MLBAM President & CEO Bob Bowman Thursday night reiterated MLB is “closer than ever” to offering in-market live game streaming and said he would “love to put this issue behind us.” Speaking at a private IdeaExchange event in Boston organized by marketing and consulting outfit SapientNitro and Fenway Sports Management, Bowman reiterated many of his comments recently to SportsBusiness Journal that progress is driven in large part by fans’ fast-increasing demand “to watch games on any device.” He said, “I know I’ve said it plenty of times before, but I do think we really are close on this." He added striking a long-elusive deal with local rightsholders such as Fox Sports and Comcast would also represent a tribute to retiring MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. “What a great and fitting going-away present for the commissioner it would be to solve this for the fans,” Bowman said. He additionally is looking forward to working with Selig’s successor, Rob Manfred, particularly with regard to pushing technological advances. “Nobody loves the game more than Bud Selig, but he has a certain way of doing things," Bowman said. "Rob might be more inclined to maybe push the envelope a little more and ask, ‘Why not?’" Of particular focus will be advancing in-venue enhancements, building on existing work on efforts such as the At The Ballpark mobile app, iBeacons and digital ticketing. “We’ve done very well online, on mobile, but in-stadium, we probably haven’t allowed technology to keep up in the same way,” Bowman said. “We didn’t even allow (most in-stadium) replays until this year. So there is still room to improve.”
