Facebook in Talks With MLB to Livestream Baseball Games (Report)

Deal would allow fans to watch one game a week on the social media site

World Series Chicago Cubs
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It may soon be a lot easier to watch those coveted Dodgers games — or your other favorite baseball team.

Facebook is in talks with Major League Baseball to livestream one baseball game a week during the upcoming season, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Facebook did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

The move is in line with the social media platform’s push to air more live sports in the future, and to capture the sports fan market that competitor, Twitter, is also trying to nab.

In the world of streaming shows and DVRs, sports remain one of the few entities that viewers still consistently watch live.

And as the current generation of sports fans continue to move away from baseball towards faster-paced games such as football, basketball and hockey, a partnership with the social media giant would also mean a major boost in the Major Leagues’ effort to attract a younger audience.

According to a 2015 Washington Post report, the median age of a baseball viewer is 53, as opposed to 47 for the NFL and 37 for the NBA.

Adults 55 and older are 11 percent more likely than the overall population to say they have a strong interest in baseball, whereas those in the 18-34 age group are 14 percent less likely to have such interest, a Nielsen study showed.

Earlier this month, Univision announced that it is partnering with Facebook to livestream Liga MX games on its Facebook page in English.

Under that deal, Facebook plans to livestream 46 matches by the Mexican soccer league.

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