Major League Baseball and ESPN have a framework agreement that would give the network the exclusive rights to sell all out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs over the next three years, sources briefed on the discussions told The Athletic.
ESPN would continue to broadcast around 30 regular-season games, but “Sunday Night Baseball” would move to a different night during the week. The games on the network would remain exclusive, meaning viewers would only be able to watch these matchups through ESPN. The agreement would begin next season.
The deal is not yet signed, and its full completion is not expected until September. The exact amount that ESPN will pay is not known, but it is substantial.
MLB and ESPN declined to comment.
The expected agreement arrives after ESPN opted out of the final three seasons of its deal with MLB, in which the network paid an average of $550 million per year for “Sunday Night Baseball,” eight-to-12 first-round playoff games and the Home Run Derby.
With cable diminishing, ESPN debuted its direct-to-consumer product Thursday that costs $29.99 per month and does not require a cable, satellite or YouTube TV-type subscription. The added features of its new app are available to most, but not all, customers who subscribe traditionally.
Netflix remains the heavy favorite to pick up the Home Run Derby for the next three years, while NBC and Apple are considered the top landing spots for “Sunday Night Baseball” and the first round playoff games.
Under the framework of an agreement between MLB and ESPN, ESPN would have MLB.TV as part of its direct-to-consumer offering. It is not fully clear yet if out-of-market subscribers who pay for the package through cable or other linear subscription would still be able to receive MLB.TV that way.
For digital consumers, fans are likely to need an ESPN direct-to-consumer subscription to go along with MLB.TV. The overall new pricing for MLB.TV is not yet decided, but is expected to be similar or slightly cheaper than the current $29.99 per month rate.
If the deal is signed, ESPN will have the full rights to in- and out-of-market games for five teams. The Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are the clubs under MLB control. Fans would likely need to subscribe to ESPN either directly or through an operator, and then, for an added price, they would be able to receive their local teams’ games.
The ESPN-MLB deal could eventually include MLB Network, but that is not set yet. MLB Network may be part of an add-on combo offering where it could be included in an ESPN bundle.
