MLB Rolling Out Second iBeacon Phase At All-Star Game, At Bat Updated With Live Streams

MacRumors · Jul 10, 2014

Earlier this year, Major League Baseball began installing thousands of iBeacons in ballparks around the country, putting dozens of the beacons in stadiums in Boston, Milwaukee, San Diego, and San Francisco, and more.

Considered to be one of the largest iBeacon rollouts in the world, the initial plan saw the beacons used in conjunction with the At the Ballpark app. Thus far, the iBeacons have been used in some cases to check fans in to stadiums and to send notifications and offers, but beacon usage is still in the early stages.

Major League Baseball is now entering its second phase of development with iBeacons, according to TechCrunch, and is planning to debut a special project at the 2014 All-Star Game at Target Field. Target Field will use iBeacons to provide content and interactive features to in-park exhibits.

With the introduction of interactive ballpark attractions at Target Field for the All-Star Game, MLBAM will debut its second phase of iBeacon technology at MLB ballparks. Fans attending All-Star events at Target Field with At the Ballpark on their iPhone (iOS 7 required) will be able to use iBeacon when visiting these attractions, offering a unique mobile perspective through original content automatically delivered to their iPhone. The locations in Target Field are: The Golden Glove; Twins Digital Clubhouse; 2 Gingers Pub; Target Field Ballpark Model; 573 and Herb Carneal Pressbox; Kirby Puckett Atrium; Rod Carew Atrium; The Townball Tavern; and Target Plaza.

MLB has expressed a desire to expand iBeacons to be able to provide point of interest information, concessions, in-stadium directions, loyalty and rewards programs, shopping, and more, with individual teams having significant input and control over what fans will see. It appears that Target Field will be the first major experiment with interactive iBeacon features.

MLB has also introduced new updates to its At Bat and At the Ballpark apps, with At Bat gaining live streams of the All-Star Game (which will require an MLB.TV Premium subscription), the All-Star Futures Game, and the Home Run Derby.

MLB At Bat is a free download from the App Store for iPhone and iPad, but requires a subscription of $2.99/month or $9.99/year. [Direct Link]

MLB At the Ballpark is also a free download from the App Store for the iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Article Link: MLB Rolling Out Second iBeacon Phase At All-Star Game, At Bat Updated With Live Streams

TEG · Jul 10, 2014

At Bat only requires a subscription to listen to the Radio Broadcasts, or an additional subscription for Live Video. All other aspects are free.

larrylaffer · Jul 10, 2014

TEG said:
At Bat only requires a subscription to listen to the Radio Broadcasts, or an additional subscription for Live Video. All other aspects are free.

Do you get highlights for free though? I have a full MLB.TV account so I'm not sure what free users get.

I know with the NHL you have to pay for highlights. I think it's the same with NBA as well.

TWSS37 · Jul 10, 2014

Does anyone use iBeacons? Seriously, not just theoretically?

Chupa Chupa · Jul 10, 2014

larrylaffer said:
Do you get highlights for free though? I have a full MLB.TV account so I'm not sure what free users get.

I know with the NHL you have to pay for highlights. I think it's the same with NBA as well.

If you have premium MLB.TV then you can watch all games live except teams "in market" where you are watching. You just have to log in to your MLB acct via the At Bat app.

The Barron · Jul 10, 2014

In One Word

twss37 said:
does anyone use ibeacons? Seriously, not just theoretically?

no

macduke · Jul 10, 2014

Now if only the NFL would get their head out of their

Chupa Chupa · Jul 10, 2014

macduke said:
Now if only the NFL would get their head out of their

...contracts?

NFL is making billions by licensing out mobile and live out of market feeds to Verizon and DirecTV. Don't expect anything to change. It's one stop selling for the NFL, much easier than having to sell subscriptions one by one. I'm sure if MLB could get that kind of $ they'd do it to.

Frisco · Jul 10, 2014

Does anyone actually watch the most boring sport in the World?

69Mustang · Jul 10, 2014

Chupa Chupa said:
...contracts?

NFL is making billions by licensing out mobile and live out of market feeds to Verizon and DirecTV. Don't expect anything to change. It's one stop selling for the NFL, much easier than having to sell subscriptions one by one. I'm sure if MLB could get that kind of $ they'd do it to.

100% this. The NFL is pretty much a license to print money.

As for iBeacons

Apple needs to come up with some compelling use or I have a feeling they will go the way of the dodo.

chrisbru · Jul 10, 2014

Frisco said:
Does anyone actually watch the most boring sport in the World?

Soccer? Yeah, millions of people have been watching during this year's world cup.

Or did you mean WNBA?

If you mean baseball, kindly show yourself the door and don't let it hit your ass on the way out. Baseball is the best sport in the world.

cerote · Jul 10, 2014

I seem more interested into the Beer Vending machines they put into the stadium in time for the All star game.

usersince86 · Jul 10, 2014

$10 a year for the audio of ALL MLB games is a steal that Billy Hamilton would be proud of.

larrylaffer · Jul 10, 2014

Chupa Chupa said:
If you have premium MLB.TV then you can watch all games live except teams "in market" where you are watching. You just have to log in to your MLB acct via the At Bat app.

I'm aware of that. What I'm asking is if users that don't have any kind of paid account can see game highlights.

rdlink · Jul 10, 2014

larrylaffer said:
I'm aware of that. What I'm asking is if users that don't have any kind of paid account can see game highlights.

Yes, you can see highlights even if you don't have an MLB Premium subscription. I let mine lapse this year, and I am able to watch highlights. They also give a free "game of the day" every day, so you can watch that even if you don't have Premium.

----------

usersince86 said:
$10 a year for the audio of ALL MLB games is a steal that Billy Hamilton would be proud of.

I have a different viewpoint on that. Given what MLB already makes from TV rights, etc., and the fact that the radio broadcasts are free over the air they should make it part of the free app.

----------

Scratch my last statement. Apparently the Game of the Day is now part of a revenue subscription package. Greedy a**es!

larrylaffer · Jul 10, 2014

rdlink said:
I have a different viewpoint on that. Given what MLB already makes from TV rights, etc., and the fact that the radio broadcasts are free over the air they should make it part of the free app.

Sure that's true, but nobody lives in a place where all radio broadcasts are available. That's a big advantage over what's available FTA. Plus, the quality is much better than AM radio, which many teams are on. Not to mention the fact that a lot of teams still have some games FTA on TV, but you have to pay for that on MLB.TV too.

IJ Reilly · Jul 10, 2014

rdlink said:
I have a different viewpoint on that. Given what MLB already makes from TV rights, etc., and the fact that the radio broadcasts are free over the air they should make it part of the free app.

What the traffic will bear.

And a steal that Dee Gordon would be proud out. Really!

rdlink · Jul 11, 2014

IJ Reilly said:
What the traffic will bear.

I get it. Market driven, and all. But that's why they're not getting my $10. I refuse to encourage their greed. Then again, I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth where MLB media is concerned. Spent $130 a year on MLB Premium for several years when I lived in other parts of the country, so I could watch my home team's games. But the product sucked quite a bit, and even though it was proven and obvious that the issues were on their end their tech people constantly only replied that users needed to check their own settings. Then don't even get me started on the fact that they pushed those stupid MLB gear and Umpire school commercials on us for a paid product.

IJ Reilly said:
And a steal that Dee Gordon would be proud out. Really!

The only guy in MLB who can sometimes steal first base.

4jasontv · Jul 11, 2014

I have an antenna, but I don't pay for cable, because none of the cable providers will run a wire to my place. (I don't live in the middle of nowhere, its just a new community that requires underground wires, and no wants to pay to lay it.) This means that my local team is not available to me, because games don't air on a local broadcast network, they air on a dedicated cable network. I live almost two hours from the stadium, and so seeing games in person would be difficult.

I can't watch baseball without MLB.tv, and even with it I can't see my home team.

It's all very frustrating. I use the MLB app because it's one of the best sports app, but I really wish there was a way to voice my frustration to someone who would care.

iBeacons at the park could be cool. Here is what I would want:
1. Order and pay for food and beer that is delivered to my seat.
2. Queue times for the restrooms.
3. Ability to transfer paper tickets to eTickets.
4. Live streams while in the park.
5. A place to plug my phone in. I have been to games that are over 5 hours long.

IJ Reilly · Jul 11, 2014

rdlink said:
I get it. Market driven, and all. But that's why they're not getting my $10. I refuse to encourage their greed. Then again, I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth where MLB media is concerned. Spent $130 a year on MLB Premium for several years when I lived in other parts of the country, so I could watch my home team's games. But the product sucked quite a bit, and even though it was proven and obvious that the issues were on their end their tech people constantly only replied that users needed to check their own settings. Then don't even get me started on the fact that they pushed those stupid MLB gear and Umpire school commercials on us for a paid product.

From what I am seeing, MLB is weak on tech overall. The web sites for MLB and the teams are poorly organized. The Dodgers moved our season tickets to "paperless" this season, meaning really that it's our paper instead of their paper. The online ticket management system is a total nightmare and I presume this is the system all MLB teams are going to, if they haven't already. It is not even half-baked. So it doesn't shock me at all that other things aren't working. MLB needs to forget about iBeacon until they get the basics right.

The only guy in MLB who can sometimes steal first base.

rdlink · Jul 11, 2014

IJ Reilly said:
From what I am seeing, MLB is weak on tech overall. The web sites for MLB and the teams are poorly organized. The Dodgers moved our season tickets to "paperless" this season, meaning really that it's our paper instead of their paper. The online ticket management system is a total nightmare and I presume this is the system all MLB teams are going to, if they haven't already. It is not even half-baked. So it doesn't shock me at all that other things aren't working. MLB needs to forget about iBeacon until they get the basics right

Yeah, it would seem to me that MLB would have had no problem deploying a smartphone enabled ticketing system by now. For season ticket holders I don't understand why they couldn't create RFID cards that you can carry into the stadium sort of like a lot of the ski resorts do now. They could even set it up so that, if you print tickets for a particular game (i.e. to give them to a friend or sell them) your card would lose the ability to get into that particular game. Alternatively, if the paper tickets were used your card would lose the ability for that game.

IJ Reilly · Jul 11, 2014

rdlink said:
Yeah, it would seem to me that MLB would have had no problem deploying a smartphone enabled ticketing system by now. For season ticket holders I don't understand why they couldn't create RFID cards that you can carry into the stadium sort of like a lot of the ski resorts do now. They could even set it up so that, if you print tickets for a particular game (i.e. to give them to a friend or sell them) your card would lose the ability to get into that particular game. Alternatively, if the paper tickets were used your card would lose the ability for that game.

In theory you can go paperless with the MLB AtTheBallpark app. The problem is the implementation is clueless. I just looked at the app and it shows only one game we attended in April, not the tickets we have for tomorrow's game, or anything in between. Trying to use it for getting into the park would seem to be a mistake and I can't imagine using it for reserved parking. I haven't seen anyone try yet.

The issue with a card is that most season tickets are shared among several people, as ours are.

rdlink · Jul 11, 2014

IJ Reilly said:
In theory you can go paperless with the MLB AtTheBallpark app. The problem is the implementation is clueless. I just looked at the app and it shows only one game we attended in April, not the tickets we have for tomorrow's game, or anything in between. Trying to use it for getting into the park would seem to be a mistake and I can't imagine using it for reserved parking. I haven't seen anyone try yet.

The issue with a card is that most season tickets are shared among several people, as ours are.

Good point on the season ticket sharing. Every time I have had season tickets I have been part of a group.

BTW: As a Rockies fan: GO PADRES!! ;-)

TEG · Jul 11, 2014

larrylaffer said:
Do you get highlights for free though? I have a full MLB.TV account so I'm not sure what free users get.

I know with the NHL you have to pay for highlights. I think it's the same with NBA as well.

Yes, I get highlights, and can watch select games.

IJ Reilly · Jul 11, 2014

rdlink said:
Good point on the season ticket sharing. Every time I have had season tickets I have been part of a group.

BTW: As a Rockies fan: GO PADRES!! ;-)

I'm sorry to hear it. Really, I thought the Rockies were going to better this year.

MLB Rolling Out Second iBeacon Phase At All-Star Game, At Bat Updated With Live Streams

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