Roku has secured the exclusive distribution rights for Major League Baseball (MLB) games played early Sunday morning, the company announced on Monday.
The multi-year deal will see Sunday morning baseball games stream for free on The Roku Channel, Roku’s free, ad-supported streaming television platform. The Roku Channel is offered natively on all supported Roku streaming devices and Roku TVs, and a free app is also available for Android TV (Google TV) and Amazon Fire TV in the United States.
“As television programming, live sports, and the leagues have fragmented across networks, apps, and multiple packages, Roku — home to all of them — plays an increasingly crucial role for viewers and advertisers,” Charlie Collier, the President of Roku Media, said in a statement. “With this deal, Roku delivers free, live, weekly Sunday baseball and 24-7 baseball curation, destinations, and channels across our platform. The lead-in to all of television is now the lead-off for Sunday baseball as well. It’s a terrific partnership.”
Roku’s telecasts of Sunday morning baseball will start May 19 and continue throughout baseball season until September 15. Comcast’s streaming service Peacock previously served as the exclusive national distributor of Sunday morning MLB games, with some events simulcast on NBC.
“With free games available to anyone, MLB games on Roku will be widely accessible to fans,” Noah Garden, the Deputy Commissioner of Business and Media at MLB, said in a statement. “Since Roku serves as an entertainment gateway for millions, this partnership offers a valuable new promotional and distribution platform for MLB games and content.”
