Facebook in line for weekly MLB match live streams
Facebook is on course to ramp up its live stream offer by airing one Major League Baseball match every week over the course of a season as the social network looks to draw sports fans to the service with a regular weekly broadcast.
The deal struck for the upcoming MLB season vindicates Facebook’s strategy to convince sports rights holders to take the medium seriously and will tread on the toes of rival Twitter which has also been angling for this sector.
Sports are uniquely attractive to live streaming portals as they are one of a dwindling band of formats which people still choose to watch live, with Facebook now at the vanguard, having already streamed Mexican soccer matches in English as well as basketball, football and table tennis games.
Twitter hasn’t been completely left behind however with the micro-blogging service striking up a prized deal with the National Football League.
Neither Facebook nor the MLB commented on the deal but reports in Reuters suggest that talks are ‘advanced’.