Fox, MLB Sign Streaming Deal

19 Nov, 2015 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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In a first, Major League Baseball and Fox Sports reportedly signed a three-year deal whereby pay-TV subscribers for the first time will be able to stream local games of their favorite teams on portable devices, including tablets.

Heretofore, fans watched their team play via pay-TV or digitally on MLB.tv — the latter valid only for out-of-market games. The Fox pact requires an authenticated pay-TV subscription and does not include streaming access via the TV.

The deal between MLB Advanced Media and Fox — tweeted Nov. 19 by — currently includes only the 15 teams covered by Fox regional sports networks (RSNs). They are: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.

The streaming status of the other 15 MLB teams remains dependent upon license agreements being ironed out separately between RSNs owned by Comcast, Root Sports, YES, DirecTV, Turner Sports, etc., and MLB.

The Fox game streams will be available through TV Everywhere platform Fox Sports Go, RSN websites and related apps. Backend technology will covered by BAM Tech, a new unit of MLB Advanced Media created this year to handle the league’s over-the-top video issues — and co-owned by team owners and the National Hockey League.

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