MLB finally joins the Internet age

[Steak Snabler]

MLB Advance Media has at long last begun uploading highlights and classic games to its website. Here's a fun SB Nation story recapping some of the better clips available (including an awesome Reds-Mets brawl from the 80s):

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2013/2/22/4018878/mlb-videos-ray-knight-eric-davis-glenallen-hill-roof-greg-maddux-mustache:

Here's the full library:

http://mlb.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?mlbtax_key=classic&start=1&trackVal=First&hitsPerPage=12&hitsPerSite=10&c_id=mlb

You can also access this stuff via smartphone by downloading the At Bat '13 app (which costs $20 and also includes access to live audio). I wasted a good chunk of last Friday morning watching Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS.

 

[LongTimeListener]

That's a pretty neat feature. Last year my MLB At Bat app was the best money I spent, even without this add-on.

Regarding the thread title, however -- MLB has been one of the leading companies in the world at the vanguard of the Internet age. For a long time it was MLB and Apple setting the tone for the rest of the world. Waiting this long was no doubt a well-thought-out part of their Internet strategy.

 

[User 11148]

If Game 6 of the 2011 World Series disappears from those archives some day, don't be lookin' at me ... [/stillheartbrokenrangersfan]

 

[Small Town Guy]

Great clips on there and certainly long overdue (strategy or no). Still light years behind what an NBA fan has access to on YouTube and I think you could make an argument that the league's approach to YouTube -- let people post what they want -- has played a role in the league's popularity again picking up the past few years. It's great that MLB has highlighted some of the great moments and organized them so well, but doesn't beat the fact I can watch every complete Lakers game from the 1985 playoffs on YouTube, not to mention just the normal everyday clips.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Great clips on there and certainly long overdue (strategy or no). Still light years behind what an NBA fan has access to on YouTube and I think you could make an argument that the league's approach to YouTube -- let people post what they want -- has played a role in the league's popularity again picking up the past few years. It's great that MLB has highlighted some of the great moments and organized them so well, but doesn't beat the fact I can watch every complete Lakers game from the 1985 playoffs on YouTube, not to mention just the normal everyday clips.

And how much does the NBA get from you watching those great games?

I think I paid $15 for the MLB app last year. I see this year's costs $20. That would be a good example of a group knowing how to monetize content. And it would be foolish indeed to try to say the NBA is in better financial shape than MLB.

 

[Songbird]

1991: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12947895&c_id=mlb

 

[buckweaver]

Watched the Kerry Wood game again yesterday. (Never seen the Astros broadcast, come to think of it. So that was neat.)

You may not see me again for six months.

Nice knowing you all.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

That Glenallen Hill home run. Wow.

 

[Versatile]

Great clips on there and certainly long overdue (strategy or no). Still light years behind what an NBA fan has access to on YouTube and I think you could make an argument that the league's approach to YouTube -- let people post what they want -- has played a role in the league's popularity again picking up the past few years. It's great that MLB has highlighted some of the great moments and organized them so well, but doesn't beat the fact I can watch every complete Lakers game from the 1985 playoffs on YouTube, not to mention just the normal everyday clips.

And how much does the NBA get from you watching those great games?

I think I paid $15 for the MLB app last year. I see this year's costs $20. That would be a good example of a group knowing how to monetize content. And it would be foolish indeed to try to say the NBA is in better financial shape than MLB.

I think you're both making good points here. Small Town Guy is correct that the NBA's Wild West approach to social media, including YouTube, has helped the league's popularity greatly increase the past five years. And LongTimeListener is right that MLB's policies make more business sense and may be more sustainable.

And while this thread started on a snarky note, I have seen many MLB fans on Twitter gawking in admiration at this clip trove now that it has been unleashed. MLB figured out a way to get credit for something the NBA has offered a better version of for years.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I just got done watching Whitey Herzog and Joaquin Andujar lose their **** in 1985 Game 7. I ****ing love that one.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

Great clips on there and certainly long overdue (strategy or no). Still light years behind what an NBA fan has access to on YouTube and I think you could make an argument that the league's approach to YouTube -- let people post what they want -- has played a role in the league's popularity again picking up the past few years. It's great that MLB has highlighted some of the great moments and organized them so well, but doesn't beat the fact I can watch every complete Lakers game from the 1985 playoffs on YouTube, not to mention just the normal everyday clips.

And how much does the NBA get from you watching those great games?

I think I paid $15 for the MLB app last year. I see this year's costs $20. That would be a good example of a group knowing how to monetize content. And it would be foolish indeed to try to say the NBA is in better financial shape than MLB.

The app has risen in cost each year, but I'm not complaining. It's a great one to have.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Great clips on there and certainly long overdue (strategy or no). Still light years behind what an NBA fan has access to on YouTube and I think you could make an argument that the league's approach to YouTube -- let people post what they want -- has played a role in the league's popularity again picking up the past few years. It's great that MLB has highlighted some of the great moments and organized them so well, but doesn't beat the fact I can watch every complete Lakers game from the 1985 playoffs on YouTube, not to mention just the normal everyday clips.

And how much does the NBA get from you watching those great games?

I think I paid $15 for the MLB app last year. I see this year's costs $20. That would be a good example of a group knowing how to monetize content. And it would be foolish indeed to try to say the NBA is in better financial shape than MLB.

The app has risen in cost each year, but I'm not complaining. It's a great one to have.

I believe the video content is new this year, hence the extra $5. I could be wrong about this (I'm a new iPhone user this year), but that's the way I understand it from friends who used it last year.