Message to Giants fans: Good luck trying to watch a telecast of Thursday’s 10 a.m. game from Philadelphia. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you’re out of luck.

Before the season, Major League Baseball thought it would be a good idea to broadcast weekday afternoon games through social media, largely to help broaden its market internationally. It set up an arrangement with Facebook to broadcast a game each week throughout the season, 25 in all.

And it is a good idea; digital production is the wave of the future. In recent years, the NFL has live-streamed Thursday Night Football games through Twitter and Amazon.

The big difference here: It’s a monopoly. None of the TV or cable channels that normally air Giants games will show the contest Thursday. If you paid for MLB Extra Innings, the outlet that broadcasts all of the games, forget it. Online only.

I’ve received nearly 100 responses since I provided this information on Twitter, and a lot of digital-wise fans don’t understand all the commotion. If you have a Facebook account, you can watch the game on a Smart TV with your Facebook app. “Get with it,” they say.

Well, that’s a very rude dismissal of people who haven’t quite joined the modern age — and never will. There are thousands of Giants fans who rarely use the internet, let alone Facebook, and look forward to watching on television sets. And they live for these telecasts; it’s the highlight of their day or evening. I guess in commissioner Rob Manfred’s world, these people don’t matter.

MLB’s deal with Facebook was also signed before the tech giant’s data scandal with Cambridge Analytica broke, spurring a movement for users to delete their Facebook accounts.

It’s nothing short of baffling that MLB won’t at least allow local telecasts — in Thursday’s case, in the Philadelphia and San Francisco markets. Given that the online audiences for the recent Phillies-Mets and Cardinals-Brewers games peaked around 75,000, the viewership would increase dramatically.

What’s good about this Facebook arrangement? No commercials on the broadcast; that’s about it. Javier Lopez will be part of the Giants’ Thursday broadcast, but not Duane Kuiper, who will work radio only (Mike Krukow isn’t on this road trip). And from what I hear, viewers are highly upset over the inclusion of viewer comments on the screen — a nod to the interactive crowd.

Here’s an assortment of social-media fan reaction:

“Sweet! I’ve always wanted to watch my baseball games on a 5.7-inch screen — said no one, ever.”

“I can’t see the game. Too many text balloons.”

“The Facebook telecasts have been full of problems. Last week, trying to watch the Dodgers, the picture was fuzzy and the broadcast was constantly delayed. I finally turned it off.

“Yeah, nothing like trying to watch a game on our phone. While doing so, being in a chat room with mediocre commentary. Radio it shall be.”

“This is so wrong on so many levels. I don’t have a Facebook account and surely won’t open one now.”

Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1