YouTube's games will come during the second half of the season, and won’t be on any TV network or MLB.tvGETTY IMAGES
YouTube has struck a deal with MLB to live-stream 13 games during the '19 season worldwide, which will be "free for viewers to watch and available exclusively through YouTube in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico," marking the service's "biggest swing yet" at the sports-media business, according to Todd Spangler of VARIETY. YouTube’s "first-ever exclusive live game distribution partnership with MLB will cover games during the second half" of the regular season. The package of games "won’t be on any TV network" or MLB.tv. Financial terms of the deal "aren’t being disclosed," but YouTube’s pact is "similar to the one Facebook inked last year to carry 25 MLB games exclusively." The YouTube games "will each include pre- and post-game shows and contain MLB- and YouTube-themed content -- including incorporating popular YouTube creators (yet to be named) as part of the broadcasts" (VARIETY.com, 4/30).
MOVES & SHAKERS: TECH CRUNCH’s Sarah Perez notes MLB’s deal with YouTube “comes on the heels of March’s news that Facebook was significantly trimming the number of MLB games it would stream to just six non-exclusive games,” down from the 25 it streamed there last year. The MLB-YouTube deal also could “entice more of the streaming service subscribers to upgrade to the full MLB Network add-on, which was made available last year” alongside the news of YouTube’s World Series sponsorship (TECHCRUNCH.com, 4/30). FORTUNE’s Chris Morris writes the deal is a “big coup for YouTube,” which has been “working to drive consumer awareness to its offerings beyond funny video shorts and clips from TV shows and movies” (FORTUNE.com, 4/30). DEADLINE.com’s Dade Hayes writes it is another “notable pact in the percolating and capital-intensive area of sports rights.” Amazon, Facebook and YouTube have all “entered live sports streaming in significant ways in recent years, with speculation growing that they will end up owning a much larger slice of the sports pie over the next few years” (DEADLINE.com, 4/30).
