Roku partnered with viral baseball team the Savannah Bananas to exclusively air their game from Fenway Park, a free broadcast designed to prove the platform can attract viewers for live sports events without a massive rights deal.
Baseball gone bananas: The team plays an accelerated, entertainment-first version of the game called “Banana Ball,” featuring on-field dances, players on stilts, and rules designed for chaos. The made-for-TikTok spectacle regularly sells out MLB stadiums, making it a potent, low-cost bet for Roku.
A strategic at-bat: The Fenway broadcast is more than a one-off stunt. Roku has been building out its sports offerings with features like ‘Sports Zones‘ that pool content together, and this exclusive helps drive traffic to its own channel. While Roku got the Fenway game, the Bananas are also playing the field with a multi-game ESPN deal and an upcoming broadcast TV debut on The CW.
The final score: For Roku, landing the exclusive—even for a single night—proves it can win content battles against cash-rich giants using a clever, low-risk strategy. Roku’s sports push also includes more traditional content, including a new special on the history of the home run produced with MLB Studios. Meanwhile, the Bananas’ media tour is expanding, with ESPN detailing its own summer-long broadcast schedule for the team.
