Sports fans have much to cheer about this season when Facebook will live-stream select events of the Major League Baseball (MLB), starting April 4.
Though Facebook Live has come a long way since it was launched around two years ago, it is the first time a professional sports league agreeing to have regular season games distributed through the social media behemoth’s streaming platform.
Facebook Live, which was unveiled in a phased manner at a time when Twitter dominated web streaming, is set to transform itself into a virtual sports field in the coming days.
The move is believed to be a part of the company’s strategy to take live streaming of sporting events more seriously. Facebook is also planning to spend several billions of dollars on live sports licensing.
As per an agreement signed by Facebook and MLB, the oldest professional sports leagues in the U.S, the former will have exclusive rights to live stream matches in the U.S. this season.
The Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets match to be played on April 4 will be the first among the 25 matches scheduled to be streamed in the initial phase. The deal also positions Facebook ahead of its rivals — Amazon, Twitter, and Yahoo — in the race to increase sports content.
Facebook is planning to spend several billions of dollars on live sports licensing
To access the feed, to be produced by the league’s television arm MLB Network, all that users have to do is to visit the official FB page of MLB on Wednesday afternoons.
Dan Reed, head of global sports partnerships, Facebook, said, “We’re excited to extend our partnership with Major League Baseball to make Facebook Watch a home for exclusive, live games every week this season.”