MLB and Fox working on a deal to reduce streaming blackouts
Major League Baseball fans rejoice, broadcasts of your local team may soon be coming to your second screen.
MLB and television rights-holder Fox are reportedly working on a deal that could see 40 percent of all their streamed games be blackout-free. As it currently stands, subscribers to MLB.TV, the league’s online game streaming service, don’t get to watch their local teams. That means, for instance, a Red Sox fan living in Boston can only watch the game on television. It has been an issue for years but is becoming even more contentious as streaming becomes more prevalent. The new agreement would reduce those local online blackouts. Maury Brown of Forbes has the details.
“According to sources, the economics of the deal between MLB and Fox are in place, but challenges remain.
Reportedly, MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) is seeking to control all the streaming of the games, while Fox also wishes to be in on the action. MLBAM, the digital media company of Major League Baseball, would offer the games on MLB.TV, which would require users to authenticate through their pay-TV provider. In essence, if MLB.TV could package the in-market games with the out-of-market games, there would be no reason for users to get these games elsewhere, such as through online services from Fox Sports. According to sources, that remains the sticking point.”
Though there may end up being an additional cost, the move would be a major boon to fans. Many television viewers are cutting their cable altogether in favor of online streaming services like Netflix. The same goes for sports fans who are flocking to streaming services like MLB.TV. But currently even a fan paying for access to a television network broadcasting their home team’s games cannot watch on a streaming service. Streaming services like MLB.TV can be used on computers, mobile devices, and even gaming consoles like a PlayStation. Why do cable networks insist on the online blackouts? Simply because of the massive amounts of money spent to secure those television broadcast rights. In 2012, Fox paid a reported $4 billion for an eight-year rights deal with MLB.
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The new report about a possible agreement comes on the heels of a New York appeals court decision to reject MLB’s antitrust exemption in a similar case about broadcast territories. Deadspin reports that MLB made several attempts to have the case thrown out to protect territorial broadcast rights.
“The fans suing MLB claim that the broadcast territories reduce competition because regional sports networks don’t have to compete with each other to broadcast games in their local markets. They also argue that MLB has monopoly power over the rights to broadcast out-of-market games and it uses that power to limit out-of-market viewing to either Extra Innings or to MLB.TV. Without these restraints, the lawsuit says, regional sports networks would compete with each other to broadcast “out-of-market” games in other parts of the country, making games both more accessible and more affordable.”
If MLB and Fox can come to an agreement to limit the number of blackouts, it would be a good PR move, and the first step in avoiding these messy lawsuits.
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Ian Denomme is an editor for Yahoo Sports. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
