Jul 25, 2016
Canadians shut out as Twitter reaches deal to livestream hockey, baseball games
, The Globe and Mail
Twitter Inc. has struck a deal to livestream weekly baseball and hockey games in partnership with Major League Baseball’s digital technology arm, but access will once again be limited for Canadians.
The pact announced Monday lets the social networking company stream MLB and National Hockey League contests once a week, and to create a nightly highlights show covering multiple sports. But because of exclusive rights agreements with Canadian broadcasters, notably Rogers Communications Inc., NHL games and Blue Jays games won’t be streamed in Canada. Canadian users will, however, be able to stream out-of-market baseball games.
Twitter’s agreement with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) greatly expands the social network’s nascent experiment in bringing live, televised sports online. The company known for its 140-character messaging already struck an agreement to livestream 10 National Football League games on Thursday nights during the forthcoming season – though those, too, will be unavailable in Canada because Rogers holds the exclusive TV rights.
Even so, this latest deal to open up streaming access to prized sports broadcasts further weakens traditional TV’s grip on the lucrative live sports market, which has been a bastion of stability for cable and satellite providers under threat from new online rivals such as Netflix Inc. and changing technology, including digital video recorders.
Meanwhile, Twitter is searching for ways to broaden its appeal and reach new users, promising professional sports leagues that it can help reach a younger generation of fans who are more likely to cut the cord on traditional TV. The social network has struggled of late, as growth in its user base has slowed to a crawl, and it risks being left behind as rivals such as Facebook and Snapchat continue to expand.
“Twitter is the fastest way to see what's unfolding in MLB and the NHL,” Anthony Noto, Twitter’s chief financial officer, said in a statement. The agreement with MLBAM aims to give “our audience the live sports events they are already talking about on one screen on Twitter.”
A spokesperson for Twitter Canada confirmed the NHL portion of the deal will not be available in Canada, and that Canadian users will not have access to any Blue Jays games streamed on Twitter, nor will they be able to see The Rally, the nightly highlight show produced by 120 Sports, a company that makes sports content for online streaming.
Even U.S. users will be able to see only out-of-market games in an effort to protect local broadcast rights, similar to the local blackouts sometimes employed on TV. But the live streams will be available to Twitter users whether or not they are logged into the service in most countries worldwide, which is crucial for sports leagues looking to expand their fan bases outside North America.
In recent years, MLBAM has emerged as a pioneer in streaming sports, operating the websites for MLB and its 30 teams and streaming live online video and audio for most games. Last year, the NHL struck a six-year deal to have MLBAM take over its digital operations, including operating its GameCentre Live streaming service. And late last month, Walt Disney Co. bought a one-third stake in MLBAM that valued the business at a reported $3.5-billion (U.S).
