Facebook is getting in on the big leagues.
The social network will stream one Major League Baseball game every Friday for the rest of the season, beginning this week with the Colorado Rockies at the Cincinnati Reds.
The games will not be subject to local blackouts. MLB also has a deal with Twitter, but those games are blacked out in local markets. Twitter also recently announced a live, three-hour weekly MLB highlights show.
The Facebook deal with MLB is the latest between social media networks and pro sports leagues.
Sports is one of the few things people still watch live. But even sports ratings on TV have suffered lately. The leagues hope streaming games on social media will appeal to more people, especially younger viewers.
Twitter partnered with the NBA this season to stream an original live show, and it streamed Thursday night NFL games last year. The NFL dropped Twitter for this coming season and made a $50 million deal with Amazon.
Facebook also bid for the NFL. The NBA could still be up for grabs because Twitter only streams a live show, not games. And Facebook has landed other deals around the world, including live streaming 46 Mexican soccer games this season.
