Facebook Cuts MLB Live-Streaming Schedule to Just Six Games for 2019

Facebook is bringing live Major League Baseball games back to its video-streaming platform for a third straight year — but is coming to the plate with a much lighter schedule.Under the social network’s 2019 one-year renewal with the league, Facebook will carry six live, regular-season games (one per month) globally on Facebook Watch, excluding local markets subject to blackout and select international markets. Each live game will be produced by MLB Network specifically for Facebook Watch, with interactive and social elements that enable fans to participate in the broadcast.This year’s six-game pact is a significant drop from Facebook’s deal last year with MLB, under which it had exclusive live-streaming global rights to 25 MLB games for the 2018 season.Facebook is still in the process of experimenting with live sports on the platform — and it says that will continue in 2019 with the MLB. This year, Facebook’s nonexclusive MLB game broadcasts will let out-of-market fans to watch one game per month for free on Facebook Watch that they may not have otherwise had access to. MLB also will have the opportunity to sell sponsorships against those broadcasts, according to Facebook.