Nine days prior to the opt-out date between ESPN and Major League Baseball, both parties have reportedly reached an agreement to terminate their broadcast contract ahead of schedule. The Athletic’s Evan Drellich obtained a memo from commissioner Rob Manfred sent to MLB teams on Thursday, announcing this decision. The memo indicated that although there is potential for a future partnership on a new deal, it emphasized ESPN’s reduced coverage of the sport as a significant factor in the opt-out.
Consequently, the seven-year, $550 million annual deal that commenced in 2021 will conclude early, after the 2025 season, as a result of this shift. The situation escalated swiftly; ESPN believed it was overpaying relative to the agreements baseball made with Apple and Roku in recent years, while the league is confident it can secure a comparable deal with another partner. Manfred described ESPN as a “shrinking platform” in light of its forthcoming subscription app and separation from cable, adding that MLB anticipates presenting teams with “at least two potential options for consideration over the next few weeks.”
Baseball is banking on finding a more suitable partner without sacrificing significant financial gains from the ESPN deal. While the sport may not currently dominate the American sports landscape, its national viewership saw an increase last year, and it consistently delivers popular live sports content for half the year, including the typically slow months of July and August. The postseason attracts considerable interest throughout October, and the 2024 World Series demonstrated the considerable audience the sport can still attract when compelling teams compete in the Fall Classic.
Networks and streaming services looking to feature additional summer games without fully committing to baseball may find ESPN’s package appealing. This package encompasses a significant lineup on Opening Day, Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and the first round of Wild Card play-in games. Potential players include CBS, under new ownership, and Amazon, which is rapidly becoming a go-to destination for daily sports content.
Nevertheless, any agreement MLB enters into is likely to span only through 2028, coinciding with the expiration of its agreements with Fox and TNT Sports. Additionally, Manfred aims to create a local game bundle involving all 30 teams to sell to a broadcasting partner in that same year. Given Manfred’s critiques regarding ESPN’s coverage, the league will likely demand that any new partner dedicate more airtime to the sport, as MLB Network remains the sole destination for daily, live baseball analysis.
The prospect of entering early negotiations to become MLB’s third partner is likely to attract many platforms, as Manfred and the league are clearly banking on these platforms being willing to invest substantially.
