MLB game producer Michael Treanor said he is "optimistic" the league and Facebook will again stream select games on Facebook Watch next season after initial success this year, according to Dan Bernstein of SPORTING NEWS. Twenty-six regular season games streamed on Facebook Watch this season, and the league viewed it "as a success," despite some criticism "lobbed primarily from fans on social media." Treanor: "The relationship between the two entities flourished and I'm hopeful that we'll begin to hear rumblings of a new contract." Bernstein noted MLB games on Facebook "received 123 million views (defined as a person having the video open for at least three seconds)." The early-season broadcast of a Royals-Blue Jays game "earned the most views -- 7.1 million -- on the platform." An MLB spokesperson said that the average viewer age for the Facebook broadcasts was "close to 20 years younger than average viewer age on traditional TV." Treanor said that from a business standpoint, positive viewership metrics "outweighed the fan and media criticism." He believes that people became "more accustomed to the broadcasts as the season went on." Bernstein noted the exclusive Facebook broadcasts "approached viewers differently than typical TV productions." Broadcasters "fielded comments and questions from Facebook viewers, often relaying those inquiries to managers and players during in-game interviews." The lack of commercials "required them to fill additional airtime." Strategic moments such as bunts and pitching changes "sparked passionate discussions between announcers and members of the comment section" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/3).
