Facebook To Exclusively Live Stream Upcoming MLB Games

• Exclusive rights won by Facebook to stream 25 upcoming MLB games.
• The social media giant plans to incorporate social integration along with graphics during the matches.
• Apart from this, Facebook has also made deals to live stream sports events like soccer, table tennis, and Crossfit.

Facebook just landed a deal for exclusive streaming rights to 25 MLB (Major League Baseball) games. Now, it was expected that the social network would stream baseball games this year as they also landed a similar gig in 2017. However, last year they only got rights for 20 games, and the exclusivity factor is a big deal this time around.

In all of U.S., Facebook will be the only place where viewers will get the chance to see the upcoming MLB games that are starting from April 4, 2018. Viewers can see the games through the official MLB live Facebook portal, and there will also be some extra highlight reels as well as team-specific recaps. On top of that, the rights also allow Facebook to incorporate social integrations and graphics during the live streaming.

Image Courtesy of Marketing Land

People living outside of U.S. can also take to Facebook to see the games, but they will not be limited to Facebook as the only platform to do so. The exclusivity clause only applies to the U.S.

Taking from the turn of events, it is clear that the 2017 deal between Facebook and MLB was a big success. As mentioned, yesteryear, the social networking giant got the rights to live stream 20 MLB games every Friday night. However, this time around, the games will be during weekday afternoons, mostly on Wednesdays.

Overall, 2018 started off with a great deal in favor of Facebook. They have been eyeing the opportunity to live stream sports events for a while now. The company has lined up deals with Mexican soccer, American soccer, table tennis, and Crossfit. But certainly, Major League Baseball is the biggest deal out of the bunch. There are also reports about the social networking giant making a massive offer of $600 million to gain rights to an Indian cricket league, but FOX won that round.

Anyways, if you are an MLB fan living inside the U.S. then remember to log in to your Facebook account on April 4. The first game is set between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.