It’s been something that’s been bubbling in the background for a while now, but baseball fans will get some relief next year as FOX Sports and MLB Advanced Media have gotten past their impasse over in-market streaming. That means that the FOX Sports-owned regional sports networks that air Major League Baseball games will be available to fans in those local markets beginning in 2016. The story was first reported by theSportsBusiness Daily.
Up until the impasse was broken with FOX Sports, MLB Advanced Media had held firm that they, as well as other carriers, would be the option to stream games. MLBAM had cited quality concerns as the reason they wanted to be a delivery platform, while FOX had concerns over sharing of customer data. The impasse was broken when it came to where the video streams will originate.
According to the SBD story, authentication will be on FOX Sports’ end, which will allow users to access games through FOX Sports Go and distributors web sites and apps. In turn, BAM
Tech will be the vendor to supply the video streams.
While FOX Sports is not the exclusive RSN of the league’s 30 clubs, it does represent 15 of them, and with it, the majority of the league will see games available in-market via computer and mobile devices for the first time. The Toronto Blue Jays have already had this option available to them in Canada.
