MLBAM, Turner Sports Bring Back Postseason.TV

For hardcore fans that need more than just their television during the MLB Playoffs, MLB Advanced Media and Turner Sports are back with the third season of Postseason.tv. The subscription-based broadband offering is based on MLBAM’s MLB.tv service and streams eight to 10 live camera angles from Turner Sports’ linear coverage of the Division Series and National League Championship Series on TBS and TNT.

“It serves as a great complement to the linear telecast,” says Matthew Hong, SVP/GM of sports operations at Turner Sports. “Obviously, more and more TV consumption is done with a second screen in the lap or in the hands — whether it’s a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The ability to watch the produced feed on the big screen and also focus in on something like the catcher’s signs at the same time is a great experience.”

Turner Sports is delivering eight isolated camera feeds during the Division Series and will offer 10 during the NLCS. The main broadcast feed is not included. Users can watch one camera angle or view up to four cameras simultaneously through the multiscreen option.

Postseason.TV subscribers can watch up to four cameras simultaneously through the multiscreen option.

The eight cameras are being provided during all four LDS series: a centerfield hard camera, tight centerfield hard, left-field–line hard, high-home hard, mid-home robotic camera, a super-slo-mo at first base, and a robotic camera in each team’s dugout. For the NLCS, Postseason.tv will add the blimp cam and aerial cable cam system.

This year, for the first time, Postseason.tv is also offering two angles of batting practice before every game. Although coverage of batting practice was available for selected postseason games in 2010, this year’s incarnation will provide a duo of camera feeds before every game.

“Last year’s product was pretty robust, but we’re expanding a few areas that we only dabbled in last year,” says Hong. “The best example of that is the [coverage of] batting practice at every single game.”

MLBAM encoders live in Turner Sports’ B unit, taking in each camera feed and delivering them discretely to MLBAM’s Chelsea headquarters in New York via the league’s fiber network. This is, essentially, the same transmission method used for MLBAM’s regular-season MLB.tv and AtBat subscription services.

In addition to multicamera viewing, users can access in-progress box scores, video highlights (edited and produced by BAM), and aggregated tweets from MLB, TBS, and fans.

“This [second-screen experience] is something that we truly believe in,” says Hong. “TNT Overtime for NBA, RaceBuddy for NASCAR, or PGA Championship Live — it’s all supplemental to what we are producing on television, and that is a key addition to the [overall experience].”

This season, Postseason.TV is exclusive to series that air on TBS and TNT. It will not be available for ALCS or World Series games airing on Fox, unlike in previous years. Subscriptions are available for a one-time fee of $5.99 for the complete package of LDS and NLCS games or individually for the Division Series ($3.99) and NLCS ($2.99). In addition to the Web-based product, Postseason.tv also is available on mobile devices via MLBAM’s AtBat 11 app for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android devices.