'MLB.com At Bat' Adds Support for Ford SYNC and Social Sharing Options

[MacRumors]

Continuing its trailblazing efforts to deliver a great baseball viewing experience to iOS device owners, MLB Advanced Media has added Ford SYNC integration and social sharing with Facebook, Twitter, and email to its MLB.com At Bat app.

Ford SYNC is a Siri-esque integrated voice control system built into some Ford automobiles. The At Bat integration allows users to get scores, schedules, and live audio broadcast feeds using their voice.

At Bat 12 can be purchased for the remainder of the 2012 season for $9.99 (via in-app purchase), delivering out-of-market baseball games and home-and-away radio broadcasts for every game, including the postseason.

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

Article Link: 'MLB.com At Bat' Adds Support for Ford SYNC and Social Sharing Options

 

[burnside]

Best major sports app out there. Wish the NBA and NFL would follow suit.

 

[bdavis89]

If anything Siri is Sync-esque, not the other way around. It was around a couple years before Siri.

Looks like neat integration to ask your car for scores!

 

[Diode]

Best major sports app out there. Wish the NBA and NFL would follow suit.

I just wish they would get rid of the "out of market" restrictions. I understand it's technically out of their control (since it's the teams jurisdiction) - but just re-showing the teams broadcast complete with commercials would suffice for me and I believe most people....

 

[burnside]

I just wish they would get rid of the "out of market" restrictions. I understand it's technically out of their control (since it's the teams jurisdiction) - but just re-showing the teams broadcast complete with commercials would suffice for me and I believe most people....

If you're at home, you can attempt to use VPN to get around that restriction.

 

[rrjr80]

Maybe it's me, but I don't see any option to pay $9.99 for the remainder of the season. I only see the $24.99 option.

 

[WatchTheThrone]

I just wish they would get rid of the "out of market" restrictions. I understand it's technically out of their control (since it's the teams jurisdiction) - but just re-showing the teams broadcast complete with commercials would suffice for me and I believe most people....

Jailbreak and fake your location

 

[Diode]

If you're at home, you can attempt to use VPN to get around that restriction.

Of course - still doesn't make things right though.

 

[japanime]

I wish MLB would add archived radio broadcasts to the iOS app. It sucks to have to get up at 2 a.m. here in Japan to listen to East Coast day games.

 

[rdlink]

Sweet. I'm running iOS 6, and hadn't been able to stream live video since moving to it. This update fixes that.

 

[26139]

Really?

Who gives a **** about social sharing options? Kills me that anyone thinks this is a feature.

 

[CASLondon]

Add the swipe for a Cubs win, ability for the user to force Cubs trades, and I'm in

 

[26139]

Yes!

Add the swipe for a Cubs win, ability for the user to force Cubs trades, and I'm in

Now THAT'S a feature.

Though it will probably be as good as the latest Duke Nukem...

 

[IJ Reilly]

Of course - still doesn't make things right though.

Right doesn't have anything to do with it, really. The teams own their media rights and contract them for hundreds of millions to cable outlets and local broadcast stations. MLB is simply unable to undermine these contracts and there'd be hell to pay if they even tried. So unless the basic structure of how media rights are managed in baseball changes, MLB.com is always going to be unable to show in-market games.

 

[26139]

Yep!

Right doesn't have anything to do with it, really. The teams own their media rights and contract them for hundreds of millions to cable outlets and local broadcast stations. MLB is simply unable to undermine these contracts and there'd be hell to pay if they even tried. So unless the basic structure of how media rights are managed in baseball changes, MLB.com is always going to be unable to show in-market games.

Exactly. It costs money to film, broadcast, edit, announce, etc.

That money surely isn't covered by ticket and merchandise sales.

 

[Diode]

Right doesn't have anything to do with it, really. The teams own their media rights and contract them for hundreds of millions to cable outlets and local broadcast stations. MLB is simply unable to undermine these contracts and there'd be hell to pay if they even tried. So unless the basic structure of how media rights are managed in baseball changes, MLB.com is always going to be unable to show in-market games.

I still don't see what's wrong with showing the teams channel complete with commercials and the original channel. I'm sure they would get more per user from MLB.tv then the cable channels pay.

Granted it would piss cable off..... Still there are tons of markets where blackout restrictions overshoot what cable channels show - leaving some folks with no means of being able to watch any baseball.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I still don't see what's wrong with showing the teams channel complete with commercials and the original channel. I'm sure they would get more per user from MLB.tv then the cable channels pay.

Granted it would piss cable off..... Still there are tons of markets where blackout restrictions overshoot what cable channels show - leaving some folks with no means of being able to watch any baseball.

Again, not a question of right and wrong, but what is set by the media contacts signed by the teams. Hundreds of millions of dollars are involved in every one. Even if the games were played online exactly as on TV then they'd need to figure out how to charge for and split the revenue from the online broadcasts. Would advertisers pay the same rates for online as they now do for cable? Who gets how much of that revenue? In theory I suppose the teams could reserve the online broadcast rights and assign them to MLB.com (this would have to be done when they came up for renewal), but even if they did, it would lower the value of the cable rights, so they'd have to be confident in their ability to make up that revenue online. A lot of moving parts, and tons of money. In the end it's all about the money. The teams are going to do whatever they think will maximize the revenue stream, even if it isn't the best deal for the fans.

----------

Exactly. It costs money to film, broadcast, edit, announce, etc.

That money surely isn't covered by ticket and merchandise sales.

Broadcast rights are baseball's golden goose. When the Dodgers sold this year for $1.6b a lot of people were shocked. But the truth is, the team was worth that much because the media rights are up renewal after 2013 and could easily be worth $200m a year in revenue, especially if the team decides to set up its own network, as the Yankees have.

 

[Tilpots]

Again, not a question of right and wrong, but what is set by the media contacts signed by the teams.

I understand the rules and the reasons, I do. But... MLBs rules have to catch up with technology. I live in SE NC, 400 miles away from the Nats and O's, yet I'm considered in their TV market. There is absolutely no way I'm going to games on a regular basis, at least not enough to warrant a blackout when applicable. To make matters worse, Time Warner Cable refuses to carry MASN, the regional broadcaster of both teams, despite a court ruling. I have no other cable option in my city. Online is my only way to watch games, without subscribing to a satellite service. It's ridiculous and it's a broken outdated system.

Im hoping the guys over at sportsfan.org make headway with legislators. It's the only chance many of us have to watch.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I understand the rules and the reasons, I do. But... MLBs rules have to catch up with technology. I live in SE NC, 400 miles away from the Nats and O's, yet I'm considered in their TV market. There is absolutely no way I'm going to games on a regular basis, at least not enough to warrant a blackout when applicable. To make matters worse, Time Warner Cable refuses to carry MASN, the regional broadcaster of both teams, despite a court ruling. I have no other cable option in my city. Online is my only way to watch games, without subscribing to a satellite service. It's ridiculous and it's a broken outdated system.

Im hoping the guys over at sportsfan.org make headway with legislators. It's the only chance many of us have to watch.

I agree, it's an outdated system, and in the end the teams could well be screwing themselves out of revenue from fans in your situation. But if the solution to monitizing online baseball was clear or obvious then it would have happened already. Every existing media form has gone through this transition, often painfully.

 

[Tilpots]

I agree, it's an outdated system, and in the end the teams could well be screwing themselves out of revenue from fans in your situation. But if the solution to monitizing online baseball was clear or obvious then it would have happened already. Every existing media form has gone through this transition, often painfully.

Agreed. I have no idea what the buisness answer is, I just know there's a real problem. Pro sports are primed for a big bubble bursting. Not saying I want it to happen, just seems inevitable at this point if the tv distribution model continues to change.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Agreed. I have no idea what the buisness answer is, I just know there's a real problem. Pro sports are primed for a big bubble bursting. Not saying I want it to happen, just seems inevitable at this point if the tv distribution model continues to change.

If Steve Jobs had been a baseball fan, we probably wouldn't have this problem.

 

[Tilpots]

If Steve Jobs had been a baseball fan, we probably wouldn't have this problem.

We're probably better off. He may have just bought the Giants.

 

[IJ Reilly]

We're probably better off. He may have just bought the Giants.

Perish that thought. I was thinking more along the lines of an iMLB Store, where we could purchase games for $0.99 each.