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The Washington Nationals are among a number of MLB clubs who have dealt with local broadcast challenges in recent years. (Kenneth K. Lam \/ Baltimore Sun)<\/p>\nWith a contentious labor battle between Major League Baseball\u2019s players and owners on the horizon, fans can expect to hear plenty of salary cap chatter over the coming year.<\/p>\n
How the owners want it and how players will fight tooth and nail to stop it. How it will usher in a new era of competitive balance between the sport\u2019s haves and have-nots, and how MLB already has more parity than most other sports with a cap. And how the issue could lead to a lengthy lockout that could last well into 2027.<\/p>\n
Yet while the salary cap promises to dominate the headlines, another looming issue could have an even greater impact on the sport.<\/p>\n
Over the past few decades, cable television has played an outsized role in fueling MLB\u2019s revenues. Clubs partnered with regional sports networks to air their local broadcasts, and because almost everyone had cable, providers were willing to pay a premium to ensure the hometown teams were available. The networks became money-printing machines, and the best part was they and the clubs got paid whether you watched baseball or not.<\/p>\n
But now in the age of cord cutting and streaming services, that business model has collapsed.<\/p>\n
While big market teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox have continued to fare OK, many other MLB clubs have faced significant uncertainty with their local broadcasts. The most disruptive event was the bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, the country\u2019s largest operator of regional sports networks which at one point held the rights for 14 MLB teams.<\/p>\n
DSG initially filed for bankruptcy in March 2023 right on the eve of baseball season, and around that time it also missed a rights payment to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The company emerged from bankruptcy in November 2024, rebranding as the Main Street Sports Group, but its financial woes persisted.<\/p>\n
Now the company is expected to cease operations later this spring, and all MLB clubs which remained on its networks have terminated their agreements.<\/p>\n
The Washington Nationals are among a number of MLB clubs who have dealt with local broadcast challenges in recent years. (Kenneth K. Lam \/ Baltimore Sun)<\/p>\n
Though some clubs have responded by starting their own networks, MLB itself has largely picked up the slack and is expected to produce broadcasts for 14 of its 30 clubs this season. The affected teams\u2019 games have remained available to watch throughout all of the disruption, but the new arrangements haven\u2019t been nearly as lucrative as what clubs were generating before.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the streaming era has exacerbated the divide between baseball\u2019s big and small market clubs. How MLB responds and whether it can adequately shore up its clubs\u2019 revenues will play a major role in determining the sport\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t be long before the issue comes to a head.<\/p>\n
MLB\u2019s current national broadcast deals with Fox, NBC, ESPN, TNT Sports, Netflix and Apple all run through the 2028 season. Those deals collectively pay MLB approximately $2 billion per year, a far cry from the roughly $7 billion annually that the NBA is getting from its new national TV deals signed in 2024.<\/p>\n
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has made it clear he hopes to sell a national streaming package once the league\u2019s rights deals expire, and if the league succeeds it could mean a massive influx of cash. Atlanta Braves owner Terry McGuirk, who previously served as TBS\u2019s CEO, told The Athletic<\/a> in 2025 he believes such a deal could potentially be worth $100 billion over 11 years. That would be more than five times what MLB currently makes from its national deals annually.<\/p>\n Such a deal would significantly expand MLB\u2019s reach, enabling the league to better capitalize on its growing markets in Japan, Korea and Taiwan while ending the out-of-market blackouts that have plagued the sport throughout the cable era. With nearly half of the league\u2019s local broadcasting rights already under MLB control and more clubs potentially joining over the next few years, the league will have the ability to sell a sizable chunk of its games to interested streaming services.<\/p>\n But to maximize any national deal, Manfred will somehow need to convince the big market clubs to get on board, too. That won\u2019t be an easy task given the competitive advantage those clubs\u2019 local broadcast deals provide, particularly the Dodgers, whose $344 million per year deal with Charter is a huge reason why the club is able to carry such enormous payrolls.<\/p>\n If Manfred can pull it off, and especially if he can make the necessary adjustments to the league\u2019s revenue sharing program in the process, then not only will every club come away richer, but the small market teams could finally have the ability to compete with the sport\u2019s traditional powerhouses.<\/p>\n That type of level playing field is ultimately what baseball fans really want. So when you hear owners argue that a salary cap is needed to save the sport, don\u2019t forget they\u2019re looking at a gigantic cash windfall whether they get a cap or not.<\/p>\n While less of an immediate concern than the upcoming labor and broadcast rights negotiations, expansion is on the horizon for MLB as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to expand,\u201d Manfred told WFAN\u2019s Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle in a recent interview<\/a>. \u201cI think 32 would be good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26046709628917.jpg\")
Expansion and divisional realignment could be coming to MLB within the next decade. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)
\nLatest on realignment<\/p>\n
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Walpole’s Cam Schlittler, now with the New York Yankees, is among a number of locals set to participate in big league camp for their respective clubs this spring. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)