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Bleacher Report and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery are getting in on the surging popularity of alternate telecasts.
For the upcoming American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, the B/R app will stream an exclusive alt-cast featuring current and former MLB players, as well as media personalities.
Much like ESPN’s extremely popular “ManningCast,” B/R’s viewing experience will place the main TBS telecast alongside the talent via TVE authentication, allowing them to informally commentate on the game action and riff on anything else.
- For Wednesday’s Game 1, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen will be paired with sports broadcaster Jaime Maggio, while Game 4 will see 2016 World Series champion Dexter Fowler alongside reporter and host Kirsten Watson.
- Due to contract stipulations, B/R is only able to show part of the games in its app — so the viewing experiences will only be live in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.
- The experiences will also lean into fan engagement, as viewers will be able to ask the talent questions.
The experimentation for these two postseason games is part of a bigger push for WBD to find its digital fanbase.
“We are building content around sports moments that young fans can share together in a community through real-time conversation in our app,” says Bleacher Report VP of Content Development and Production Tyler Price. “This content can be alongside the digital rights that we hold or where we believe we can innovate most in the space.”
As part of its efforts to expand its app, B/R has done similar telecasts in the past.
Hockey content creator Nasher hosted live alternate streams for a period at a time during the Oilers-Avalanche and Panthers-Lightning series of last season’s NHL playoffs.
Basketball creator Kenny Beecham hosted alternate telecasts during the fourth quarters of several regular-season games — with Dwyane Wade joining him for one of the streams.
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