For the next 3 years, all of baseball's Web audio and video content will be available exclusively through RealNetworks' RealPlayer product. The RealNetworks partnership makes a lot more multimedia content available, for a fee. The NBA and NFL already have several multimedia deals in place, and MLB has remained on the sideline until now. But Bob Bowman, who took over in December as president and CEO of MLB Advanced Media, says keeping up with other leagues isn't his primary concern. The NBA has been charging fans to listen to audiocasts of its games for 5 years.
Many users listen to bits and pieces of several different games.
Baseball still hasn't decided on how much it will charge users to access the video clips. The site will continue offering a limited amount of video for free, and fans won't have to pay to access live in-game statistics. Currently, the NBA has the most ambitious Web video highlights feature.