Major League Baseball and ESPN have re-engaged in talks that could potentially extend their decades-long partnership, according to a report from The Athletic. The conversations are said to be in the early stages, with sources cited by Andrew Marchand that negotiations are centered around pieces of ESPN’s former broadcast package and potential involvement in local media rights. If no new deal is reached, ESPN’s 35-year relationship with Major League Baseball would officially end in October after the two sides mutually agreed to part ways before this current season.
The mutual opt out of the final three seasons of its $550 million annual agreement between MLB and ESPN included rights to Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and a portion of MLB’s postseason coverage including the wild card round.
Since the news of the upcoming split, networks including NBC, Apple, and Fox have been linked to potential pieces of ESPN’s former package. Manfred has publicly stated that he hopes to have a new rights deal in place by the All-Star Game in mid-July.
In a memo obtained by The Athletic earlier this year, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred described ESPN as a “shrinking platform” and criticized the network for offering “minimal coverage” of baseball outside of live game broadcasts. Despite the rocky upcoming separation, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro has expressed ongoing interest in being part of MLB’s evolving media strategy. Speaking in May during a presentation for ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer app, Pitaro said he viewed the network as a viable player in helping solve baseball’s local rights challenges.
MLB has faced mounting pressure to modernize its media distribution, especially as the traditional regional sports network model has declined. The league has already reached smaller streaming agreements with Apple TV+ and Roku, while actively exploring future plans for its MLB.TV platform.
According to The Athletic, ESPN is viewed as a top candidate to acquire rights to the league’s out-of-market streaming package, although any deal would likely be short-term. MLB is aiming to align all of its media rights agreements to expire after the 2028 season.
Both ESPN and MLB declined comment to The Athletic on the ongoing discussions.
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