WebProNews

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL) have teamed to offer each leagues games online via a bundled subscription.

Earlier this month, MLB.TV went on sale with its full-season package (March-October 2009) for $109.95, a $10 discount off the 2008 price. NHL will launch its standalone Race for the Cup service on February 16 for $79.95. The bundled subscription for the two leagues will be available February 16 for $139.95.

The content partnership will allows subscribers to watch every regular season game, more than 100 spring training games and the first two rounds of the World Baseball Classic on MLB.com.

NHL.com will offer 40 out-of market games per week for the rest of the current regular season as well as select Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"We believe this partnership with the NHL is an important initial step in the future of online subscription programming for valuable content providers," said Bob Bowman, MLB.com President and Chief Executive Officer.

MLB.com is introducing an improved MLB.TV video player with high-definition video. Technology by Swarmcast will detect the speed of a user's Internet connection to adjust and control the quality of the video.

The player will offer DVR functionality, multi-game viewing options, game radio option and real time player tracker alerts.

"MLB.com has built a great business by engaging their audience with a best-in-breed product," said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins.

"This partnership is all about our mutual commitment to deliver world class digital sports experiences to sports fans everywhere."