MLB.TV streaming package getting record views

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball fans are streaming games in record numbers through the first three weeks of the season.

Major League Baseball said Monday that the first 18 days of the season have been the most watched in the 20-year history of the MLB.TV streaming package.

Fans have watched more than 1.34 billion minutes of live games on the platform, which is a 12% increase when compared to the first 18 days of last season and 43% growth compared to the same period two years ago. Out-of-market streaming is up 22% compared to last season and 35% from two years ago.

The seven most-watched days recorded on MLB.TV have come this season. Opening day on April 1 set the single-day record as users watched 121 million minutes of live games — up 26% from the previous high.

MLB Network also announced live games are up 12% compared to the first 15 days of last season.

Since opening day, the MLB app and MLB Ballpark app have been the first- and second-most downloaded sports apps on phones based on combined rankings on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

MLB said 60% of all ticket scans have come from its Ballpark app, which is three times higher than two years ago. MLB and team accounts have a 19% increase in followers and a 16% increase in social engagements compared to the first two weeks of last season.

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