Right now Major League Baseball (MLB) is in talks with Comcast, AT&T, NESN, and FOX to renew their streaming deals. According to reports one of the main points the two sides are fighting over is the ability for MLB to stream local games in the local markets. Currently, streaming is only available with authentication from a pay-TV service or out of market through MLB.TV. Now it is being reported that MLB is pushing forward with a possible standalone offering likely through MLB.TV without the need for pay-TV services according to Sports Business Journal.
If MLB is successful in getting streaming rights for in-market games without the need for a traditional pay-TV service it would make MLB one of the most cord cutting friendly sports in the United States. This would mean a single subscription to a service like MLB.TV would give you in and out of market games removing any need for a pay-TV subscription.
For now, talks are still underway but time is running out as they need a deal in place before the start of 2019 that gets underway in just a few months. As you would expect executives at FOX, Comcast, AT&T, and more are all pushing back as MLB is asking for a price hike, longer streaming contracts, and the possible in-market streaming without a pay-TV provide. If MLB is successful with these talks it could open the floodgates for other sports to start selling directly to their fans.
So would you pay a premium price for in-market streaming that gives you every MLB in and out of market game? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
We will be keeping a close eye on these talks and will post updates as we learn more.
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