ESPN extends new-media deal for baseball coverage

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - ESPN and Major League Baseball Advanced Media announced Thursday that they have extended their new-media rights deal.

Financial terms of the agreement, which run through 2013, weren't announced. The deal will significantly increase ESPN's ability to put MLB content onto any number of platforms and, for the first time, allow ESPN to stream live games and the Home Run Derby telecast on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV.

The live streamed games available will be "Sunday Night Baseball," "Monday Night Baseball" and "Wednesday Night Baseball." They will appear on ESPN360.com, ESPN's online broadband service, which is different from ESPN.com.

Also included in the deal are online and mobile highlights and interactive TV applications. It will encompass other platforms, too, like Apple iTunes and Microsoft's Xbox Live.

The deal also includes fantasy baseball and data rights for ESPN's popular GameCast.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter