In February, Major League Baseball introduced multitasking to its At Bat iPad app, allowing users to view its video inside the app while using Slide Over and Split View as well as outside the app with picture-in-picture. MLB tells TechCrunch that the adoption of the features has had a "profound impact" on live video consumption on iPad.

mlbmultitasking
During the first two weeks of the current baseball season, MLB found that fans who had the multitasking update spent 20 more minutes per day watching live video on the iPad compared to last year. On average, fans who used the new multitasking options while watching video were spending 162 minutes a day watching MLB's content, which is an 86 percent increase from last year. Fans who did not use the multitasking features while watching video watched an average of 101 minutes per day.

MLB's data was only counted on iPads that support full multitasking capabilities, like the iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4, although Slide Over is also available on the iPad Air and the iPad mini 2 and later. As noted by TechCrunch, MLB's app was already the most consumed app in terms of minutes, with users watching 6.9 million minutes of content during the 2015 regular season. ESPN was in second place with 6.1 million minutes.

MLB At Bat is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

Traverse Avatar
115 months ago
Sounds like something Youtube should take note of.
I use Tubex. It's very similar to the Google app, but supports all of the iOS' key feature, and the best part is that it doesn't launch every time you tap a YouTube link in Safari.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appledefenceforce Avatar
115 months ago
Sounds like something Youtube should take note of.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
115 months ago
Who cares....
Well, it would appear that you cared enough to post...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
115 months ago
Maybe Apple should make multitasking part of the OS instead of depending on developers to update their apps. Same problem Samsung had with split view on the Note phones, only a handful of apps can use that feature cause it depends on the app developer adding support.
They did. ALL YouTube has to do is use the standard video APIs and PiP is supported. They don't use it, probably not enough data collection for them.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rigormortis Avatar
115 months ago
this is why sling tv and netflix don't support picture in picture, because you would watch it more!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appledefenceforce Avatar
115 months ago
I use Tubex. It's very similar to the Google app, but supports all of the iOS' key feature, and the best part is that it doesn't launch every time you tap a YouTube link in Safari.
I also use Tubex. No ads in videos, PIP and split view support.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...