Under a deal with the league's media outfit, MLB Advanced Media, Akimbo subscribers will be able to access condensed versions of games and highlights from the current season and full-game replays from preceding seasons. The clips from the current season will be available a day after the games are over and will be delivered automatically to subscribers every day, the company said Monday.
As video-on-demand services edge closer to the mainstream market, the world of sports seems likely to have a place of prominence, and key relationships are still being sorted out. In April, exclusive deals that MLB Advanced Media had with Microsoft and America Online came to an end, fueling speculation on possible tie-ins with other players in the market.
The Akimbo service is designed to let broadband users download select video programming to an Akimbo Player, which can store 150 hours of video. Later this fall, video is expected to be available for download to a Microsoft Media Center for viewing on televisions, the San Mateo, Calif.-based device maker said. Akimbo sources its video content from 125 providers, it said.
The Akimbo player and remote control are priced at $199.99, while the video service costs $9.99 a month, the company said.
