ESPN will be out of the baseball business after it was confirmed the US sports network opted out of its contract for national broadcast rights for Major League Baseball (MLB) next season.
With the 2025 MLB season set to start in just under three weeks, the news may come as a surprise to many baseball fans across the US as ESPN has been a broadcast partner of the MLB since 1990.
The main contention between the two parties stems over a disagreement over fees for broadcast rights, with ESPN not budging from its stance of paying more than it previously has had for annual games.
In its pre-existing deal, ESPN was reportedly paying the MLB $550m per season which affords the network 30 national games, with 25 of those games coming on Sunday nights, which includes the Home Run Derby.
Despite having maintained a partnership for more than three decades, MLB asserted that ESPN was looking to lower the fee it pays for annual rights and was a cause for ESPN to opt out of its contract for the 2026 season.
An MLB statement read: “Given that MLB provides strong viewership, valuable demographics, and the exclusive right to cover unique events like the Home Run Derby, ESPN’s demand to reduce rights fees is simply unacceptable. As a result, we have mutually agreed to terminate our agreement.”
While the MLB maintains that the partnership concluded through a mutual agreement, ESPN maintains that it had a release clause to opt out from its deal, which the sports network exercised last Thursday (20 February).
An ESPN statement read: “We are grateful for our longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball and proud of how ESPN’s coverage super-serves fans.”
“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.”
Do surging rights valuations match TV ratings?
ESPN opting out of live baseball coverage is a major indication that the network is scaling back on how much it is paying for live sports rights, evident by the MLB claiming ESPN was looking to lower the fee.
Broadcast rights have become increasingly more lucrative not just in the US market, but across the globe. It has come as no surprise that the introduction of streaming platforms’ interest in live sports content has driven valuations to all-time highs.
While the MLB may opt to partner with a streaming service as one of its national broadcasters for this season, cable TV ratings have continued to fall for live sports in the US despite the parallel rise in broadcast rights.
According to Statista, TV ratings for MLB’s opening night from 2021 to 2024 – whilst steadily rising year on year – has yet to break the two million mark, which it was consistently breaking pre-pandemic.
This is not just the case for baseball however, as basketball is suffering the same ratings drop. Annual viewership for the NBA has been declining year-on-year as younger audiences are more digitally-included to watch highlights and clips as opposed to full-length games on TV, amongst other factors.
Does the MLB need ESPN?
MLB losing a national broadcaster the size of ESPN will no doubt impact the league’s reach across the US. However, after recording large live attendance and viewership figures last season, the broadcast split may afford the league to venture into new modern strategies.
While also growing its international fanbase last season, MLB could opt for a streaming partner that has a presence in hundreds of countries to enhance its global reach and scope. The league is also spearheaded by the popularity of the Los Angeles’ Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, who just recently won his first World Series last season.
“Entering the 2025 season, MLB is enjoying tremendous momentum led by generational talent on the field and an entertaining brand of baseball due to rule changes which have improved the pace of play and action on the field,” continued the MLB statement.
“The results have generated increases in attendance, viewership, streaming, international growth and overall fan engagement. The positive energy around the sport has also led to significant interest from both traditional media companies and streaming services who would like to obtain rights to MLB games.
“We will be exploring those opportunities for a new agreement which would start in the 2026 season following the conclusion of ESPN’s agreement at the end of this year.”
