Major League Baseball is set to reassign national media rights to NBC, Netflix and ESPN, shifting long-standing packages and increasing fragmentation across platforms. NBC is slated to take Sunday night games, Netflix is likely to acquire the Home Run Derby, and ESPN would retain a 30-game package while negotiating to include MLB.TV within its direct-to-consumer streaming offering. Fans will need to navigate multiple services including Fox, Apple TV+, TBS and Roku to follow national games. ESPN previously paid $550 million annually for its prior package before walking away amid fee-reduction disputes.
Next month, MLB is expected to announce new media rights deals with NBC, Netflix and ESPN, which opted out of its current package that was to run through 2028. The moves will require some adjustments for fans, who already have to navigate Fox, Apple TV+, TBS and Roku to find national games. But the new baseball packages underscore how media companies are looking for any edge they can get in the streaming wars that have upended viewing habits.
ESPN will remain in the baseball business with a new package of 30 games exclusive to the network, according to one person briefed on the plan who was not authorized to comment because the deal is not finalized. The Walt Disney Co. unit is also in discussions to license MLB.TV, the streaming site that provides telecasts of every out-of-market game to its subscribers.
Most of the elements in the new packages were part of the deal that ESPN walked away from when the league rejected the Walt Disney Co.'s request to reduce the fees it was paying. ESPN was paying $550 million a year in a deal to air 30 regular season games a season, the Home Run Derby and a Wild Card
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