MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league’s national television ratings performed exceptionally well in 2025, with viewership gains across multiple platforms despite ongoing challenges from cord-cutting.
In its final season, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball averaged 1.83 million viewers, up 21% year-over-year and marking the most-watched season for the program since 2013. Fox’s national broadcasts averaged 2.04 million viewers, a 9% increase from 2024 and its strongest season since 2022. FS1 posted a 10% gain to 324,000 viewers, while MLB Network averaged 232,000 viewers, a 21% increase, representing its most-watched coverage since 2018. TBS and truTV combined for 462,000 viewers, up 29% from the previous year.
“We did really well with our national partners despite the fact people continue to cut the cord,” Manfred told Sports Business Journal.
Even regional sports networks saw modest gains, with viewership rising 3% despite declining cable subscriptions. Meanwhile, MLB.tv set a record for minutes watched, totaling 18.9 million, a 34% year-over-year increase.
Internationally, Japan’s NHK network recorded its highest regular-season viewership, averaging 2.65 million viewers, up 20% from 2024.
Manfred said the increases set a strong foundation for the league’s new short-term media-rights deals beginning in 2026. NBC and Peacock will take over Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round, previously with ESPN, for a reported $200 million annually, according to The Wall Street Journal.
NBC will also air the Sunday morning package that had been exclusive to Roku over the past two seasons.
Streaming giant Netflix is set to air the Home Run Derby, also formerly with ESPN, under a reported $50 million annual agreement, CNBC reported.
ESPN will retain a package of midweek games, along with in-market rights for six teams—the Guardians, Padres, Twins, Diamondbacks, Rockies, and now the Mariners—through MLB-distributed broadcasts. The package also includes ESPN’s licensing of MLB.tv’s out-of-market content.
“We increased our reach and really positioned ourselves really well,” Manfred said. “Having SNB on NBC is going to be fantastic for us. We’ll have network ratings to sell off when we go to market in 2028. I think it’s really important that we kept ESPN in the fold. It is a go-to spot for sports fans. And I think starting a relationship with one of the big streamers [Netflix] is another good development for us.”
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