ESPN has announced it will not renew its Major League Baseball broadcast rights agreement past the 2025 season. This decision, anticipated by many, prioritizes ESPN's investment in its upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service. The network and MLB confirmed the end of their long-standing partnership on Thursday.
ESPN's relationship with MLB dates back to the 1980s, with regular season and playoff games significantly contributing to its cable viewership. However, in recent years, the network has reduced its baseball programming, including downsizing its studio show, “Baseball Tonight.”
ESPN's move reflects broader cost-cutting measures at Disney and a reassessment of its sports rights portfolio. Last year, ESPN extended its NBA rights deal for 11 years, but has also restructured or dropped other contracts. "We are grateful for our longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball and proud of how ESPN’s coverage super-serves fans," the company stated. "In making this decision, we applied the same discipline and fiscal responsibility that has built ESPN’s industry-leading live events portfolio as we continue to grow our audience across linear, digital and social platforms."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred explained the split in a memo to team owners, highlighting the need to maximize the league's media rights value. “We do not think it’s beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform,” Manfred wrote. “In order to best position MLB to optimize our rights going into our next deal cycle, we believe it is not prudent to devalue our rights with an existing partner but rather to have our marquee regular season games, Home Run Derby and Wild Card playoff round on a new broadcast and/or streaming platform.”
Manfred confirmed that MLB is currently in talks with several broadcasters, though he didn't disclose their identities. The league is actively exploring new distribution strategies to adapt to the evolving sports media landscape, which includes taking over local broadcasts from struggling regional sports networks.
ESPN’s MLB coverage, particularly its exclusive “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcasts, has been a cornerstone of the sport's national presence for decades. While ESPN will continue airing games until 2025, its departure as a national broadcaster will undoubtedly reshape how fans access MLB games. This reflects the larger shift in sports media, as leagues and networks navigate declining cable subscriptions and the increasing popularity of streaming.