spokesperson for Facebook added in an email to Sporting News: ‘This past season's experiment with Major League Baseball delivered some great results and key learnings.
‘It helped the league reach a younger audience and build community, and demonstrated the potential of live sports on Facebook Watch with broadcasts that enabled fans to participate in the action.’
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) streaming partnership with Facebook has been hailed as a success after 123 million views were brought in during the 2018 season, according to a report from Sporting News.
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) streaming partnership with Facebook has been hailed as a success after 123 million views were brought in during the 2018 season, according to a report from Sporting News.
The partnership, agreed in March, saw 25 games streamed exclusively on the social media giant's Watch platform in the US.
As part of the US$30 million agreement, Facebook also had the rights to stream the selected matches on a non-exclusive basis globally, with the broadcasts produced by MLB Network, the league’s dedicated television channel.
The report, which has been confirmed by Facebook, stated that the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays had seen the highest viewing figures on the social media platform, with 7.1 million people tuning in for the early-season match.
Although no agreement has yet been announced, Michael Treanor, producer of live events at MLB, told Sporting News that he was hopeful of a renewal to the deal that had initially been an viewed as an experiment.
He said: “Based upon the dialogue that I've had with those at MLB and Facebook, I'm optimistic that there will be a season two of MLB Live on Facebook Watch. The relationship between the two entities flourished and I'm hopeful that we'll begin to hear rumblings of a new contract.”
A spokesperson for Facebook added in an email to Sporting News: ‘This past season's experiment with Major League Baseball delivered some great results and key learnings.
‘It helped the league reach a younger audience and build community, and demonstrated the potential of live sports on Facebook Watch with broadcasts that enabled fans to participate in the action.’
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