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
127 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
127 months ago
Sounds like something Youtube should take note of.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
127 months ago
Who cares....
Well, it would appear that you cared enough to post...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
127 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
127 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
127 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

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
m4 macbook air blue 2

iPadOS and macOS 26.2 Double 5GHz Wi-Fi Bandwidth for Wi-Fi 6E Devices

Monday January 5, 2026 1:57 pm PST by
With the release of iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2, Apple has improved the Wi-Fi speeds for select Macs and iPads that support Wi-Fi 6E. Updated Wi-Fi connectivity specifications are listed in Apple's platform deployment guide. The M4 iPad Pro models, M3 iPad Air models, A17 Pro iPad mini, M2 to M5 MacBook Pro models, M2, M3, and M4 MacBook Air models, and other Wi-Fi 6E Macs and iPads now ...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...