Blue Jays fans were confused about why Sportsnet, the team's TV rights holder, wasn't carrying the gameFACEBOOK
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred "threw some shade in the direction of Sportsnet over last week’s Facebook game controversy," according to John Lott of THE ATHLETIC. Wednesday's Blue Jays-Royals game was "available to viewers exclusively on Facebook," and many fans "were confused about why Sportsnet, the TV rights holder, was not carrying the game and/or how to gain access" to the broadcast. Manfred said that Sportsnet "did fans no favours" with its promotions. Lott noted Sportsnet had a "late response to fan concerns and radio play-by-play man Dan Shulman’s announcement the previous day that the Wednesday game would be 'radio-only.'" Manfred: “We made a distinct effort through the club (to promote the Facebook game) and frankly didn’t get a lot of help from the rights holder in terms of publicizing where that game was going to be.” Sportsnet President Scott Moore on Wednesday morning tweeted that the game "was unavailable on Sportsnet because MLB had sold the rights to Facebook." One minute before the game started, Sportsnet tweeted a "similar message but added an invitation for fans to take their complaints to MLB" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/25).
YOUTH MOVEMENT: In Phoenix, Richard Morin noted the D-backs "will have three games streaming exclusively on Facebook this season, with the first coming" tomorrow when they play the Phillies. D-backs Senior VP/Content & Communications Josh Rawitch said that the "goal of Facebook exclusivity is for MLB to reach a younger audience." Rawitch: “They are continuing to experiment with these new social-first platforms from both an audience and production perspective. We will continue to learn more with each new Facebook broadcast and are excited about the ability to reach a national audience including some of our younger fans" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/22).
