Streaming deals may have older fans worried about finding their favorite teams when the new Major League Baseball season starts. One fan thinks streaming is just the tip of the technology iceberg the league should be embracing. Mark Cuban told Dan Patrick that the sport’s future should be all about social media and algorithms.
Patrick asked Cuban if he would invest in the sport of baseball if it were a product presented to him on ABC’s Shark Tank. Cuban said he would, but he would require some changes, because baseball is better built for the future than anyone realizes.
“I think baseball is well-suited for the TikTok generation because it comes in small bites,” the Dallas Mavericks owner said.
In a perfect world, Mark Cuban wants to see Major League Baseball embrace the same model as TikTok. He said that the league should be developing an app that takes “an AI-driven approach” to fandom.
“You could create an application where you could be living in Dallas, you could be a Rangers fan, but if Ohtani came up or your favorite player came up, you’d have an app where can swipe in for those plate appearances.”
Cuban wants to see baseball embrace the hand social media has dealt the sport and also make more common-sense changes to attract younger fans. He dismissed seven-inning doubleheaders and putting runners on second as nonsense.
More effective changes, according to Mark Cuban, would be eliminating throwing the ball around the horn and encouraging personality through bat flips and other celebrations.
Cuban is not advocating for a presentation based on an algorithm to replace traditional coverage of Major League Baseball. He doesn’t think any technological advancement should replace traditional linear TV broadcasts. He says that his app idea could be offered at somewhere between three and five dollars per month to better serve younger fans.
Patrick asked him why it is that the answer seems so obvious to Cuban, but it isn’t something the league has figured out.
“That’s a mystery I’ve never been able to solve,” Mark Cuban laughed.
