Back in February, Major League Baseball and ESPN opted out of the final three years of their contract together. That deal is still in place through 2025, with ESPN carrying this year’s rights to Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and the Wild Card round of the playoffs, but the rights for those events are up for grabs for the 2026-28 seasons. In May, it was reported that NBC had made an offer on that package.
Now it appears that the package may be split up and sold in separate parts, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Nothing is finalized yet but Marchand reports that the league is in negotiations with several different broadcasters about the pieces that ESPN is currently carrying. He says that NBC/Peacock and Apple TV+ are the frontrunners for Sunday Night Baseball and the playoff games, while Netflix seems likely to get the Derby. ESPN, meanwhile, could stay in the baseball broadcast business by picking up some weekday games. Marchand adds that ESPN has interest in MLB.TV but doesn’t indicate if that interest is reciprocal. John Ourand of Puck also reports that Netflix is hoping to acquire the Japanese rights for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Breaking up broadcast rights into pieces is nothing new for the league. They have had deals with many broadcasters over the years and currently have deals in place with ESPN, Fox, ABC, TBS, Apple and Roku. Peacock/NBC had the rights to the early Sunday game not too long ago, before Roku took over that slot.
MLB was set to receive about $550MM annually from the ESPN deal. ESPN was looking to renegotiate, pointing out that Apple is only playing $85MM for its Friday night rights while Roku is only forking over $10MM annually. The ESPN package has more appeal. Like Apple and Roku, they get one game per week, but there’s only one game on Sunday nights while Apple/Roku have competition from the other contests. The Derby and the playoff games obviously make the package more valuable. Still, ESPN didn’t feel the price gap was appropriate. Per the May reporting linked above, ESPN was willing to pay about $200MM per year but not more.
MLB evidently felt it could beat that $200MM and perhaps may do so by splitting up the package into pieces. Time will tell if they can succeed. As mentioned, these deals are still being negotiated and Marchand doesn’t provide any specifics about the numbers being discussed.
One thing that has been consistent in stories about broadcast deals is that MLB doesn’t want to sign anything beyond 2028. Multiple reports have indicated that the league’s various broadcast deals expire after the 2028 season. As various clubs saw their regional deals collapse with Diamond Sports Group, now known as Main Street Sports, some re-signed but always on short-term deals. It seems the league hopes to be able to market a very large package, or packages, of broadcast components to various companies for the 2029 season and beyond. Marchand reports that the current negotiations are consistent with that approach, with nothing beyond 2028 being discussed.
There are many moving parts and it’s a notable situation to monitor going forward. Broadcast revenue is naturally a huge part of the game’s economic landscape and there could be many twists and turns in the coming years. The baseball world is expecting a lockout in the 2026-27 offseason, once the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Many believe that commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners would like to push the MLB Players Association to get a salary cap. A staredown between the league and the union could lead to cancelled games in 2027.
Manfred and the owners would have to balance their desire for that cap against their leverage in these deals. MLB has seen an uptick in popularity lately, including increased viewership ratings, often attributed to pace-of-play rule changes such as the pitch clock. Having that momentum would help the league in negotiations with broadcasters but a lengthy work stoppage and missed games would almost certainly hurt baseball’s popularity and cut into the league’s leverage in broadcast negotiations.
Anyone but espn
The Apple TV+ games have made me almost appreciate ESPN.
I’m curious why you don’t like the Apple TV games? I don’t have it and haven’t seen any of their broadcasts
I don’t think the production is very good, nor do I find the presenters especially good. Hard to say it’s worse than ESPN, but at least ESPN just claims one game on Sunday night, instead of multiple on Friday.
Also, and this is personal preference, the Apple TV+ broadcast uses an iPhone-like UI for all the graphics, which I think look bad.
It does make me nostalgic to see Heidi Watney, one of the many good sideline reporters that NESN didn’t want to pay…
(Also you know you can put 😍 emoji here right?)
Don’t be so hard on yourself, Steve.
You’re not nearly that bad.
ESPN and Apple are terrible, both do in game interviews. Showing the game on a small box while the interview takes up most of the screen. Which is really bad if you are trying to watch the game on your phone. I could care less about what the player likes to eat. Just show the game.
The little snippet about ESPN being “interested in MLB.TV” made me shake my head. ESPAM would turn it into The Jerry Springer Show featuring Barbie Doll game analysts.
ESPN has been the worst national broadcast for years. Apple TV actually got people who do some research on the teams and seem to enjoy broadcasting.
I stopped watching espn almost a decade ago. Their coverage of any sport is just dreadful. I joke they don’t hire tv broadcasters for Sportscenter, they hire failed stand up comics who are still trying to keep the dream alive by telling awful jokes during sports commentary.
You guys are being way too hard on BSPN. They started showing edge of your seats games like cornhole and hatchet throwing during Covid . They have brought other games like the soccer style game with 3 teams competing against each other. Then the guys running around with sticks between their legs and a bunch of hoops they can score in. They actually carry kickball and dodgeball which are at least real games. There are others I am forgetting mostly on purpose. At least they do a decent job with the LLWS.
I am waiting for MLB to break the HR Derby first round goes to Disney 2nd rd to Paramount and final to Apple. If they can make more money that way who cares if you need 3 services.
In the next couple years all major sports will have all playoff games on non traditional stations. When the channels think they can do it it will be like Apple and the whole season will be on pay channels. Wish they would just go that way and get it over with.
Splitting it up is the worst outcome for fans. You either pony up for several subscriptions, miss games, or spend your time creating burner emails for free trials.
I dream of a future where each game is broadcast on a different service. 162 different services for 162 games. We can opt in to the ‘home only’ group and then it’s just having to pay for the 81 home broadcasters.
It’ll probably require folks to sign over their mortgage to MLB, who’ll become landlords to everyone (more revenue streams) and if you don’t own a home, they’ll just need half your paychecks.
And after all that, and they’ve maximized all revenue streams and squeezed every possible penny out of the market, 3/4 of the teams will still cry poor and not spend enough to compete…
But of course, it’ll never get that bad?
Right?…
JP8 —
100% agree. Manfraud and his cronies are butchering fan involvement with splitting the broadcasts like they do. Now, according to this report, it will get much worse. Doesn’t MLB realize that fans simply won’t shell out money for multiple subscriptions to see a game here or there?
We want continuity that is affordable, because being at the game is becoming pretty expensive too. MLB is going to kill off fans with its greed.
“Doesn’t MLB realize that fans simply won’t shell out money for multiple subscriptions to see a game here or there?”
They don’t care about alienating a few people. MLB wants streaming services companies bidding against one another to sell games/ASG events a la carte. The streamers want to add value to their paid subscribers to justify raising their own fees. We have until 2028 when MLB figures out which ones will pay the most. The data doesn’t lie as more people are watching baseball than ever before.
Maybe they can randomly pick one station at around 5 pm each Sunday to make it even more challenging for fans to know where to watch the game.
You mean like the NHL’s coverage before the Disney/TNT contract…
And this means more blackouts for fans, which will lead to more fans not subscribing to anything. So short-sighted.
The MLB.tv package is still the way to go even though their blackout parameters are garbage. I’m 4 hours away from KC and can’t watch when they play Boston. .
I finally canceled my MLB TV sub. I’m a Cubs fan living in Kentucky, yet the Cubs game are blacked out for me when they’re playing in Cincy… the next state over.
But even then I could deal with it. I know going in that there will be a certain number of Cincy-Cubs games I can’t see. But now it’s like 50% of the games are blacked out for me, because they’re on ESPN or Apple or Youtube or some casino’s channel. Got so tired of sitting down to watch the Cubs and finding out I couldn’t. Just hit the tipping point and canceled.
I gave up on MLBtv. As a Yankees fan who lives in the MASN area, the Orioles and Nats games are blacked out even though I live in NC. ESPN, TBS and Fox loves showing Yankees games. There are also games on Amazon Prime, apple and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. And there’s no discount for all those games not being shown on MLBtv. When I can watch all the games (or at least most games) with one sub then I’ll happily pay but until then they’re not getting any of my money.
Anything that leads to no more blackouts.
Sticking the wild card round of the playoffs on a streaming service would be a disaster. Also don’t think many people who don’t already have Netflix will be signing up just to watch the Derby.
That Apple B.S. has to go and i will never give my cable provider or anyone else more money to pickup another channel/subscription. Just let me, as a Blue Jays fan, turn on my TV, change the channel to Sportsnet and watch Labbat Blue Jays baseball like I use to be able to do.
What a mess it is today trying to find what company is broadcasting the game Back in the day the big three networks used to be happy wirh good ratings and people watching the commercials.
I feel like most of the commentators on here know more about baseball and the teams than the ESPN crew. They can tell you all about the 98 Yankees but are clueless about the teams today.
“I feel like most”…You can tell that Disney/ESPN hates baseball and only uses it to promote their latest celebrity and identity causes.
At ESPN, just look at how often the game is put into the background to talk about something other than the game you came to tv to see.
Not coincidentally, 1998 might be the last time ESPN was watchable…
I love Sydney Sweeney and her jeans.
Why does everyone have a crush on her
If you don’t know, I can’t explain it to you.
Really, you can’t wrap your head around why so many men are infatuated with a pretty young blonde girl with perfect, gigantic sweater missiles? Idk what to tell ya, man,
Up until the American eagle ad press i never knew she existed….
Sure, but when you saw what she looks like I’m sure it was not difficult for you to imagine why she is considered a sex symbol, no?
Ikr that’s why I wonder why so many people love her there’s prettier people to be parasocial with
@sad strange little Mariners fan: Are you saying people should only be attracted to whom you believe to be the most attractive woman? Wow.
Bro everyone has eyes
And preferences. Apparently yours don’t match up with those of a significant portion of the male population.
Agreed Dirty.
As for boycotts complaint of lack of derriere, I’m no sir mix-a-lot. I prefer a lack of junk in the trunk. It appears with advancing age anyways, no reason to add that before you need to IMO.
She does the Deep State symbolism in many photos. Given that I can’t help thinking she’s probably a man….Sidney’s Weeney
I feel like there isn’t really a legitimate sports company that likes baseball. They’re more focused on football and basketball. There are some like SNY that have a good broadcast staff but the overall product is pretty average. I’m not sure what the plan should be but they need to get the product to the masses to attract more eyeballs.
SNY really does have a good broadcast staff.
In these comments: a whole lot of people who need social media to tell them what to think.
@VegasMoved
Just look at the recent elections. Social media tells people what to think all the time. No one really has their own opinion.
I’ve listened to one Apple TV+ broadcast, and one of the commentators here mentioned the atrocious production quality, and they’re right. The sound was terrible, the commentators were awful, just an awful experience. It makes the ESPN broadcast look good, and those guys are horrible. ESPN is just the worst, they treat baseball like an unwanted step-child.
Sports going to streaming has been a terrible idea, idc how much they pay for the rights
Great. More baseball events/games I can’t watch. I don’t have AppleTV or Netflix & have no plans to add them. It already annoys me that I don’t get the Apple games on my MLBTV package.
Oh yes, lets get Baseball on 345,859 different channels and apps and devices and platforms, good lord… it makes MLB.tv feel like it should be free with how many games get taken away. I hate all of this.
Reminder to MLBTR users:
“Boycottsidneysweeney” is an infamous known troll who keeps changing his name and profile to evade bans and mutes. His previous usernames are TheOpener, The Voices, Evan Stanleyson, TrojanToss, oi0ewt98er, TheFormerPlayer, Fan of the Umpires, VoiceofREASON, soulefh, Owensboro, 88 Brooklyn Dodgers, BinHenders, California 8, Alvo Sumatro, tikiagedola ,and rachelmaddowishot and Masculinetimwaltz.
I know this because he uses the same schticks. Lately he’s been using controversial and irrelevant political references while also making the occasional “trade top 4 prospects” and the “10 teams are better than this team” thing going, hoping to start long-winding reply chains.
Some of you may be familiar with him, as a reminder, his past schticks are:
– “The next time they’re referred to as the “Trashtros” there’s going to be a problem.”
– “underrated city/team in all of sports, you can ask anybody”
– “Rome, Starke, Verducci, etc.”
– “Saw (injury) before seeing the rest of the headline and immediately figured it was about Mike Trout. Fragile guy.”
– “Outside chance at the hall of fame, (exaggerated percent) chance”
– “The joke is on the “A’s” if they leave Oakland like the pathetic cowards that they are.”
– If Joe Mauer got into the Hall of Fame which is laughable then it will be an outrage if they really do actually end up rejecting (player)”
– “Not 1 single other player from (veteran)’s rookie season is still playing for the (subject team). Almost unbelievable.”
– “Sign Trevor Bauer. Trevor is Waiting.”
– “Votto should be brought back for a 1 or 2 year retirement tour”
– “Did Toronto really sign a bad bodied first baseman to 500+ million?”
At this point, just mute him, report him or ignore him, because this type of trolling is the worst
I miss the days of TBS when Atlanta was “America’s Team”, and you could watch every game on one channel.
Don’t care what games are one what channels – I rarely watch the games from beginning to end – jump on, get the score and that’s about it. Too many graphics, stats and other analytics driven crap plastered all over the screen. Most of the broadcast teams suck. Quite content to listening to the games on the radio – in NY so mostly Yankee games ( home games are rough because stupid whale noise they blast when an opponent has a 2 strike count or the mind numbing pc Richard whistle after a strikeout makes it into the radio broadcast). I have to cut this short there are kids on my front lawn I have to go yell at
If Jackie Robinson were still alive today, I don’t think he would’ve approved of ESPN’S obsession with race. The true meaning of baseball is teamwork, regardless of race, but ESPN seems to think players with a certain skin color should get more coverage than others.
Gen-X and Millennials thought they were so smart when they “cut the cord”.
Turns out it was a Hydra, not a cord they cut.
I wonder about the Boomers and Gen Z?
Boomers didn’t (and still don’t, really) understand the new frontier, and Gen-Z was to young to understand/participate when it started about 15 years ago.
(Also, Gen-Z needs their own generation name, it’s not fair to them or Gen-X they have to piggy-back).
Personally I like the name Gen Z, but here’s my suggestion: iGeneration or iGens, since they grew up with technology.
A guy a worked with, who was Gen-Z, when talking about this very thing, suggested ‘the drug/pharma generation’ because of the rise of legal drugs, which no other generation has ever dealt with: from Opioids, to legal weed, drug companies play a larger role in your lives (now and forever) than for the other generations.
Typically, the name of the generation is supposed to tell you something about the era, as you out like iGen (but the iStuff was more Millennial or Xer. Maybe like the ‘Social Gen’ since Social networks were made by Millennials (this used by Gen-Z).
Silent Generation is the kids during “the red scare”
Boomers are the massive Child boom of the post WW2.
Gen-X because they (we) were the 13th born American generation (and supposed last, or herold of the end times…we loved that…sigh).
Millennials because they’d be ‘adults’ at the turn of the century. (Kinda lame for them, FBI calls them ‘the predator generation’ since they the school…you know).
But Gen-Z just means ‘kids of Gen-X’. Y’all should definitely do you…from gender to drugs and social media, you could be the overwhelmed generation…
Many people in my generation are struggling badly. ‘Overwhelmed’ seems like a good word.
Apple TV playoff games would make everyone shoot themselves
My wife keeps hoping for games on Hallmark and HGTV,
Is Lifetime still around? lol
Didn’t BSPN hire Hill back? I thought I saw a blurb about it. Just another reason not to watch.
Here is a bold proposal – how about just making MLB.TV all inclusive of all MLB events, with no blackouts. That is a structure I would pay more for. I already pay too much to subscribe to Youtube TV, MLB TV, HBO, Netflix, Peacock, and Paramount, and that is where I’m drawing the line. Oh, and Amazon Prime, but I have that mainly for the shopping and when it’s not football season I honestly forget it’s even there in terms of streaming. I am not adding Apple, I am not adding Disney, I am not adding Roku, I am not adding anyone or anything else. It should not be this complicated to follow one GD sport.
Hear hear! Fully inclusive MLB.TV with no blackouts sounds good to me!
No interest if I can’t record the games and watch when I want.
I stopped watching Home Run Derby many years ago because of Chris Berman, the biggest blowhard in television history.
Oh no why you have to do that – now going to bed and will have nightmares of back back back back
Right? My God, he’s SO obnoxious! His Howard Cossell impersonation is so horrible and he uses it nonstop.
I didn’t realize he was still alive.
It’s gotten all so bad, shame for those of us who grew up watching Sportscenter.
I don’t much care who gets the games, but I don’t like the idea of splitting it all up. Regional sports networks and piecemeal deals for day games on Facebook or the Friday Apple+ games makes it a pain to follow your favorite team.
If MLB was smart they’d take OWNERSHIP of the broadcasting rights and bring everything in house. Put it all on MLB.com and do away with blackouts or only allowing out of market games. Keep the %@#$ gambling out of it (so Cleveland can still have a bullpen). But smart is not a word I’d apply to many MLB owners or Commissioner Rob Manfred.
I have the feeling that the proverbial barn door is already closed when it comes to gambling. The leagues will not pass up all that money.
I used to think Emily RatajkowskI was hot, but then she starting talking and ruined it.
Talking about what?
She’s the worst.
ESPN is so bad. Especially when Jessica Mendoza and ARod were calling games. Those two were so bad. Eduardo Perez has the most cringe voice ever.
ESPN is a clear hatred for the Cubs as well.
Apple TV is terrible because they’re completely biased over one team. They glaze the crap out of a team and might say 2-3 positive things about the other team.
I’ve never watched it on Apple. What team do they favor? Can’t be as bad as ESPN with the Red Sox and Lakers.
“Meanwhile” has to START the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.