Action only NFL / MLB games / videos?

January 26, 2015 3:05 PM

I'm interested in finding a site / YouTube channel / similar portal that shows only the "action" portion of sporting events. For example, a Youtube channel that would edit out all of the footage from NFL games, showing only the time when the clock was running. MLB has clips of key pitches/hits on their site (as does the NFL), but not the whole game from what I can find. Can anyone point me in the right direction of a full game trimmd down to only the "action"?
posted by thankyoumuchly to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

DirecTV Sunday Ticket Short Cuts is the NFL equivalent.
posted by zamboni at 3:14 PM on January 26, 2015

NFL Films has been doing that for decades. They would take all the film from a game and edit it down to a one hour show (including advertising) which used to be shown in off-hours.

However, I'm not sure if they still do it.

Also, you aren't going to find that on YouTube. The NFL is very sensitive about illicit distribution of their product.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:15 PM on January 26, 2015

Best answer: MLB provides "condensed games" on the Media Center page. (e.g.). It usually takes an hour or two after each game for them to get posted, and I don't know if they're limited just to MLB.tv subscribers or not, but once the season starts, you could take a look and see if they meet your needs. (There's no commentary -- just the ballpark sounds.)
posted by tonycpsu at 3:28 PM on January 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

Huh, I guess the condensed games don't have every pitch, so I guess that won't work for you.

I actually spent some time developing a script that would download full games (from my MLB.tv subscription) and slice the file based on timestamps from MLB's various live game XML feeds, but it's so easy to skip ahead/back with MPV that it wasn't worth the effort.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:32 PM on January 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I believe the magic phrase you want, for the NFL at least, is "Coaches' Film".
posted by xbonesgt at 4:12 PM on January 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all! "Condensed games" is what I was looking for.

MLB provides them through their official YouTube channel. NFL allows a free trial, but makes you pay (looks like the cost is ~25 - $35 per season) for their condensed games.
posted by thankyoumuchly at 4:57 PM on January 26, 2015

Just seconding that the MLB.tv "condensed games" don't even come close to giving you a whole game. They trim every plate appearance down to just the final pitch, and unpredictably skip uneventful plate appearances.
posted by RogerB at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2015

If you have any interest in American soccer, MLS Live (subscription service) also offers condensed match videos that are about 20 minutes long and skip most of the "we're running to this side of the field! Nope, now it's this side of the field!" stuff. It's been a fun way to catch up on games from teams I don't really care about.
posted by Kortney at 7:48 AM on January 28, 2015