Awful Announcing
The MLB lockout is a little more complicated than "Reports: MLB Proposes Return to Work, MLBPA Balks," but that's the headline NBC Sports Chicago went with. And that drew them a lot of criticism.
Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported that Apple and MLB have had "significant" talks, but it's unclear just how many games are under discussion, if there would be exclusivity or not, and more. We'll see where this goes.
MLB.tv has grown a lot over its 19 years of existence, and MLB chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak told AA many more changes are ahead.
"I would have lost a lot of money right now playing in the game. Back in my era, we were taught to lead with the front of your helmet. That’s helmet to helmet. We didn’t even think about concussions back then."
"MLB responded by requesting an equity stake in any planned streaming service that featured MLB games, 'a new wrinkle that complicated matters too much to complete on time.'"
Miller will provide play-by-play, with Krukow, Kruk and Rollins as analysts.
ESPN is indeed going to a smaller MLB package of only exclusive games.
"What we’re trying to do now is work with those RSNs to figure out what type of structure would make sense for an over-the-top product that may not require authentication."
As per a MLB release, the 2021 season so far has marked the most-watched 18-day period in the history of MLB.tv.
This new extension will allow streaming-only SiriusXM subscribers to listen to live games.
If MLB had made this stipend publicly available a few months earlier, that might have created a much smoother transition from the in-game coordinator program.
The end of MLB's "in-game coordinator" program appears to mean big changes for many team social media accounts.
"I think that’s a good thing. It recognizes guys who played way back. I’m talking a lot of good ballplayers. These are just numbers now. There’s more to it. They were never part of the league."
