MLB Bizarrely Bungles Mets-Yahoo Relationship After Somehow Not Knowing it Existed
By Zack Jiang
Once upon a time, the New York Mets and Yahoo were scheduled to debut an app on Opening Day. The software would require a monthly subscription fee around $5 or $6, and would offer insider news and opportunities for interacting with the team. However, it's now late May and the app is still nowhere to be found.
This delay can be traced back to the MLB, which somehow had no idea that the deal between Yahoo and the Mets was going down at all.
The Daily News reports that MLB didn't realize or wasn't told that the Mets were going to be paid $3m/3yrs by Yahoo to cover the team and then held up the site's release because more teams wanted in on the cash. https://t.co/1BOORyZzs8 pic.twitter.com/FrPe6xXKpR
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) May 22, 2019
The Mets agreed this deal with Yahoo independently and signed it for three years and $3 million. It seems the MLB had no idea about this whatsoever, and decided to stall and let the rest of the league in on it when they finally found out.
Other teams are now in on the action; according to the New York Daily News, the Rangers, Indians and Angels are all interested in a similar platform. However, the process of trying get these other teams involved has delayed the Mets' version for months.
The app, which has been rebranded as Flushing Meadows Baseball Club, is now scheduled to be released in early June.
What’s going on with Yahoo’s Mets app? https://t.co/tzvdAMWysq @nydnraiss pic.twitter.com/Pnk8SXad3O
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) May 22, 2019
It does seem like the ball is finally rolling, as Yahoo has already hired multiple writers for the app. At long last, a new level of interactivity could be coming to baseball fans in Queens to provide a needed distraction from the oncoming dog days of summer.