MLB reveals why it decided to broadcast on Apple TV Plus
- apr
- 13
"We have been looking for ways to increase reach for our games on a national scale. And even in the local market, the traditional linear bundle has been under pressure."
What you need to know
- MLB has revealed why it chose Apple as a streaming partner.
- Chief revenue officer Noah Garden revealed that MLB has been looking for ways to expand the reach of its games on a national scale.
- Fans were not pleased with the first offering of baseball last week.
MLB has revealed why the league chose Apple as one of its new streaming partners.
The revelation comes by way of the LA Times who spoke to chief revenue officer Noah Garden. From, the interview:
We have been looking for ways to increase reach for our games on a national scale. And even in the local market, the traditional linear bundle has been under pressure. On top of that, you've got the combination of cord-cutters and, more importantly, cord-nevers. And so the opportunity to have a partner such as Apple, who can distribute our product — in this case, doubleheaders on Friday nights — to a huge domestic but also international audience is something that appealed to us.
The other big thing for us, at least initially, is that this is free, in front of a paywall. You don't need to be a subscriber to Apple+ to access it. We're pretty excited about it.
Garden was asked about it being free for a limited time, noting that Apple had the ability to put baseball behind a paywall and "probably" would down the road. Interestingly, Garden seemed to indicate Apple had not yet made a firm decision about the move.
Questioned as to why moving to Apple was a good deal for fans, Garden said more national games would expose games to more people, hailing Apple's reach into "every single home" with its apps and products.
Garden also addressed the fragmentation of watching baseball games, stating "When you talk about a local audience that you're trying to reach, if you take some of these national games, the idea is to reach a much broader audience. That's the goal. If we didn't think that was going to be the effect, we certainly wouldn't do it. We don't want less people viewing our content."
You can read the full interview here.
Friday Night Baseball is available on Apple TV+ on all of Apple's best iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the Best TVs for Apple TV 2022.
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