ESPN to buy MLB.tv
- Thread starter DesotoCountyDawg
- Start date
My sense was that espn was doing their best to get out of the mlb business.
Maybe they can work with mlb to stop the ridiculous blackout rules.
Am I the only one that feels like ESPN made a decision about 15-20 years ago to promote other sports besides baseball and allow the MLB Network to have a starting runway? And now they are buying that runway that was created by their ****** decision back in the mid-2000s?
As a kid the 90s, I didn’t miss a sports center so I could catch all the baseball highlights. They just stopped serving that segment of their customer base when they went all in on basketball and politics.
As a kid the 90s, I didn’t miss a sports center so I could catch all the baseball highlights. They just stopped serving that segment of their customer base when they went all in on basketball and politics.
The Homerun Derby brings in about 6 million viewers each year. It’s one of the most watched events in baseball.
That is insane. I cannot believe anyone would watch that.
Saw that NBC will now be able to have year round Sunday night sports in prime time since they now have those rights for NFL, NBA, and MLB
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I mean… I like it. It’s a fun, family friendly event that can keep my wife and kids’ attention. On top of the Home Run Derby, the MLB All Star game itself gets something like 7-8 Million viewers.
For comparison, the NBA All Star game draws about 5-6 Million viewers and the Pro Bowl brings in 4-6 Million viewers. The NHL All Star game drew about 1-2 Million viewers by the time they axed it. They replaced it with the “4 Nations Tournament” this year and cancelled the 2026 All Star game.
The All Star game (really, the whole weekend) is one area where MLB outpaces the rest of the sports world.
When ever I read any of these type of numbers I have to remind myself how big the US (and for that matter, the world) is and the obvious variety of interests that I don't share. For as long as "cable TV" has been around I've never understood how there can be that many channels and stay in business. Now add on podcasts, influences, OF, etc. stuff and it's mindboggling.
I've been a super casual observer of the HRD for the past 20 years but only because it's on ESPN when I'm surfing for some sports mid summer. It will be interesting what moving to Netflix does but seems I've seen my last.
Not a bad strategy, I'll certainly be watching given the general dearth of college sports on Sunday night.
From an fan whose team is out of market, MLB.tv is nearly perfect. I really hope ESPN recognizes and maintains that.
Other than blackouts. 17 blackouts.
Other than blackouts. 17 blackouts.
The blackouts suck. They are excessive.
If you want to make the argument that Memphis is in the St. Louis market, ok. But Atlanta and friggin Cincinnati too?
If you're a Cubs fan in Memphis and want to watch them play the Cardinals, you have to watch the Cardinals broadcast.
As a fan, you should be able to watch any broadcast of any game. It's not the 80s anymore.
Hardly anyone uses Apple TV devices compared to the rest of the market. The majority of the TV streaming market do not want to lock into Apple's closed ecosystem, which also happens to be the most expensive. The Apple TV+ app is available on other streaming devices but it has pitiful numbers compared to ESPN, Netflix, etc.
Apple was good with Jobs making the iPhone and each year it seems Apple seems to lose the edge. Kind of like Bama lately lol.
Some interesting things pop out to me on these charts:
1. Apple TV+ is ahead of Paramount+ and (assumedly) Peacock since it’s not shown on here. I also don’t see ESPN+ on this chart, so I assume it’s higher than that too.
2. Apple being that close to FireTV is actually kind of surprising considering that there’s not an Apple integrated television and the price point on Apple TV devices is so much higher.
Also, I’m not sure what you mean by Apple’s “closed ecosystem” when it comes to streaming. I have Apple TV+ apps on my Samsung TV, my XBox, my Roku, my LG TV, and even an old Amazon Firestick, so it’s as available as any other streaming service. Also, all of those streaming services listed are available on my Apple devices (iPhone & iPad). So, Apple TV+ as a service very much lives outside the Apple ecosystem.
That being said, you’re not the first person I’ve seen mention the low market share of Apple TV+. I recently saw a stat showing that NWSL games this year are routinely bringing in more viewers than MLS games. The counter-argument to that was that MLS viewership dropped considerably when they moved to Apple TV+ and the Season Pass package. I get both as part of my T-Mobile plan, so I’m good.
Which brings me to my final point… the content for Apple TV+ is lacking. They’ve had some really good shows, but I think a chunk of their subscriber base comes for Ted Lasso then doesn’t stick around for their other content. At least, that’s what we did before T-Mobile started giving it away. I don’t think 1 weekly baseball game, men’s pro soccer, and a few prestige dramas/dramedies isn’t enough to keep the general public’s interest.
A critical aspect in all this is that Disney, ABC, etc own ESPN...
ETA - aren't monopolies something we do not want?
ETA - aren't monopolies something we do not want?
I mean… we don’t want monopolies, but it’s tough to call Disney a monopoly when so many other media conglomerates exist like Paramount Skydance, WBD, Fox, and NBC Universal off the top of my head. That’s just legacy media. You could make the argument that Netflix, Apple, and Amazon are all competition too.
True, but I was told by a music insider that the reason why music sucks so badly now is that there are about five producers that make everything. But of course, I'm just an old guy griping about the state of entertainment... I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about.