YouTube is eight games into its streaming deal with MLB, and so far it "seems to have created less confusion and consternation" than the games that were streamed on Facebook Watch last season, according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. YouTube Head of Sports & News Partnerships Tim Katz said that while there has been a "'little bit of change aversion' among fans unaccustomed to watching on a stream, 'generally once people are there we've seen really positive feedback." Katz added that one key has been the "strength and reliability of the streams themselves, as well as the lack of advertising." The Youtube package of games allows MLB to experiment with streaming, while also "trying to reach new, presumably younger fans." YouTube Sports Head of Production Erin Teague said that the "dual goals of making traditional fans comfortable and attracting new ones was a key part of the planning process." She added that while it was "important to produce the game in a way that traditional fans would accept, another goal was to 'add in some cool elements on top of that' for newer ones'" (NEWSDAY, 9/4).
STRONG RETURNS: Katz said that he has been "pleased with the results of the partnership" with MLB thus far. YouTube's stream of Braves-Rockies last Monday had over 900,000 views, while Cardinals-Dodgers earlier last month had more than 1.6 million. Katz: "We're getting a lot of core fans that are watching baseball on a daily basis and we're bringing in new fans by virtue of our platform, being a little younger than television." He added, "We're also seeing a lot of fans watching from outside the U.S., and that's been really fun to see" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/4).
GET YOUR OWN: In N.Y., Andrew Marchand cites sources as saying that YouTube "tried to have" SNY's Ron Darling call today's stream of the Mets-Nationals game, but the net "said no." Instead, Al Leiter, F.P. Santangelo and Scott Braun will be in the booth for the game. SNY had "no interest in sharing one of its top analysts for a game it is being prevented from broadcasting" (N.Y. POST, 9/4).
