By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets will make history during their game on April 4 at Citi Field. The Wednesday matinee, for the first time in United States history among its four major professional sports leagues, will be exclusively broadcast on social media.
The meeting will be the first of 25 afternoon Major League Baseball games streamed on Facebook during the 2018 season, according to engadget's David Lumb, who adds it will be the first time ever that a social network was granted "sole rights to broadcast games."
“This is part of the next great leap," said industry consultant, Lee Berke, of Friday's announcement.
“Much like the migration of sports from broadcast to cable, you’re reaching these milestones where the combination of the financial incentive and the audience allow you to make the next great leap."
All 30 club owners unanimously approved the move, according to Bloomberg. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by neither MLB nor Facebook.
All fans, except those in "select international markets," will be able to watch each of the 25 streamed, MLB Network-produced games on the MLB Live Facebook page. Games will be streamed on smartphones, tablets, computers and "other connected devices, including home TVs," notes Bloomberg. Exclusive rights will only extend on the national level and not international.
As part of the agreement, Facebook will be able to explore "social integration and graphics during the broadcast, enhancements popular with younger viewers drawn to digital platforms," per Bloomberg.
Three of the other 24 games to be streamed exclusively on Facebook, including the Phillies' second appearance on the social media network, will be:
- Wednesday, April 11: Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 1:15 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 18: Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m.
- Thursday, April 26: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Phillies, 1:05 p.m.
The remaining 21 streamed games after April have yet to be announced.
Facebook, and its 1.4 billion active daily users, began streaming MLB games last May, however they did not have exclusive rights until now. The social media network also has rights to stream the UEFA Champions League, Mexico’s soccer league, and "college basketball games involving smaller conferences."
