MLB News: Rob Manfred Highlights His Key Concern for the Future of MLB

MLB and Commissioner Manfred both need to do a better job of marketing their sport, that's not exactly a secret, and while they’ve tried to come up with different ways to make the games more appealing to a broader audience, they’ve also just put band-aids on problems they, along with the Commissioner's predecessor, had themselves created.

MLB and Manfred's predecessor made it difficult for baseball fans to watch games so they could capitalize on the exclusivity of certain television channels (Fox Sports, /Fox Sports 1), and cable providers (Comcast). Currently, streaming service providers like Apple Tv+ and YouTube are free but, they most likely won't be for long. Dodgers fans are certainly familiar with the practice as they are held hostage by Spectrum to watch a majority of the season, and if you are out of the local broadcast area, well good luck because even if you pay for MLB on your phone you still may not be able to watch due to ridiculous location or other blackouts. And while things have taken a few minuscule steps in the right direction, Rob Manfred wants more. So, it's a good thing he's, you know, the Commissioner and has the power to make the change.

“Local media was a big topic of conversation, it’s not a revenue issue for us right now. Our local media revenue continues to be strong. We are concerned about our reach. We think that we have fans who want to watch baseball who don’t feel they have an adequate opportunity to do that. There’s a strong sense among ownership that an undertaking we’re referring to as ‘MLB Media’ should step into the digital space in particular to provide fans with greater and more flexible opportunities to watch games.”

Baseball fans obviously want to be able to watch their team games despite their geographical location. Unfortunately, MLB ownerships have been making that very difficult for a while now. This "MLB Media" seems to be yet another band-aid to quiet critics while testing another possible opportunity to increase their bottom line in the future.

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If MLB is truly committed to growing the game, they should probably let the fans they already have actually watch the games even if it cuts into their profit margin. Otherwise, the sport won't have a future, and owners will only have themselves to blame.