Foul Ball? MLB inserts ads into At Bat 2010 for iPad

As soon as I tapped my way into MLB At Bat for the Mariners game last night, I couldn't help but notice an ad on the splash page, and other ads on screen on the Game Day desktop.

Until now this innovative iPad app had been ad free, and at U.S. $14.99 a year, that made sense. Major League Baseball isn't exactly going to the poor house, with 6.6 billion dollars in revenues last year. MLB has the right to insert ads in the app, but it seems like a small breach of faith to users.There's more. If you already had the MLB iPhone app, you pay again for the iPad version. And so it goes. A nickel here, a dime there.

We've heard this song before. Premium apps that start ad-free, and then sneak in the ads once they build up a following. Another example is the CNN app, which is $1.99, and includes ads. Some people resent paying for the ads, others don't care.

What's your take? Do the ads on At Bat bother you, or are they no big deal? Do you want the option to buy a premium app with no ads?

[Thanks to Dave and other readers who noticed this]
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