Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Streaming company Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) announced a new multi-year deal with Major League Baseball that expands its sports carriage ambitions.
What Happened: Roku signed a new deal to carry Sunday Leadoff live games starting May 19, bringing Major League Baseball content to its users for free.
According to Roku, the deal is exclusive and signed as a multi-year deal.
The games will air for free on The Roku Channel along with a new MLB Zone that highlights live and upcoming games, nightly recaps and highlights.
This partnership makes Roku the home for the first games on most Sundays during the season.
"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," Roku Media President Charlie Collier said.
Collier added that the deal gives Roku weekly Sunday MLB content and 24/7 baseball curation.
"The lead-in to all of television is now the lead-off for Sunday baseball as well. It's a terrific partnership."
Sunday Leadoff games stream every Sunday from May 19 to Sept. 15 beginning with a matchup of the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals at 1:05 p.m. ET on May 19.
"Since Roku serves as an entertainment gateway for millions, this partnership offers a valuable new promotional and distribution platform for MLB games and content," MLB Deputy Commissioner, Business and Media Noah Garden said.
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Why It's Important: The Roku Channel reaches 120 million people in the U.S., according to the company.
Once mostly a hardware company that streamed other partners' channels and apps, Roku has grown its original programming through The Roku Channel. The move could help provide a boost to advertising revenue and lessen the dependence on other partners.
The Sunday kickoff game was previously part of a package for Peacock, the streaming platform owned by Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA). The deal with Comcast ended at the conclusion of the 2023 MLB season.
Roku signed a deal with the National Basketball Association for the NBA Fast channel and NBA Zone.
In June 2023, Roku signed a deal to be the official streaming home of Formula E races, marking its first-ever live sports partnership.
The push into live sports could help boost advertising revenue for Roku as sports have often led the way in advertising and are more resistant to consumers watching on-demand versus live.
More sports leagues continue to carve out additional rights packages for specific days of the week or aimed at streaming companies, which could benefit Roku if it stays aggressive in pursuing additional live sports content.
ROKU Price Action: Roku shares were up 3.49% to $62.26 at market close on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $51.62 to $108.84.
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Photo: Courtesy Roku
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