and MLB part ways.
Full article.
MLB bores me to tears but this is quite interesting in light of ESPN's overall priorities, and their recent re-upping with the ACC in the midst of ill-informed speculation that they were going to walk.
MLB folks: Can you educate me on the dynamics of this? Is MLB just a tired, withering product?
After more than three decades together, MLB games might no longer be aired on ESPN after this year.
The league and network have "mutually agreed to terminate their agreement after the 2025 season," according to a league memo from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Athletic's Evan Drellich. The two parties were under contract through 2028, but there was a March 1 deadline for either to opt out.
In the memo, Manfred reportedly complains that MLB has “not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage.”
ESPN had reportedly been asking for MLB to take a lower rights fee than the $550 million average value on the existing deal. MLB declined, with Manfred reportedly saying he expects at least two potential options in the coming weeks.
Later, MLB released a public statement pointing to ESPN decreasing its baseball coverage but not ruling out a return.
The ongoing decline of cable network subscribers has thrown off the math behind those deals. Diamond Sports Group, which ran more than a dozen teams' RSNs, went bankrupt and shed some of those deals, with some of the teams affected starting their own streaming services under the league's guidance.
Meanwhile, MLB has reached deals with pretty much any streaming service that will pick up Manfred's phone calls. Apple TV and The Roku Channel both have deals with MLB currently, with Peacock previously in the mix and Amazon Prime even getting in on some New York Yankees games.
Full article.
MLB bores me to tears but this is quite interesting in light of ESPN's overall priorities, and their recent re-upping with the ACC in the midst of ill-informed speculation that they were going to walk.
MLB folks: Can you educate me on the dynamics of this? Is MLB just a tired, withering product?
After more than three decades together, MLB games might no longer be aired on ESPN after this year.
The league and network have "mutually agreed to terminate their agreement after the 2025 season," according to a league memo from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Athletic's Evan Drellich. The two parties were under contract through 2028, but there was a March 1 deadline for either to opt out.
In the memo, Manfred reportedly complains that MLB has “not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage.”
ESPN had reportedly been asking for MLB to take a lower rights fee than the $550 million average value on the existing deal. MLB declined, with Manfred reportedly saying he expects at least two potential options in the coming weeks.
Later, MLB released a public statement pointing to ESPN decreasing its baseball coverage but not ruling out a return.
The ongoing decline of cable network subscribers has thrown off the math behind those deals. Diamond Sports Group, which ran more than a dozen teams' RSNs, went bankrupt and shed some of those deals, with some of the teams affected starting their own streaming services under the league's guidance.
Meanwhile, MLB has reached deals with pretty much any streaming service that will pick up Manfred's phone calls. Apple TV and The Roku Channel both have deals with MLB currently, with Peacock previously in the mix and Amazon Prime even getting in on some New York Yankees games.
