As Major League Baseball (MLB) navigates its local TV future amid the decline of regional sports cable networks, the league is reportedly considering a deal for its MLB.tv out-of-market game service. According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, MLB aims to license this service to a major network or streaming platform. Commissioner Rob Manfred has set a tentative deadline of 2028 to consolidate a significant number of teams’ live local rights for sale to a streaming service, representing a crucial step toward that objective.
The decision to explore this avenue also presents another opportunity for MLB to generate revenue before the 2028 expiration of its TV contracts with Fox and TNT Sports. Following a recent “mutual” opt-out with ESPN, the league has been shopping a package that includes Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and the Wild Card round of the postseason. Thus, incorporating MLB.tv into these discussions enhances its overall value.
As of 2025, MLB.tv provides live viewing of all 30 teams’ games for out-of-market fans and includes exclusive live rights to 10 teams’ in-market games following the decline of several regional sports cable networks in recent years. Such a licensing deal could significantly expand MLB’s reach and revenue. By partnering with a platform such as ESPN+ (which the NHL did in 2021) or Amazon’s Prime Video, MLB can extend its audience while retaining production and technical control, an area it has excelled in since the establishment of MLB Advanced Media in 2000.
In the long run, the league’s objective is to offer exclusive live, in-market rights through MLB.tv for every team. Achieving this would remove baseball from the regional sports network business entirely; however, it may be a challenging prospect in the short term. While RSNs are diminishing as more Americans cut the cord, high-value local TV deals remain critical for big-market teams like the Yankees and Dodgers, making it uncertain when economic factors will favor bundling their in-market rights with the rest of MLB.
Nonetheless, the league is proactively beginning this process by putting MLB.tv up for auction. An initial licensing deal is expected to be relatively short, possibly aligning with the 2028 expiration of Fox and TNT’s contracts. This initiative signals the dawn of a new era for how baseball is consumed.
