Major League Baseball is looking to shake up its media rights lineup card, and the new partners on the bases could play big roles in driving home more revenue.
On Aug. 21, The Athletic reported that MLB and ESPN—who agreed earlier this year to opt out of their previous rights deal with three years left to go—were near an agreement to bring MLB.TV into ESPN’s new streaming app and give the network exclusive digital rights to out-of-market regular-season games (as well as in-market games for five clubs). The same day, the Wall Street Journal revealed that NBCUniversal is deep in talks with MLB to show Sunday night games on NBC and stream other matchups on Peacock as part of a three-year deal that would bring in $200 million annually.