In a significant move that will impact the sports TV landscape, ESPN and Major League Baseball have decided to end their 35-year relationship after the upcoming MLB season. This decision brings prime sports rights to the market and marks a new chapter for both entities.
“We are grateful for our longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball and proud of how ESPN’s coverage super-serves fans,” said an ESPN spokesperson. “In making this decision, we applied the same discipline and fiscal responsibility that has built ESPN’s industry-leading live events portfolio as we continue to grow our audience across linear, digital, and social platforms. As we have been throughout the process, we remain open to exploring new ways to serve MLB fans across our platforms beyond 2025.”
The decision to part ways was described as “mutual” by another source, indicating that the league is interested in testing the market for its valuable rights.
This development comes at a crucial time for ESPN, as the Disney-owned sports giant is gearing up to launch a new streaming service this year that will feature all of its live programming, including MLB games.
Sources had previously indicated that ESPN was likely to opt out of its MLB deal due to the high cost of rights. However, ESPN executives have expressed interest in pursuing deals with regional sports networks to bundle them with their streaming offering.
While ESPN has secured critical rights such as last year’s NBA contract and the deal with the NCAA for women’s March Madness, the network has also been willing to let go of major rights like MLB and Big Ten.
Overall, this decision marks a significant shift in the sports TV landscape and opens up opportunities for both ESPN and Major League Baseball in the future.
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