Wow, sports used to be the only thing you’d turn on the TV for. Times sure change.
If you’re anything like my dad, then the only thing that’ll get you to close Netflix and turn the cable box back on is the baseball game (or a rerun of The American President, but that’s neither here nor there). Though livestreaming entertainment has taken some big strides recently, it can still be a little tricky to get your favorite sports anywhere but a standard cable package. It seems, however, that even that is coming to an end.
YouTube signed a deal with Major League Baseball a couple of days ago to stream 13 MLB games via YouTube TV over the latter half of the season. They’ll be available on YouTube’s main page, as well as a dedicated channel coming soon to YouTube TV. YouTube will maintain exclusive streaming rights to these games in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, though that’s only as far as third party services go. You can still watch these games on MLB’s on streaming service, MLB.TV, or, I guess, on cable. Though, the content will be partially tailored to YouTube, featuring special pre- and post-game shows that will, allegedly, feature appearances from notable sporting YouTubers (though who exactly has not been disclosed).
Even if 13 games isn’t a huge offering, it does represent a big step for streaming. As more shows of varying types consolidate on streaming platforms, it’ll become more convenient to use them exclusively and cut the cable.
