Major League Baseball and YouTube announced an expanded partnership for the 2018 season that will bring exclusive content to the cable-free, live TV service, YouTube TV.
This comes along with news of MLB and Facebook announcing a similar partnership that will grant the social media network rights to live stream 25 games during the upcoming season.
With the renewed partnership, YouTube TV will also serve as the presenting sponsor the 2018 and 2019 World Series. Furthermore, MLB Network was added to the YouTube TV programming block, and members of the subscription service will also have an opportunity to attach MLB.tv for an extra fee.
“YouTube brought tremendous creativity, marketing energy and innovation to the most exciting part of our year,” said MLB executive vice president of commerce, Noah Garden, in a released statement.
“Their engagement with our young fans, rising stars and Clubs showed that YouTube TV is a natural partner for our sport and we’re proud to build on this groundbreaking relationship. And with the addition of MLB Network and the upcoming launch of MLB.tv on the platform, our fans’ options to consume baseball continue to grow.”
MLB teamed up with YouTube for the 2017 World Series, which delivered exclusive content online, including television ads with live footage of games. The massive success led to both parties extending their Fall Classic partnership for an additional two years.
YouTube TV launched in April 2017 to provide an alternative to the traditional cable subscription. The service will eventually expand to the top 100 markets, covering over 85% of U.S. households in the process.
