MLB Responds To Fox

(by Staci D Kramer @ paidContent.org) Yesterday, Fox cable head Tony Vinciquerra expressed his frustration with MLB’s plans to deliver mobilecasts of games produced by Fox and other broadcast/cable partners. Not surprisingly, the people at Major League Baseball have a different spin on reusing Fox game coverage on non-broadcast/cable platforms. As MLBAM’s George Kliavkoff said via phone this morning (doing an interview in San Francisco’s Union Square on a great day is a unique pleasure): “We’re going out of our way to comply with our broadcast partners’ rights. We consider Fox a very important partner.”
Among Kliavkoff’s points:
— MLB has the contractural rights to re-use Fox national and RSN games. He confirmed that MLB also has the right to produce their own video of games and distribute that production to non-broadcast/cable platforms, something to keep in mind.
— MLB is committed to protecting home-field advantage for its partners, hence the delay in mobile live games until geo-location is firmly in place.
— MLB is “constantly talking to all of the RSNs about using the RSN feeds for internet and wireless.”
— Regarding ratings, which Fox cable head Tony Vinciquerra never mentioned during our conversation Tuesday, Kliavkoff sees online and mobile as “additive” — not replacements for the 42-inch-screen living room experience — and an extension of the viewer’s connection with the network. (Of course, it’s possible that people who feel tethered to the set for certain games might break free if they can follow live on a portable device.)
— Currently, MLB’s stream includes Fox ads but could go to ad replacement at some point. I would guess that could be part of the Fox-MLB discussion.

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