The rocky relationship between Major League Baseball and ESPN is getting a second chance, and it looks nothing like what came before.
According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, the two sides have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement that would transform ESPN into baseball’s primary digital distributor for out-of-market broadcasts over the next three years. Instead of the package of national games ESPN walked away from earlier this year, this new arrangement would see the network control the rights currently sold as MLB.tv as well as in-market local coverage for five specific franchises.
Apparently, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have found common ground in the streaming wars.
The partnership would fold MLB.tv into ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service, which debuted this week at $29.99 a month. Baseball fans would essentially get a one-stop shop for games, though they’ll likely pay extra for the full package of out-of-market access, per Marchand.
In addition, ESPN would handle approximately 30 exclusive nationally televised games per season, but the network’s normal Sunday night slot would be shifted to another weeknight.
Five clubs currently under league control – Cleveland, San Diego, Minnesota, Arizona, and Colorado – would have their local broadcasts distributed through this ESPN arrangement. Fans of these teams would need the ESPN subscription plus whatever additional fee MLB sets for local access.
The deal isn’t finalized yet, with Marchand reporting completion expected sometime in September. This proposed deal would allow ESPN to position itself as baseball’s digital headquarters while avoiding the massive financial commitment of its previous contract.
The irony here isn’t lost on us. ESPN spent years building Sunday Night Baseball into appointment television, then decided the investment wasn’t worth it in a changing media landscape. Now they’re back in business with baseball, just through a completely different model that acknowledges the reality of cord-cutting, and the value of local rights.