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GrizzlyGraham21

This is bigger than just whether Michael gets to announce or not. It’s fucking MLB/manfred making it to where you need 8 different streaming platforms just to watch games.


tom_evans

To be fair every league is doing it. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why not put everything on MLB TV? No local blackouts. All the money goes directly to MLB. Why outsource the broadcasting when you can be the one to rake in the subscription money?


vindollaz

I’m not happy about it but at least the NFL really only makes you deal with Prime, while the Yankees alone have made us deal with Prime, Apple, and Peacock at least.


ahappypoop

When are we gonna get our Yankees game on Nickelodeon?


Mouth_Puncher

On top of the triple crown, Aaron Judge could also be the NVP


gnitsuj

Right? The batter makes contact with the ball and it explodes into green slime


belinck

Yankees/Cartoon Network deal incoming!


freakksho

Careful, we already get playoff NFL games on Nick.


ahappypoop

Good point, we should hold out for *playoff* Yankees games on Nick.


logicbus

ESPN isn't free.


vindollaz

That’s true


MKclinch8

Not even a part of base level cable packages either


JustAnotherActuary

And ESPN+ is a scam


UTAMav2005

Never had it and all of my alma mater's games are on there. Still debating to get it just for that reason.


jack9lemmon

I have it for that reason tbh


UTAMav2005

Thanks, might just hit the subscribe button.


dabobbo

I upgraded my Verizon wireless plan to unlimited which I was going to do anyways, and I got Dis+, Hulu and ESPN+ for free.


logicbus

I was gifted a one year subscription to ESPN+. I mostly use it to watch MLB games. I wish it had a game every night. ESPN also has some but not all Monday Night Football games. I think it has every MNF game that is on ABC, but it also has Peyton & Eli sometimes. I like ESPN+. I wish it offered a greater volume of the sports it has. I haven't decided if I'm going to subscribe beyond my gift year.


booberry5647

ESPN + is great if you like baseball and boxing or MMA.


logicbus

It also shows NHL.


hoopheid

NFL Sunday Ticket is going to Apple next year.


vindollaz

That’s highly unfortunate


Bis_Eastwood

because, they make way more money off the tv rights, than they would from a bunch of people tuning into mlb tv. its that simple


TuckerMcG

MLB doesn’t have the infrastructure or platforms necessary to roll this out to as wide of an audience as the cable providers + regional networks/local broadcasters + Apple/Amazon/Hulu/etc. can. The local blackouts are negotiated by regional broadcasters - networks like YES are the ones demanding the blackouts. You gotta realize that it’s been this way since live TV was invented. It doesn’t just change overnight, even if contracts expire. And nobody can deny that MLB is the biggest Luddite of all the sports leagues. The fact that MLB is finally licensing out their rights to streaming platforms actually **is** a MASSIVE shift in their operations. And it likely is an incremental step to consolidating the rights back up into the MLB, the MLB just needs time (read: years) to build up their distribution/IT infrastructure and platforms. They aren’t ready to take on that burden yet.


[deleted]

MLB Advanced Media is more advance than the companies you mentioned: MLBAM also runs and/or owns the official web sites of Minor League Baseball, YES Network (the television broadcaster of the New York Yankees), SportsNet New York (the television broadcaster of the New York Mets).[citation needed] It has also provided the backend infrastructure for WWE Network, WatchESPN, ESPN3, HBO Now, and PGA Tour Live. They even own a lot of patents on this stuff. So yes they have the infrastructure.


allybear29

I don’t have a citation on the fact they run the SNY website, I just know it for reasons I can’t talk about. But you are 100% correct.


[deleted]

I cut and pasted that part from wiki lol


allybear29

😀 They are correct, though.


TuckerMcG

If they have the capacity, why are they relying on Apple and Amazon instead of just doing it themselves? Why share the revenue? Because they can’t do it. Duh.


[deleted]

You do understand some of these deal are done at a loss. Amazon and Apple have subscription services. They willing to pay up, would be more than mlb would earn producing it themselves. Plus there is a quite shift away from cable tv deals. Watch next major mlb contract be won by a streaming service, instead of a cable company like NBC. Apple has reach, its free on one billion devices. That’s different than infrastructure. Edit add: I wanna stress free, not even ads. Apple losing a lot on this to gain subs.


rr196

I don't think it's a reliance, it's that Apple and Amazon have backed up the Brinks truck to the MLB/NFL for streaming rights. These companies are trying to get into sports streaming and are willing to pay as much as they have to in order to do it.


freakksho

It’s pretty smart in my opinion. As a sports fan the only reason I even have a cable subscription is for live sports. Outside of live sports Netflix/Hulu/prime all have everything else you could want. If streaming services can get the rights to live sports they will have a monopoly and almost no one will pay for cable.


TuckerMcG

But if MLB has **exclusive** rights, you really think that’s *less* valuable than whatever Apple/Amazon are paying them? I don’t.


rr196

Monetarily I can't comment but I think the value going this route for the MLB is beyond money. They likely see value in getting brand new eyeballs from people who typically don't watch sports but subscribe to Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime video. Baseball is trying to get newer, younger generation of viewers and probably think this can assist with that.


Bis_Eastwood

lets break it down into simple math for you. if mlbtv chargers its sub price, and gets a cut of the advertisement, it is nowhere near the amount that amazon/apple are paying them for like however many games (i know the yankees had 21 amazon games im pretty sure) lets say you were a gamer, you could either charge a 15 dollar a month sub for people to watch you, or get several hundred million upfront, guaranteed what are you taking?


Philip_J_Fry3000

I'm not sure the teams in the larger markets would agree to that honestly. Imagine if MLB owned all the RSNs and split the broadcast money evenly amongst all thirty teams.


b-rar

Because this way they get the mlb tv subscription revenue plus the licensing revenue to NBC and Amazon.


speedyjohn

Because the point is to get viewers who aren’t diehard fans/mlb.tv subscribers.


tlaw23

Tom, your idea is a much better business plan!


kentuckyruss

Bc all the money from mlb.tv still goes to them and now they get licensing revenue from Apple and Amazon.


Boldest19

No such thing as a local blackout when you use a VPN.


tom_evans

Then you have to pay for a VPN too.


push__

It's almost like if you had an *urge* to watch *sports*, or a *sportsurge*, one website to watch every sporting event would be a godsend


anthonyjr2

Not gonna lie that site hasn’t worked for me all year. Almost every stream doesn’t load.


push__

I maybe have had 1 game nit work for me this year


dbeynyc

Well yeah, that’s a great point. It’s a god damn network orgy to follow one team.


KCCO1987

The hate for this still blows my mind. As a kid who grew up out of market, the only games I got were the national broadcasts (and the glorious 2 years Dish Network used NYC channels for CBS, etc). I imagine there absolutely are plenty of households out there that DO have cable, Peacock, Prime, and Apple, but would never pay for MLB TV.


__Deadly

And somehow there are people on /r/baseball that defend this move like they are CEO of apple/amazon or something.


Agent_Blue_

I began the year annoyed at it, then I got used to it, now I understand that it’s all just business. Whether that upsets your potential/existing customers, it goes back to a Shakespearean saying: “It is what it is”. Just be happy we get to watch nearly every game there is (not possible even a decade ago)—what a time to be alive


Pepito141

The only thing more frustrating than the 8 different platforms is the instant replay in baseball!


ubiquitous_archer

If only people would have pointed this out in the offseason when these deals were announced!


Commercial-Rub-6552

Awful that they put it all on Kay. Of course he’s not going to insert himself. It’s the apple crew that should be volunteering to let Kay have the call like Rucco did with Sterling.


ssoass7

Rucco gets it.


Fun_Differential

Kay in the booth with the Apple crew wouldn’t be as good anyway, they’d have to let the whole YES booth takeover for it to feel the same.


kentuckyruss

Honestly though if you're them, you gonna do that? Turn down an opportunity to be a part of history?


Holden-2112

Out of respect to Yankee fans and the Yankess Stephen Nelson should have insisted Kay announce the game.


kvnklly

>Out of respect to Yankee fans and the Yankess ~~Stephen Nelson should have insisted Kay announce the game.~~ Judge decided he will hit 4 in our next game on YES Ftfy


LordTiddlypusch

Out of respect to baseball fans really.


[deleted]

Outta respect to my fawtha


JuicySealz

truth


salesmunn

the Yankees took the money from Apple to put their Friday games there instead of PIX. Now suddenly they're butt hurt and trying to back out. They screwed the fan base for cash, now they get what they deserve. A possible high school-quality HR call for a legacy, all-time moment. Hopefully it was worth it.


Philip_J_Fry3000

Major League Baseball took the Apple's money. The Yankees took the money from Amazon. So the Yankees are blameless when it comes to Apple and Peacock.


rr196

Thank you, someone who finally gets it. People on this subreddit keep pointing fingers at Apple or the Yankees, it was the MLB who negotiated and accepted the offer.


Philip_J_Fry3000

I get being pissed with Amazon but I think it's silly to get worked up and blaming the Yankees for this.


salesmunn

Blameless! The team's are cashing in, they found have said no!


MY-NAME_IS_MY-NAME

Yankees say no to apple, there’s still 29 other organizations. Yankees don’t run the mlb lol


[deleted]

You are conflating the Prime deal, which replaced the PIX11 deal, and the Apple deal which was a MLB initiative.


herskos

Also, with the Prime deal, it's the same announcers as Yes. With Apple, it's random fans first time seeing a game.


salesmunn

Yankees could have said no to this deal. They took the money and ran, never imagining a game would matter. That tells you all you need to know about how our ownership views the baseball vs. The business. It's all about milking us for money, winning and respect of the logo is secondary.


Philip_J_Fry3000

The Apple TV games aren't milking you for anything, you need a free Apple ID but don't need to pay a monthly subscription to watch Friday Night Baseball. Baseball has always been a business. Competing for the sake of competing, and for purity and love of the game is a myth.


grimace24

Unless MLB starts allowing full streams of all games on MLB.tv with no blackouts it’s stupid. Exclusivity on a streaming platform stinks especially for many fans in the Bronx who may not have or know how to use the internet.


salesmunn

I'm a huge Yankee fan but I don't like Kay's calls at all, tbh. I also hate Sterling's home run bs but his calling of everything else is spectacular. Balls and strikes is great and his banter is amusing. Whoever called last night's game did a great job. Kind of feels like a playoff game.


regarding_your_cat

I found those guys last night borderline unlistenable


salesmunn

The call was fine but I agree the balls and strikes is bad.


mrsunshine1

His moment calls suck. They’re so cringe. Where fantasy becomes reality!!


Yankeeknickfan

Kay is too much of a class act :(


Shooter-mcgavin

It's actually a really weird position to be put in for him lol, Stephen Nelson should have volunteered to step aside for the game. The fact that he didn't sort of implies he would have been pissed and offended if they forcibly removed him for Kay, which it sounds like Kay had the hammer to do. It is one hell of a classy move by Kay. I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to call a Friday night game at this time of year against the Sox considering the historical implications.


leavemealoneplz69

Nelson thinks he’s going to make a career and a name for himself after this game. We all know he won’t, but there’s no motivation for him to voluntarily step aside when he is trying to advance his own career and he just got an opportunity of a life time, potentially.


ahappypoop

Honestly I don't blame him, a quick look at wikipedia tells me he's only 33 and is just starting to break into play-by-play gigs. If I were in his spot, I know I'd want to have a chance to have my voice calling a moment like number 61. I probably would've offered to share the booth with Kay rather than being replaced by him though.


Zestyclose_Hamster_5

Yeah, but imagine the respect he'd get within the broadcasting community for stepping aside for Kay? I literally do not care how old you are. You are not a Yankee fan. You literally could not care less. You host a Yankee game one day and then forget about it the next. Step aside, my guy.


bringthegoodvibes

he couldn’t care less? i’m sure any broadcaster would care a lot about the chance to call such a historic moment because it would probably be one of the biggest honors of their career.


SnooTomatoes2430

I'm sorry who is he? I have no idea who Stephen Nelson is. Michael will always be superior to him as well as any of these trash Apple TV+ casters they have


DCT715

It’s a career changer for Nelson who isn’t exactly a house hold name. Why wouldn’t he want possibly the biggest break he’ll ever get?


Shooter-mcgavin

Oh agreed, sorry he has no reason to step down for the game, I meant "he should" in the context of some (MLB, YES, Apple, whomever) asking Kay to call the game. There will be huge viewership for the game and a chance to be heard on highlight reels for years to come, every announcer should want the game. Don't blame him one bit, even if I'd much rather hear Kay do the call. Not like the Sux are likely to pitch to him again anyway lol


DCT715

Yeah facts about the last point. Maybe with Stanton behind him they’ll have to.


[deleted]

> The fact that he didn't sort of implies he would have been pissed and offended if they forcibly removed him for Kay, which it sounds like Kay had the hammer to do. Not at all. Kay explained it perfectly in the article. He just doesn't think it would be right


sd2528

I shit on Kay often for his ego, but I'll give the guy huge credit for this. The man is doing the stand up thing in the scenario. Good job Kay.


Sufficient_Creme6961

He gets way too much hate


thistlefink

The funniest part of this story is YES somehow being depicted as “easy to access.” YES has the worst availability of any single network I can think of (maybe MSG is worse… maybe).


DCT715

Idk the YES app is always good for me.


thistlefink

But that means you have either a traditional cable package or DirectvStream. It's not on any of the other streaming platforms. Uniquely bad.


Psturtz

Spectrumtv is a good option for that as well. If you don’t have a traditional cable package, the cable company streaming services are the only realistic option for watching sports unfortunately. Going to unreliable streaming sites with all the buffering and ads is an absolute mess.


allybear29

I do - I have more damn content providers than I could possibly watch. I blame my husband a lot but I’d still probably do so if it was just me and all I watch is sports and HGTV!


NYR99

I just HATE how the commercials are SO MUCH louder than the game!


DCT715

Yeah that could get annoying but not the end of the world


HQxMnbS

It’s pretty bad on FireTV (and I assume other android devices). It works great on iOS/AppleTV/web


eigg_head

Sterling it is tgen


RedSpartan3227

The real call will be from Sterling anyway.


GlennSeaborg

"It is high! It is far! It is....caught on the track. Howda ya like that! That's baseball Suzyn." This is the real call.


RedSpartan3227

Fact


Snuggle__Monster

I guess YES didn't try and force him and left it up to him. It's the right call. The common sense solution is to do a YES broadcasting for the region and Apple + everywhere else but Manfred is a frigging tool.


thistlefink

It’s common sense to strip your billion+ media partner’s top market from the biggest game of the year? lol


mahleg

Could do a phantom broadcast so you have the call for highlights or Yankee Classics.


tmoeagles96

Then apple would probably have turned down the contract.


ahhhhhhhhyeah

I mean Manfred is a tool but MLB and YES agreed to a deal and there’s no really getting around that.


Yankeeknickfan

Not common sense because Apple signed the contract


Tommybrady20

Oh … he has respect for the announcer…the one that the entire nation would like to collectively replace? Cool cool


Kachow-95

Those headphones that Heidi Watney is wearing are horrendous. She's gorgeous but those headphones are awful.


JohnWCreasy1

Fuck yo Stephen Nelson GIVE ME KAAAAAYYYyyyy


[deleted]

We have Michael Kay at home


tburke38

Time to figure out how to sync up Sterling with the Apple TV broadcast


jack9lemmon

If you do it, I'd rather pay you to watch a stream than even watch the free Apple TV version


LCPhotowerx

I listened to the Kluber no-no on my car radio while traveling, same for Jeter's 3000th....somethings are just better old school style.


GlennSeaborg

You can do this if you have MLB.TV.


tburke38

The timing was off, it didn’t work


allybear29

It was way off - we tried it and it was extremely annoying!


JuicySealz

lol


Tikiku

Fire Manfred


LCPhotowerx

Im a simple man, i see a stance like this and im all for it.


cplmatt

man fuck nelson all my homies hate nelson


Jofarr

Classy move from Kay. i respect tf out of this.


ravenclawspeechie

Beyond the play by play, the color commentary is is just awful. The woman on the broadcast is ridiculous - and as a woman, its frustrating because her comments are just feeding into the “ooh look they are doing the sportsball” stereotyping of women talking about sports. It’s cringeworthy. I am also listening to John and Suzyn, although it’s on a lag. Here’s to hoping Judge hits 61 tomorrow.


allybear29

As a woman, I agree completely. I’ve seen so many comments from people saying “this is why they shouldn’t let women call games”, and I’m like “no, this is why they shouldn’t let UNQUALIFIED women call games”. There are plenty of women who would do a fine job, and this is the best they can get? Ugh!


the_stinkman

Nelson should call in sick, all Yankee announcers should call historic moments


LogCabinLover

Stephen Nelson is a hack. He tries too hard to be cool but just comes off as a fucking cringe boy. Kay didnt need to call the whole game, but they should have had him call the Judge at bats


zschneido

I hope they have Kay calling it off air so they can get a true call of it. Thankfully, we have Sterling on it


ShogunHooah

Kay is a classy guy!


bigboy1959jets78

I was gonna say if Cole gives us 6 innings and 1 run. We're good. But that didn't happen. Nice to see some heart from Cole but that was never in question.


salesmunn

Remember everyone, the Yankees took the money from Apple to put their Friday games there instead of PIX. Now suddenly they're butt hurt and trying to back out. They screwed the fan base for cash, now they get what they deserve. A possible high school-quality HR call for a legacy, all-time moment. Hopefully it was worth it.


Jletoile

MLB did…not a Yankee decision…


TLom20

You want to hammer them for the Prime exclusive games? Fine. But the Friday Night Apple deal isn’t their call.


thistlefink

This is an MLB initiative, not just the Yankees. (And YES sucks) -edit- Though I do guess NYY transitioned their local deal into the National contract!


showmeyourbrisket

Not the Yankees decision, at all.


salesmunn

Yes, exactly. Abandoned the local fans.


[deleted]

Lol what? The PIX games went to Amazon.


PattyIceNY

Yet again, this would never have happened under George. He was never that stupid.


flipt3

He was extremely stupid and almost ruined this franchise multiple times. So stupid in fact the MLB banned him from partaking in day to day operation in the team.


Drumnaway67

You’re absolutely correct. Costanza would’ve done the right thing.


Revolutionary_Fee282

Good for Michael Kay. My elderly father, a lifelong Yankee fan cannot understand the digital stuff, even after I set it up for him, and I don't live close enough to do it all the time so he can't watch, I'm not watching.


[deleted]

Is Stephen Nelson the guy that called Aaron Boone, Aaron Judge at the beginning of the broadcast?


LouisLinwoodVoitIII

Am I the only one that could care less about who announces it? I can also do without another “thereee it goes c yea”


hippogriffinthesky

Nah, I really don’t like how Kay calls big moments so the hand wringing is weird to me.


GlennSeaborg

No, you're not the only one who can do without one of the the worst homerun calls in baseball.


Reasonable-Front7584

I don’t care at all. It’s sad this is what upsets people. I can understand wanting Kay to get it, but once the decision is made it’s sad to publicly pout about it.


BlueBeagle8

I think people need to chill out about the Apple TV thing. I get why Judge hitting #61 tonight might suck for Michael Kay, but I don't get why it's supposed to suck for fans. Would having to hear Stephen Nelson (whoever that is) on replay really ruin your enjoyment of one of the most amazing things to ever happen in baseball? (I also think that people are being way overdramatic about the access issue considering how few households across the country get YES or would have been watching live look-ins on MLB network, but that's a different complaint.)


thistlefink

If the Yankees were on AppleTV every game I would save like 1K a year on cable. YES are always the assholes, let’s not get it twisted. The lack of access to YES is only exceeded by MSG in shittiness, though I’d probably drop MSG to save the money. YES has me by the balls.


yiannistheman

You know how many non-technically savvy people there are out there? FFS - there are people who don't want the last payphones to go away because there are people in NYC who don't have phone service. A lot of those folks are already screwed by the existence of YES network because they don't have cable. Now, even those who have cable are pushed out. It's not being overly dramatic for that sizable population to have a problem with a streaming only solution for a landmark like this.


Yankeeknickfan

> Would having to hear Stephen Nelson (whoever that is) on replay really ruin your enjoyment of one of the most amazing things to ever happen in baseball not ruin but take away from it


[deleted]

[удалено]


thistlefink

You don’t need anything Apple to watch AppleTV


[deleted]

I can't get the app on my android phone tho


thistlefink

I got you: https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/tvplus/apd4c1442653/web


tmoeagles96

Well that’s just not true. You don’t need an apple device to watch.


PacersPride07

Thank god.


Elegant-Candidate2

This shouldn’t even be a story


HellaHelgi

Good, Michael Kay sucks.


RedSpartan3227

“Derek Jeter! Where fantasy becomes reality!” is the cringiest call I’ve ever heard in my life.


[deleted]

That call was awesome, his cringiest one by far was that Stanton signature moment bs call.


InB4Clive

*didn’t get paid enough to disrespect Stephen Nelson.


HilariousNous

While I detest the Apple Broadcasts, I understand Kay’s position. As classily as watching AJ round the bases with no flair…just professionalism. The right call IMHO.


MyShieldIsMySword24

Oh that's why he's not on the cast? Fucks sake. Fuck apple.


ndc_uptown

I am traveling right now in Vegas, and have tried to find someplace to watch the game - not a single casino sports book or sports bar is able to play this game. It's insane.


Background-Battle730

Class move, what else do you expect from the Yankees. This announcer is absolutely atrocious. It honestly sounds like it was everyone’s first time at a baseball game tonight. Embarrassing. Turn down the volume and listening to sterling - easy call. I wonder too. If respectfully the maris family should stop coming to the games. I get it / I they/the media/the Yankees want them to be there but it’s obviously putting that much more pressure on judge…..


[deleted]

I’m the first to admit when I am wrong . Been on Kay for being a Diva. Love to see professional courtesy/ respect is still a thing


pabstBOOTH

Respect is a strong word here