Model for Success: After 10 Years, MLB.tv Draws 3.7 Million Subscribers

By Karla Robinson
August 29, 2012

Created ten years ago by MLB Advanced Media, the online video service MLB.tv has since become one of the most successful video services, earning millions of dollars in revenue for its popular baseball content.
MLB.tv’s success is due in part to its devoted fans. The first game offered on the service — NY Yankees vs. Texas Rangers in 2002 — had 30,000 viewers worldwide.
“Those 30,000 fans have turned into millions of fans across the world and that little experiment is now a mega-million dollar business,” GigaOM reports. “Since its launch, the service has broadcast 1.5 billion live video streams and has accumulated a total of 3.7 million subscribers.”
The service also rose to the top by being ubiquitous. Offered on a variety of platforms and devices — from Apple TV to the Kindle Fire — MLB.tv is available to customers no matter how they access their content.
“So far in 2012, MLB.tv has seen 27.3 million mobile live video streams,” notes the post. “In the first week of 2012 baseball season, MLB saw 3 million downloads of its At Bat 2012 iPad app. At present there isn’t a professional sports league that holds a candle to MLB’s online arm.”

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