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KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 16: Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) is interviewed after a win in an MLB game between the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals on September 16, 2025 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners will be shuttering ROOT Sports at the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday and moving their game broadcasts under Major League Baseball’s umbrella moving forward.Â
The Mariners announced on Friday that MLB will be taking over production and distribution of game telecasts for the 2026 season, becoming the sixth major league team to have their production through MLB.
The Mariners will remain in charge of their broadcast lineup and the content of the game broadcasts. The team has had a controlling stake in ROOT Sports since 2013, and had 100 percent ownership of the network since 2023.
According to Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, Mariners chairman John Stanton was present at a meeting at ROOT Sports’ headquarters in Bellevue on Monday to inform the staff of the plans for the network. The network had already seen a significant reduction in staff in recent years and 25 more employees will be let go on November 3.
Per the Times, analysts Angie Mentink and Ryan Rowland-Smith, and pre- and post-game host Brad Adam are expected to be re-hired by the Mariners as either employees or as contract workers. Play-by-play voice Aaron Goldsmith is already a team employee. Layoffs are expected to affect production and business staff, such as camera operators, editors and sales staff.
“We continue to focus on finding new ways to bring our games in 2026 and beyond to our fans and we’ve determined joining with Major League Baseball is the best path,” the team said in a statement to FOX 13. “Beginning in 2026 and moving forward, Major League Baseball will provide opportunities to bring new features and benefits to viewers of Mariners baseball.
“We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and excellence demonstrated by the ROOT SPORTS staff over the (nearly) four decades they have televised our games.”
MLB will handle distribution of the team’s broadcasts through cable providers and streaming platforms.
Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) such as ROOT Sports, the YES Network, NESN and others became a critical source of revenue for sports teams throughout the last 20 years. However, the proliferation of streaming options and the decline in cable and satellite television subscriptions made the future of the network uncertain.
Add in the decision by the Seattle Kraken to leave the network after the 2023-24 season and move to an in-house-produced broadcast aired on KING and through Amazon and ROOT Sports was left with only the Mariners property for its major content.
ROOT Sports – and its various iterations – has existed since 1988 when it debuted as Northwest Cable Sports. Later name changes to Prime Sports Northwest and FOX Sports Northwest followed before becoming ROOT Sports in 2010.
The Source: Information in this story came from The Seattle Times, the Seattle Mariners and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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