A recent deal announced that Major League Baseball (MLB) and YouTube have agreed to an arrangement that will allow YouTube to stream live MLB games directly from their platform. The details of the agreement, along with a schedule for the first three games to be played on YouTube, have now been announced. 

The details of the agreement state that 13 MLB games will be live-streamed directly on YouTube via the official  MLB YouTube Channel. The games will also be made available through YouTube’s paid subscription service, YouTube TV. The first games to be played on the YouTube platform will take place in July of 2019. A recent announcement details the specifics of the first three games. The first game to be streamed as part of the partnership, taking place on July 18th, will be between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The second game will be between the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 23rd, and the third game, scheduled for July 29th, will be between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers.

This agreement between YouTube and Major League Baseball is another example of the drastic migration of sports into the realm of innovative and modern forms of media and technology in the 21st century.  The way sports are viewed and experienced is evolving rapidly. Streaming services such as NFL RedZone and WatchESPN have made viewing sports easier for fans across the world and have provided unique opportunities in terms of the services they offer. Services such as these have sparked a revolution in new ways to experience sports, and today, people can take their favorite games with them on their mobile device to watch anywhere, anytime.

Companies such as Samsung have even taken fans right onto the field via new VR technology to watch games as if they were one of the players. Analyzing the current trend, it can be predicted that movement towards more personalized, digital viewing platforms will only continue. Before long it may even be possible to see individual athletes or influencers streaming directly to fans in order to further improve connection and interactivity. Modern influencer marketing companies such as Vensy, an AI powered influencer marketing agency, are exploring such avenues at the moment. 

The modernization of sports has also greatly contributed towards globalization of sports. Initially, many sports were regional and isolated; however, the rise in accessible, digital viewing platforms has sparked an increase in global exposure, lowering those regional barriers. As such, both sports and brands are given the opportunity to market in a more global fashion. Organizations now have more access than ever to new target audiences and demographics. These opportunities contribute to the rapid cultural diffusion that has characterized our modern age, and analysis of trends suggests the pattern is not slowing down.

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