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 Top: MLB.com logo. Bottom: A typical MLB.com homepage. |
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| URL | http://www.mlb.com/, http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/ |
| Type of site | Baseball |
| Owner | Major League Baseball |
| Launched | 1995 |
| Current status | Public |
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns. MLB.com is also a commercial site, providing online streaming video and streaming audio broadcasts of all Major League Baseball games to paying subscribers, as well as "gameday", a near-live streaming box score of baseball games for free. In addition, MLB.com sells official baseball merchandise, allows users to buy tickets to baseball games, runs fantasy baseball leagues (both free and paid), and runs auctions of baseball memorabilia.
MLB.com also contains the full, unabridged, official rules of the game.
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MLB.tv
MLB.tv is a subscription service which allows users to view games live, streamed through an internet browser (or MLB.tv Mosaic, see below). Currently, MLB.tv offers video in qualities of 400K, 800K and 1.2MB.[1] Currently, only Windows and Mac officially support HD-quality streams, but Linux users may manually run the Autobahn video package to receive HD-quality streams. MLB.tv also offers gameday audio, which allows users to listen to games, without blackout restrictions. Some games provide commentary in Spanish, and games may have up to four audio streams (one for the home team, one for the away, and two of the same in Spanish). Not all audio streams are available at all times.
Normal blackout restrictions apply to games, and other countries may have blackout restrictions as well (see below.)
The costs of subscription depend on the quality the user will want to view, and the timing of payment:
| MLB.tv Premium (800K or 1.2MB) | MLB.tv (400K) | Gameday Audio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $19.95 | $14.95 | Not available as a subscription |
| Yearly | $109.95 | $79.95 | $14.95 |
MLB.tv Mosaic
Mosaic is a downloadable program which provides features not available when streaming through a web browser. It is only available to subscribers of MLB.tv Premium. Live games are shown, and on-demand games are available for a period of two days previous to the current date. Major League Baseball will not use MLB.tv Mosaic for the 2009 season.
Mosaic allows you to show multiple games at once, and provides the following viewing modes:
- 6 games tiled across the screen.
- 4 games tiled across the screen.
- One main game, with 2 games tiled on the right hand side.
- One main game, with 3 games tiled on the right hand side.
- One main game (which can be made full-screen)
When set on one main game, team information is shown to the right hand side of the game, including team line-ups, the boxscore, and team statistics. Users can also view their "player tracker", which will alert the user when a player in their chosen player list is active in a game.
Blackout restrictions
MLB.com has been providing streaming video since the 2002 season[2], with only audio available before that. However, in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Guam and the US Virgin Islands, blackout restrictions apply. Games are blacked out to all users within the theoretical home television territory assigned to each team, irrespective of whether local television stations carry local games of those teams.[3], and in Japan. Contractual stipulations with Fox and ESPN respectively mean that regular season Saturday games scheduled before 1900 EST (beginning 20 May 2006) and Sunday games scheduled after 17:00 EST are blacked out throughout the United States. During the post-season, all games are blacked out in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. In all other countries and territories, no exclusivity rights have been granted and MLB.com is able to broadcast all games.
According to MLB.com, in 2008: "...all live games will be blacked out in the United States (including the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Canada."
MLB.com can check a viewer's origin by using an e-mail address's domain during registration, by using credit card billing information, or by IP address, but the inaccuracy of the ISP-based targeting used leaves many fans unable to watch games on MLB.com.[4]
MLB Gameday Audio does not have blackout restrictions.[1]
MLB.com Fantasy
MLB.com Fantasy has many games and simulations, including Beat the Streak, and MLB 2009 Fantasy Baseball. Beat the Streak is where you pick a player for each day, and if that player gets at least one hit, your streak continues. MLB 2009 Fantasy Baseball is where you can make up to five teams and choose players for the teams. Depending on how well your players do is how well you score.
History
The previous website for Major League Baseball was www.MajorLeagueBaseball.com. The domain MLB.com was originally owned by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. In September 2000, Morgan Lewis & Bokius and Major League Baseball entered into an agreement to transfer the domain to Major League Baseball. [5]
Customer service complaints
MLB.com and MLB.TV have been criticized for providing poor and disingenuous customer service. According to the Better Business Bureau:
"Consumers report to the BBB their subscriptions are automatically renewed with Major League Baseball even though they have canceled their plans within the specified cancellation period. Complaints also allege that the services purchased do not work, and consumers report being unable reach a customer service representative to correct these issues or obtain a refund.
Based on BBB files, this business has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau, because there is a pattern of complaints, and the business has not corrected the underlying reason for the complaints."[6]
In 2009, opening week games were not available as archives, and users reported limited High Definition service available. [7]
References
- ^ a b MLB.tv subcription information
- ^ "Baseball officials plan live video streaming" on c|net news
- ^ "A black(out) eye for baseball" by Jeff Passan, Yahoo! sports.
- ^ Major League Baseball Knows Where You Live!
- ^ "Business Week news item". http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_47/c3708018.htm.
- ^ New York BBB Reliability Report for MLB ADVANCED MEDIA
- ^ "Washington Post Article on MLB.TV, April 9, 2009". http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/08/AR2009040804247.html.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
