Major League Baseball

Google announced today on its Chrome blog that Major League Baseball is adding support for its $35 Chromecast streaming stick through the MLB At Bat app for Android and iOS. That means that users with the app and an MLB.TV Premium subscription will be able to stream live and on-demand video content from the app (or from a browser tab in Chrome through MLB’s site) to a Chromecast connected TV. You’ll also be able to use the phone or tablet you’re streaming from as a second-screen experience to “check scores, stats and news” while watching the game on the bigger screen:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3LX84jdfnE]

Apple’s iBeacons aren’t the only Bluetooth LE beacons available, but they have so far been the default option for retailers thanks to the backing of such a well-known company. Qualcomm, which makes wireless chips for Apple among many others, may be aiming to change that with its launch of its own beacons from just $5 each.

Gimbal proximity beacons, available in two models, are accurate down to one foot and work indoors and outdoors […]

Depending on volume, Series 10 beacons [for indoor use] are available for as little as $5 each and Series 20 beacons [weatherproof version] are available for as little as $10 each.

While the move represents competition for Apple, it’s good news for iOS users … 
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Mashable reports that Major League Baseball has demo’d using Apple’s iBeacon indoor mapping technology to provide live baseball fans with a whole range of personalised and interactive experiences when attending games at stadiums.

An update to its At the Ballpark app provides both practical assistance and additional entertainment and interest.

By loading the free app when you get off the subway and head towards the stadium, it immediately knows you are at Citi Field. It populates a ballpark guide with information specific to the stadium, so if you were to enter Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park, the entire experience and data wouldn’t be the same.

As you near the gates, the app displays your ticket’s barcode on screen, as well as a map of where the seats are located. If tickets are loaded into Apple Passbook or purchased online through certain ticketing partners, the app will automatically pull them up … 
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MLB.com digital head Bob Bowman told AllThingsD that they were slowly picking up Android users – up from 20% two years ago to 30% today – but that iOS users still spend more.

The site offers a free app with a choice of paid subscriptions, at $19.99/month and $24.99/month. Bowman said that the majority of paid sign-ups came from iOS users …
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On top of just recently updating its At Bat 13 iOS app for Spring Training with a ton of new features, MLB announced at an event last night in New York that it will increase the number of stadiums accepting Passbook this season. According to a report from GigaOm, the number of stadiums accepting tickets through Apple’s wallet app will increase from just four to 13:

The teams that will start accepting Passbook tickets for the first time are the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. The New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, which began accepting Passbook last September, will again offer the service this season. MLB says there are three more teams that will enable iOS tickets this season, but that are not yet ready to make an official announcement.

CEO of MLB’s Advanced Media Office Bob Bowman told GigaOm that iOS users currently make up approximately 70 percent of all At Bat users and around 85 percent of paid subscribers. The updated iOS At Bat app includes a classic games video library archive, re-architected app navigation, and searchable video highlight library expansion to include access to complete video archives.

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Pitchers and Catchers are set to report over the next few days and MLB is getting its 2012 App ready

Baseball fans will be happy to hear that Major League Baseball is again bringing the MLB at Bat app back to the App Store so they can enjoy every game throughout the season on their iOS device. In previous years, the MLB at Bat app on the App Store made available audio of the games and in-game statistics. A premium package could open video for all games. This year, MLB is changing the way they bring you games.

Luckily for this season, MLB confirmed with EverythingiCafe that MLB at Bat ’12 would be available for free on the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad— as long as you pay for the one time subscription. The app will stream both audio and video and bring in-game stats.

MLB at Bat ’12 will be available Feb. 29 for free. However, if you want to use the app, you will have to pay a once-a-year $119 subscription as a returning customer or $125 as a new customer. Those who subscribe can view 150 Spring Training games and all 2,430 regular season games, though some are subject black outs. You can now sign up for the MLB.TV season on the MLB website. The first game will stream March 3.

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