Peacock To Air MLB Games On Sunday

[Wingack]

View: https://twitter.com/BizballMaury/status/1511808202991497218?s=20&t=GdRsxbnVrmk_0UqJAogMnw


View: https://twitter.com/BizballMaury/status/1511810955067330562?s=20&t=GdRsxbnVrmk_0UqJAogMnw


Between AppleTV on Friday nights and Peacock on Sundays, MLB really going all in on streaming.

 

[GB5]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

 

[Ale Xander]

Is this free Peacock or Peacock plus?

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Is this free Peacock or Peacock plus?

Tweet says "exclusively on Peacock premium service." That implies it ain't free.

 

[Manramsclan]

Somehow MLB managed to alienate cable subscribers, MLBTV subscribers and cord cutters.

Truly a remarkable feat.

The idea that this is putting the game in front of new audiences is ridiculous. If it were amazon prime or Hulu, I would still hate it, but from a business perspective it would make some sense. Who has Peacock premium? If I am a cable subscriber, now I also have to subscribe to Peacock premium even though I pay through the nose to get those extra sports channels? I paid for MLBTV for only a portion of the games?

I think this is a huge misstep, especially on the weekends. Fox baseball was annoying and occasionally you would miss games due to the local affiliates selection based on geography but now people are going to miss a Sunday game because they have to pay for a subscription service? Lame.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

I almost made a post saying “I can’t understand how the MLB thinks this will grow the sport.” And then I realized they just want to cash that NBC check.

Making games less accessible to people is one of the biggest blunders of this move to streaming. Some dummy in the MLB is thinking “well everyone watches Netflix so why can’t they watch games!” Just brutal if you ask me and worthy of making a fuss over.

Luckily, if you’re a platinum card holder, peacock is one of the services you can use for a $20/mo credit.

 

[cromulence]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

 

[Van Everyman]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

I love the Patriots Day game but this is like NH voters bemoaning being the first primary.

Instead, let's ramp up the outrage at not being able to see these games for free.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

Exactly. Don't take the broadcast away from the local outlets either. Losing a NESN (or whatever the local RSN is) game to Fox or ESPN is one thing, since if you have NESN you should have the other two already. But losing it to a streaming service that you have to pay extra for, assuming you even have streaming capabilities in the first place, is alienating your current fanbase in pursuit of new fans. It's dumb.

 

[canderson]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

This is on my for TV customers fwiw. If you’re internet only (meeeeee) no such luck.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Great, the one time a national broadcaster doesn't completely ignore Cleveland… there are three Guardians games I'd normally watch and now can't. At least they're hosting teams from different time zones in all three, so maybe there can at least be an advantage in the 11:30 start time. In fact, it appears there are only 5 games where both teams play in the eastern time zone.

 

[sibpin]

Yes, this definitely seems like a move to get new viewers at the expense of diehards. MLB will get great advertising space on streaming service selection screens to get the eyeballs of uninvested viewers to watch their games for free. This is the national games strategy of the past, the modern-day equivalent to ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and a paid Fox Game of the Week that leads to those networks airing commercials for baseball all week long.

Apple has already been advertising MLB in a premium spot next to the Best Picture winner:



If you're annoyed about not being able to watch 1 out of 162 games or 18 out of 2,430... you are not the people MLB needs to grow the game, and they will happily ignore your gripes about shrinkflation (just like ice cream and cereal makers do). You are, however, the people that Comcast needs to grow Peacock, especially if you've got the disposable income to pay for NESN/cable or MLB.TV.

 

[jon abbey]

Yeah, this has zero to do with 'growing the game' or getting new fans, it is all about MLB taking the money and streaming services trying to get more paying customers. I find it hard to believe that anyone is going to stumble onto MLB for the first time because it is on Peacock and become a fan after that, NBC wants people who are already baseball fans to sign up so they don't miss any of their team's games.

 

[cornwalls@6]

Yeah, this seems like a short sighted move, and the dumbest way to make use of streaming. Sox fans aren’t being denied a game because of the NBC simulcast, but I’d be pissed if I were a fan of any of the other teams/games. Especially a Sunday game, which I particularly enjoy digging in on. They remain clueless as far as how to market and grow their product.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

A cash grab for MLB and nothing else. I don’t think this moves the needle much for NBC at all; sure they will get some people in to sample the service but even the most diehard baseball fan is going to be skeptical about ponying up for a relatively mediocre slate of games that are in the morning on sundays in the summer. Meh.

But this is the game now. For anyone who ever complained about cable, now you need a bunch of different services to get less than you had before.

 

[the1andonly3003]

so who will be the Peacock announcers? Will they roll out Ahmed Fareed? Will they cross promote EPL-WWE-MLB on Peacock?

 

[LogansDad]

We are going to need a dedicated thread just so people can figure out what service provider has the games people want to watch.

 

[B H Kim]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

It’s been gone for a while. The Nationals have been playing morning games on July 4 for ten years now.

 

[lars10]

Yeah, this has zero to do with 'growing the game' or getting new fans, it is all about MLB taking the money and streaming services trying to get more paying customers. I find it hard to believe that anyone is going to stumble onto MLB for the first time because it is on Peacock and become a fan after that, NBC wants people who are already baseball fans to sign up so they don't miss any of their team's games.

especially because of how bad Peacock's service is. They've been taking the best EPL games and have been putting them no Peacock and it is regularly an awful viewing experience. Why they would want to put their best EPL games on an inferior product is beyond me...and now their Sunday games when it would seem they would have the bulk share of potential viewers.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Why?

Cash money.

goal is to put all product on premium services and hope the technology keeps up. And hope the fans continue to pay up..

 

[Senator Donut]

“Sunday Leadoff” is moving from Peacock to The Roku Channel. The games will be free to all viewers, no login needed. However, the Roku television app is not supported by a lot of streaming hardware, such as Apple TV.

Press Release
https://newsroom.roku.com/news/2024/05/roku-lands-exclusive-rights-to-major-league-baseball-sunday-leadoff/tetn-dag-1715620860

How to Watch
https://www.mlb.com/news/how-to-watch-roku-mlb-sunday-leadoff

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Wonderful. Looks like I'm not watching on Sunday mostly because I'll be explaining to my Mom that her TV* doesn't get Roku and there's no way to watch it on NESN.

* My TV doesn't get Roku either and I'm not going to watch the game on my laptop or mirror it to my TV. I could, but I'm not going to.

 

[canderson]

The difficulty (or impossibility) to watch sports continues to deepen.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

The difficulty (or impossibility) to watch sports continues to deepen.

I understand why they're doing this (rhymes with honey) but why would you want your viewers to jump through hoops to watch a game? It's mind boggling to me.

 

[Yelling At Clouds]

I understand why they're doing this (rhymes with honey) but why would you want your viewers to jump through hoops to watch a game? It's mind boggling to me.

I dunno. In the “ticket prices” thread we have a bunch of people talking about how the rise of cord-cutters has likely resulted in fewer eyeballs on MLB games, particularly among young people. Isn’t partnering with a streamer (or several) exactly what they should be doing? I know for me personally, the Peacock games were among the few I actually could watch from home. Now, it’s fair to question whether Roku is the right choice to stream games; I think this probably means they didn’t do so well on Peacock.

EDIT: the first results I got on Google say there are 57.3 million cable subscribers and 81.6 million Roku users. Probably not accurate, but that’s what I found.

 

[AlNipper49]

I'd rather use a $30 one time cost of a Roku than a monthly subscription to Peacock personally. Though finding stuff is just an epic pain and there is zero doubt I'll forget they're on Roku.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I dunno. In the “ticket prices” thread we have a bunch of people talking about how the rise of cord-cutters has likely resulted in fewer eyeballs on MLB games, particularly among young people. Isn’t partnering with a streamer (or several) exactly what they should be doing? I know for me personally, the Peacock games were among the few I actually could watch from home. Now, it’s fair to question whether Roku is the right choice to stream games; I think this probably means they didn’t do so well on Peacock.

EDIT: the first results I got on Google say there are 57.3 million cable subscribers and 81.6 million Roku users. Probably not accurate, but that’s what I found.

The biggest pain in the ass for me is that I use an Xbox on one TV to stream stuff through and Apple TV on the others. I know Apple TV doesn’t have Roku and I’m pretty sure Xbox doesn’t either. I tried watching the Weird Al movie a few months ago and got really frustrated trying to find it.

I don’t watch TV like a majority of other people. I still have cable and I like clicking around. Especially with sports. Sometimes games can get boring so I like the ability to click to another channel to see if there’s something cool on and then flick back when I get bored of that.

I don’t think people consume TV like that anymore so I’m the one that’s going to have to change (pun!) but I don’t really want to.

 

[Ale Xander]

I actually like the news. F the 'cock.

 

[patinorange]

So, this game won't be on my $25 a month subscription of MLB.tv.? I got suckered into getting Apple TV for the occasional Friday night game, now this.
Rip off. MLB.tv should reimburse me some money.

 

[Senator Donut]

So, this game won't be on my $25 a month subscription of MLB.tv.? I got suckered into getting Apple TV for the occasional Friday night game, now this.
Rip off. MLB.tv should reimburse me some money.

Roku games are still on MLB.tv according to the press release

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

EDIT: the first results I got on Google say there are 57.3 million cable subscribers and 81.6 million Roku users. Probably not accurate, but that’s what I found.

81.6 million Roku users probably doesn't necessarily translate to 81.6 million Roku channel users. I've had Roku TVs for at least the last five years and I'm not sure I've ever opened the Roku app. Maybe accidentally once or twice because I inadvertently clicked an ad on the main menu. I may have even deleted it just to prevent further accidental clicks.

I don’t watch TV like a majority of other people. I still have cable and I like clicking around. Especially with sports. Sometimes games can get boring so I like the ability to click to another channel to see if there’s something cool on and then flick back when I get bored of that.

I don’t think people consume TV like that anymore so I’m the one that’s going to have to change (pun!) but I don’t really want to.

I'm in the same boat. I channel surf between innings. Not being able to do that sucks.

 

[patinorange]

Roku games are still on MLB.tv according to the press release

Excellent. Thanks

 

[NextBigThing8184]

Wonderful. Looks like I'm not watching on Sunday mostly because I'll be explaining to my Mom that her TV* doesn't get Roku and there's no way to watch it on NESN.

* My TV doesn't get Roku either and I'm not going to watch the game on my laptop or mirror it to my TV. I could, but I'm not going to.

a roku stick is $20-30

I get it’s the principle of the thing, but it’s really not too much more effort to click a few buttons to buy the bottom end Roku stick and plug it into your hdmi port than it is to sign up for peacock (or whatever). It’s a one time effort of maybe 3 minutes and less money over the long run than it would cost to subscribe to a streaming servive

given the ubiquity of smart TV’s and the ease and low cost of acquiring a standalone stick with a few clicks on Amazon if you don’t have a smart TV capable of the Roku app, this seems to be a good move given the games are “free” (free once you have Roku).