MLB to Begin Streaming in China

First Major League Baseball announces that you can buy just Yankees games and not the entire 30 MLB team package on their MLB.TV service and now they announcer streaming will begin in China? What a week! No really though I am excited about this because it potentially grows the brand and grows the sport, just like Rob Manfred said he was going to do when he took over as Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Manfred and company announced a three-year strategic partnership between MLB and Le Sports in China to stream Major League games to fans that live in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. This would mark the first mass market MLB media agreement in China in the league’s history. Le Sports would hold exclusive rights in China to broadcast 125 MLB games per season along with Mandarin-language MLB programming such as the MLB Network.

The Chinese will now receive four live games per week in high definition during the regular season (96 games total), 20 postseason games, the All-Star Game, the Home Run Derby and all the World Series games. In addition to these games Le Sports will also continue to co-produce the reality show MLB Perfect Pitch and will also broadcast MLB Beijing University Baseball League and MLB Shanghai University Baseball League opening and final games this season.