Facebook to Exclusively Stream Two Toronto Blue Jays Games
By Simon Hung
April 6, 2018April 26 update: a third Facebook-exclusive game has been added to the schedule since this article was originally published -- a 12:37 PM tilt at home on June 20 against José Bautista and the Atlanta Braves.
Toronto Blue Jays fans will have to watch at least two games in an unorthodox method this season, because the games on April 18 vs. the Kansas City Royals and May 24 vs. the Los Angeles Angels will be broadcast exclusively on Facebook, and only Facebook.
Facebook will be the only way to watch these two games, as they will not be broadcast live on television or streamed online via MLB.TV (subscribers will be able to watch the archived game afterwards). According to Sportsnet broadcaster Hazel Mae, more games could potentially be added, as MLB dictates which games will be streamed through Facebook on a month-to-month basis.
A Facebook account is required to watch and Canadians will be able to access the stream by visiting the MLB Live page on desktop or mobile browsers and through the Facebook app. The Facebook Watch video-on-demand app is not required, as it’s currently unavailable in Canada.
In March, the social network reached a deal worth approximately $35 million USD with Major League Baseball to stream 25 games this season and this development comes at an inopportune time, given the ongoing Cambridge Analytica scandal.
All Facebook-exclusive games will be weekday matinée matches and the first one was streamed earlier this week. The broadcast was met with severe backlash from fans due technical glitches and poor production quality, as the game itself was only partially displayed on the screen and accompanied by an excessively-large scoreboard and intermittent posts from social media.
There is time for Facebook to iron out the kinks before the Blue Jays games, but first impressions of the experience were not good. You can see for yourself on Wednesday, April 18 at 4:07 PM ET (vs. the Kansas City Royals) and Thursday, May 24 at 12:37 PM ET (vs. the Los Angeles Shohei Ohtani's Angels), but if you’ve already deleted your Facebook account, both games will still be available to listen live via radio.
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