https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/mlb-opt-out-rights-after-2025.html

Either ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/qslwi2/does_espn_hate_baseball/) or MLB could opt out (https://nypost.com/2023/10/23/espn-has-opt-out-in-mlb-deal-how-it-could-affect-sports-media/) of their seven-year (https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2023/10/23/espn-has-opt-out-in-mlb-contract-after-2025/) rights deal (https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/espn_mlb_have_opt_outs_of_current_rights_deal/s1_13132_39429076), running through 2028, following (https://thestreamable.com/news/report-espn-has-an-opt-out-clause-for-mlb-contract-that-can-be-triggered-after-2025) the 2025 season.

Where have ESPN’s baseball personalities disappeared to? (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-baseball-personalities-disappear.html)

By Jesse Pantuosco on 10/06/2023

The MLB playoffs are here, but watching Get Up and First Take, both staples of ESPN’s morning programming, you’d never know it (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/16yx3mx/espn_and_espns_baseball_coverage/).

What’s so infuriating is that ESPN used to be a breeding ground for baseball talent (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1728bnx/where_have_espns_baseball_personalities/), an incubator producing household names like Steve Berthiaume, Jayson Stark, John Kruk, Brian Kenny, Orel Hershiser, Adnan Virk and Rick Sutcliffe. Which begs the question, where did they all go? Regardless of where they disappeared to (most were poached by competitors), ESPN never bothered to replace them, failing to develop new personalities while squandering the ones they had, reducing veteran reporter Buster Olney to moving scenery.

Cognizant of its precarious position as a sport in crisis, MLB has heard your complaints, making sincere efforts to improve its product, hoping to attract a younger audience with shorter games, higher scoring and a viral presence on social media. ESPN is a known brand and one of the few platforms big enough to truly grow the game. However, what could be a fruitful relationship continues to be undermined by ESPN’s reluctance to step out of its comfort zone, treating MLB not as a partner (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/qslwi2/does_espn_hate_baseball/), but as filler content to get through the lean summer months, finger foods offered as appetizers before the main course.

You might need prescription lenses to see it, but, truthfully, the writing’s been on the wall for years with ESPN making a conscious effort to distance itself from MLB, broadcasting fewer games (only Sunday nights with the exception of Opening Day and this week’s Wild Card slate) while dramatically scaling back Baseball Tonight, a fan favorite once considered the gold standard for MLB studio shows. With streamers like Apple and Peacock expanding their broadcast horizons, circling the live-event space like hawks, it wouldn’t be a surprise if ESPN soon punted on baseball altogether, declining to renew its rights deal with MLB when it expires in 2029.

ESPN reportedly leaning towards opting out of MLB contract (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-reportedly-leaning-towards-opting-out-of-mlb-contract.html)

With the rights fee market going through a squeezing, ESPN could look for more (https://www.google.com/search?q=ESPN+reportedly+leaning+towards+opting+out+of+MLB+contract&oq=ESPN+reportedly+leaning+towards+opting+out+of+MLB+contract&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigAdIBCTEwODRqMGoxNagCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1) bang for their buck from Major League Baseball.

ESPN reportedly leaning towards opting out of MLB contract (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-reportedly-leaning-towards-opting-out-of-mlb-contract.html)

With the rights fee market going through a squeezing, ESPN could look for more (https://www.google.com/search?q=ESPN+reportedly+leaning+towards+opting+out+of+MLB+contract&oq=ESPN+reportedly+leaning+towards+opting+out+of+MLB+contract&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigAdIBCTEwODRqMGoxNagCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1) bang for their buck from Major League Baseball.

SBJ's John Ourand predicts (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/01/08/sports-media) ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1boaykc/awful_announcing_espn_reportedly_leaning_towards/) will walk away (https://old.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/191ur9w/sbjs_john_ourand_predicts_espn_will_walk_away/) from MLB, NBC will step up:
ESPN exercises the out in its MLB deal

ESPN and MLB have an “out” clause in their deal after the 2025 season. By the end of this year, ESPN will let MLB know that it will exercise that out in 2025. This does not mean that ESPN will walk away from MLB in 2025. But it does mean that ESPN will try to negotiate a lower rights fee.

NBC will carry more MLB games

Peacock’s deal for Sunday morning MLB games is over, and the league has been shopping it to other media companies. Look for NBC to renew that deal, but only if it can carry more of those games on its broadcast channel. Given the likelihood that ESPN will opt out of its deal after the 2025 season, MLB wants to maintain its relationship with one of the big broadcast networks.

Karl Ravech explains why he misses nightly ‘Baseball Tonight’ format

"I’m grateful people remember it fondly, and I’m saddened by it, too, that none of it exists in that way anymore."

By Reice Shipley on 07/07/2024

Prior to 2017, ESPN’s top baseball studio show, Baseball Tonight, was aired nightly throughout the season (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/baseball-tonight-or-any-other-daily-baseball-show-will-not-return-to-espn-in-2019.html) to show baseball fans some of the most important action each night in the MLB. But now, the show solely acts as a pregame show for the network’s live MLB broadcasts, such as Sunday Night Baseball, which old Baseball Tonight host Karl Ravech is somewhat upset about (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1dyljwt/karl_ravech_explains_why_he_misses_nightly/).

Last month, Ravech responded to a post on Twitter about the old Baseball Tonight format with a caption reading ‘Remember when Baseball Tonight aired every single night and it was just an hour of highlights and we were a proper society?’

In response to this post, Ravech promptly said that he remembers the format “like it was yesterday”.

Ravech, who now holds several key roles at ESPN regarding the network’s baseball coverage, including being the play-by-play voice of Sunday Night Baseball, explained his reasoning for this tweet in a recent conversation with Chad Finn of The Boston Globe.

“I’ll be honest,” said Ravech (https://www.boston.com/sports/media/2024/07/06/no-days-off-karl-ravech-espn-baseball-season-chad-finn-media/), “That tweet was obviously a reaction to the program, which I know they loved. And I understand that with the people that were on it, with Peter [Gammons] and Harold [Reynolds] and [John Kruk] and [Bobby] Valentine. There was no other place to get something like that.

“But it felt almost as much about the difference in the temperature of the country and the world back then that people were also longing for, as opposed to the climate we all live in today and the animosity that’s everywhere. It was about both things. I’m grateful people remember it fondly, and I’m saddened by it, too, that none of it exists in that way anymore.”

There was truly a time when ESPN was the worldwide leader in baseball coverage (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1dxvon6/is_espn_the_worst_baseball_telecast_going_right/), thanks to Baseball Tonight. We at Awful Announcing even listed Baseball Tonight as a top-10 ESPN show in the history of the network (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/top-10-shows-all-time-sportscenter-outside-lines-pti.html).

Outside of Sunday Night Baseball, the network’s baseball coverage is certainly lacking a bit. Given Ravech’s background as the longtime host of Baseball Tonight, it’s fairly understandable that he is somewhat saddened by how much things have changed over the years.

MLB warns ESPN it could walk away from deal if network exercises opt-out (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/mlb-walk-away-media-rights-deal.html)

The league currently gets $550 million per year from ESPN.

https://awfulannouncing.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2020/11/ESPN-MLB-logo-768x411.jpg

By Drew Lerner on 02/06/2025

The future of Major League Baseball’s national media rights deal is looking more uncertain (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-espn-contract-talks-opt-out/).

According to a report by Evan Drellich and Andrew Marchand in The Athletic (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6119351/2025/02/06/espn-mlb-opt-out-warning/?source=emp_shared_article), the league is threatening to walk away (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1ijfr7v/if_espn_opts_out_of_tv_deal_mlb_warns_it_could/) from a new deal with ESPN should the network exercise its opt-out following the 2025 season.

Under the current terms of the agreement, both ESPN and MLB have an option to opt-out of the seven-year deal, ending the current contract that is set to go through 2028 after the 2025 season concludes. Should either side seek to exercise its option, they’d have to do so in March of this year.

Considering MLB’s posturing, it’s unlikely they have any interest in exercising the opt-out. However, it’s long been rumored that ESPN is likely to opt-out and attempt to restructure a more favorable deal with the league. ESPN currently pays the league $550 million per season for its media rights package which includes Sunday Night Baseball and a Wild Card series in the postseason.

For comparison, Fox pays approximately $728 million per year for its package which includes the World Series and an LCS, in addition to early round playoff and regular season games. Warner Bros. Discovery pays $535 million per year for its package which includes an LCS and non-exclusive regular season games.

Last year, John Ourand of Puck reported (https://puck.news/espn-wants-to-have-it-both-ways-with-mlb-rights/) ESPN was upset in the value it receives from its package compared to other broadcasters. After all, ESPN’s package is not all too different from Apple, which pays a considerably less expensive fee of $85 million per year for exclusive Friday night games.

The Athletic report mentions ESPN’s interest in local MLB rights as the network prepares to launch “Flagship,” its direct-to-consumer streaming service, this fall. However, most clubs are tied into deals beyond next season — especially ones that could be seen as subscription-drivers for ESPN’s future streamer.

Should MLB walk away from a deal with ESPN, the league would be searching for ways to recoup more than half-a-billion dollars per year in lost revenue. That won’t come easy in today’s television landscape.

What happens if ESPN exits MLB contract? (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-exit-baseball-contract-nbc-cbs-amazon-netflix.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky)

And would that be a mistake for the Worldwide Leader?

MLB, ESPN opt out of TV deal for 2026-28; MLB cites ‘minimal coverage’ (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6149921/2025/02/20/mlb-espn-opt-out-tv-deal/)

Major League Baseball (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1iuc35h/drellich_mlb_espn_opt_out_of_tv_deal_for_202628/) and ESPN (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/looming-media-rights-race-really-about-local-tv.html) have “mutually agreed” to end their national television deal (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-mutual-opt-out-broadcast-deal.html) after (https://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/636663/2025-thread-dodgers-evil-empire?page=22) the upcoming 2025 season (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-espn-deal-terminated-after-this-season-rob-manfred/), according to a memo (https://www.reddit.com/r/mlb/comments/1iucazv/mlb_espn_opt_out_of_tv_deal_for_202628_mlb_cites/) baseball commissioner Rob Manfred sent to his owners (https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/espn-opts-out-of-mlb-deal.2988289/) Thursday afternoon that was obtained by The Athletic (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25159354-report-mlb-espn-end-tv-contract-manfred-calls-out-minimal-coverage-platforms).

5 MLB broadcast partner options after ESPN break-up (Hint: a lot of streamers) (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2025/02/mlb-broadcast-partner-options-espn-exit)

Blake Schuster
February 20, 2025 9:33 pm ET

Commissioner Rob Manfred sent a memo (https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/more-sports/mlb-and-espn-agree-to-end-broadcast-partnership-after-2025-season/117617419/) to all 30 clubs informing them MLB (https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/mlb-espn-agree-to-drop-national-tv-contract-following-2025-season.45143/) is opting out of a broadcast partnership (https://motociclismo.pt/en/espn-ready-to-break-bonds-with-mlb-after-30-years-sends-shockwaves-through-the-sports-world-putting-a-550-million-deal-at-stake/) with ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/comments/1iuew4o/to_the_people_saying_espn_is_dying_because_of_a/) following the 2025 season (https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/espn-and-mlb-ending-35-year-partnership-after-2025-season.775339/#post-6793733). According to The Athletic, Manfred cited ESPN’s request to lower the rights fees as a key catalyst while arguing the network hasn’t done enough to highlight the sport.

“We have not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage,” Manfred wrote (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1iuf1in/mlbs_statement_on_espn/).

MLB and ESPN are in a seven-year deal worth $550 million annually that began in 2021. The two have been broadcast partners dating back to 1990. While both Manfred and ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/comments/1irwpoy/what_needs_to_be_done_to_save_espn_in_your_view/) left the door open to further negotiations, it sure seems like MLB is going to need a new home for the Home Run Derby, Wild Card playoff round and marquee regular season games — including Sunday Night Baseball.

Here’s a look at the landscape and where MLB might land next (https://www.resetera.com/threads/espn-and-mlb-major-league-baseball-mutually-agree-to-end-national-tv-contract-after-the-2025-season.1115079/).

NBC/Peacock

NBC has attempted bids on MLB rights twice in the past few decades, failing to secure a package in 2007 and 2014. Might the network take another run this time around? The launch of its Peacock streaming service, and a renewed interest in live sports with the return of the NBA on NBC, makes the network a logical suitor once again. NBC also wouldn’t mind Sunday Night Baseball as complement to Sunday Night Football, at least until the fall scheduling conflicts kick in.

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime has found its footing in the live sports world with Thursday Night Football and has already sunk $3 billion into NFL and NBA rights. Could MLB be next? It depends on what it brings to the table. Even if it added a studio show, it’s hard to see how Amazon gets baseball in front of more fans than ESPN, but if the investment is big enough, MLB will have to listen.

If nothing else, this should give us a good look at just how far into live sports Amazon Prime is willing to push.

Netflix

Netflix carries all the same concerns as Amazon Prime, but the streaming giant’s foray into live sports has mostly focused on one-offs like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and NFL Christmas Day games, with the exception of WWE.

It wouldn’t be stunning to see Netflix make a similar pitch to baseball as it did for pro wrestling, but again, the exposure becomes an issue.

TNT/Max

Would losing NBA rights lead Turner Sports to expanding its MLB portfolio? The infrastructure is already there with TBS, as is the streaming capabilities with Max. This could be a perfect marriage — assuming the money is right for both sides.

CBS/Paramount+

Granted, CBS already has a very crowded spring schedule with March Madness and The Masters, but this would give MLB the type of exposure it’s seeking — especially when you consider Paramount’s penchant for special Nickelodeon-themed broadcasts to reach younger audiences. The Paramount+ streaming service is very attractive, and CBS has proven it can build around tentpole events given all of its soccer coverage.


In MLB-ESPN split, baseball’s media strategy to blame (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-espn-split-blame-media-strategy-roku-apple-deals/)

5 MLB broadcast partner options after ESPN break-up (Hint: a lot of streamers) (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2025/02/mlb-broadcast-partner-options-espn-exit)




In MLB-ESPN split, baseball’s media strategy to blame (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-espn-split-blame-media-strategy-roku-apple-deals/)


Where will MLB take its newly available media rights after ESPN breakup? (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/media-rights-espn-opt-out-amazon-nbc-cbs.html)

On Thursday evening, reports surfaced that Major League Baseball and ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=ESPN+MLB&cId=0eb26dcf-2568-405c-b8eb-8169e24b4eaf&iId=6d8c9d36-b7ab-4090-82b9-541fc4c490c7) had “mutually agreed” to part ways (https://www.google.com/search?q=espn+mlb+opt+out+site:www.reddit.com&sca_esv=a8f7548827ffe170&sxsrf=AHTn8zreAw3qnNqA8GS-UJ_EW5bMnDLopQ:1740178103414&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwi8uMzN7NWLAxX5HzQIHR_4JJ8QrQIoBHoECDIQBQ&biw=1920&bih=1013) following the 2025 MLB season.

Whether that decision was as mutual as Commissioner Rob Manfred made it out to be in his memo to MLB’s 30 owners is highly debatable. But what isn’t debatable is the ripple effect this decision will have on the sports media rights market and several media companies’ live sports content strategies in the coming years.

This piece will attempt to rank the most likely spots the league could take its newly available media rights, which include a premier package of exclusive regular season games in Sunday Night Baseball, the Wild Card round of the postseason, and key events like Opening Day and the Home Run Derby.

Per Manfred’s internal memo, MLB will be looking toward broadcast networks and streamers for its new deal to avoid the “shrinking platform” that is cable television.

So, without further ado, here are the possible landing spots for MLB beginning in the 2026 season:

1. Amazon/Prime Video

The streamer seems like a natural landing spot for MLB’s available inventory. Per John Ourand of Puck, Amazon has already had informal conversations with the league about ESPN’s old package, though the streamer still primarily has its eyes on 2028, when all of MLB’s national contracts come up, and there should be enough local rights available to bundle together some nationalized package.

When one looks at Amazon’s sports lineup come 2026, baseball would fit right in. Prime Video will have the rights to Thursday Night Football during the fall and winter and exclusive NBA games that will take them into the spring, but then nothing to fill its summer programming gap before TNF starts up again. Baseball, of course, could help fill this gap and mitigate churn for Prime Video.

But perhaps more importantly, if Amazon gets into the baseball business now, they have a foot in the door to gobble up their preferred local and national rights come 2028. The streamer has already shown plenty of interest in getting into business with MLB through an agreement with the FanDuel Sports Networks, which could make a short-term agreement for ESPN’s old inventory a logical next step.

2. NBC/Peacock

Like Amazon, NBC has a summer-sized programming gap to fill regarding Peacock, the network’s streaming service. Such programming gaps likely take on an outsized importance for NBC, who, unlike Amazon Prime, is purely reliant on its content to prevent churn. Baseball offers some flagship programming during a slow time of year and can nicely bridge the gap between the NBA and NFL seasons. For MLB, NBC can offer both the broadcast network and the streaming service that they seek.

However, NBC recently dropped (https://awfulannouncing.com/streaming/mlb-peacock-sunday-leadoff-sunday-morning-expired.html) its Sunday morning MLB package on Peacock, which it only paid $30 million per year for. This package will likely cost at least ten times more than that, but it also includes higher-quality inventory than its old semi-exclusive package, which is now housed on Roku.

So, while baseball might make sense from a churn-mitigation perspective, the financials will have to make sense for NBC, who will be spinning off its cash-flow juggernaut cable businesses in the next year. Peacock already finds itself well in the red, and adding even more expensive sports media rights to its portfolio might not satisfy investors from a P/L perspective.

3. CBS/Paramount+

CBS and its streaming service, Paramount+, might be an attractive option for MLB as, like NBC and Peacock, it would check both the streaming and broadcast network boxes. The wildcard here is Paramount’s new ownership situation. With Skydance prepared to take over, there may be more of an appetite to make a splashy play for sports rights, such as the premier regular season MLB package.

Once again, it’ll help summer churn between the conclusion of March Madness and football season — though Paramount already has a decent portfolio of summer sports programming with the PGA Tour and two golf majors. Baseball would certainly help bolster that programming lineup, especially during a down time for international soccer, which is Paramount+’s best churn-mitigation property throughout the rest of the year.

4. The CW or ION

Perhaps a sleeper pick in baseball’s search for a new rightsholder are the so-called “netlets” like The CW or ION. They both fulfill Manfred’s broadcast network desires, and might be willing to pay a premium as compared to the traditional media companies to gain a legitimate package with a “Big 4” North American sports league.

As Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch pointed out in his column (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-espn-split-blame-media-strategy-roku-apple-deals/) on the matter, The CW recently drew 1.8 million viewers for its opening race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series last week — a number that beats out ESPN’s average Sunday Night Baseball audience from last season (1.5 million).

So, while signing on with a “netlet” might be an ego hit for MLB, they do provide the reach necessary to attract large audiences for live sports programming. Smaller leagues, like the WNBA on ION or the aforementioned Xfinity series, have certainly seen viewership success with this strategy. It’s something baseball should be open to at the right price.

5. Splitting the rights

There’s certainly a possibility that MLB decides to split up the rights. Perhaps Fox or Warner Bros. Discovery is interested in picking up additional postseason inventory. Maybe Netflix is interested in the Home Run Derby but not a full slate of regular-season games.

In fact, splitting the rights between multiple partners might be the only way the league can come close to the $550 million per year that ESPN was slated to pay over the remainder of its contract. It’s difficult to see any single media company shelling out that much for what amounts to 30-odd regular season games and the Wild Card round.

This is slotted last in the list since it’s a bit of a cop-out answer. But it might be the most likely scenario if Manfred’s primary goal is to recoup the financial windfall of ESPN’s deal.


ESPN and MLB breakup reportedly wasn’t so ‘mutual’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/tv-deal-breakup-not-mutual.html)

Why ESPN Doesn't Need MLB (https://www.businessinsider.com/why-espn-doesnt-need-the-mlb-2025-2#:~:text=The%20decision%20to%20end%20the,to%20ESPN%20told%20Business%20Insider.)

ESPN Stopped Caring About Baseball Years Ago, So I'm Glad MLB Is Leaving That Garbage Network (https://www.outkick.com/sports/espn-stopped-caring-about-baseball-years-ago-so-im-glad-mlb-leaving-garbage-network)

What The ESPN-MLB Divorce Says About TV Sports Rights (https://www.tvrev.com/news/what-espn-mlb-divorce-says-about-sports-rights-baseball-streaming-tv)

ESPN Broke Up With MLB Because the Money Just Didn’t Add Up (https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2025/mlb-espn-opt-out-reason-1234829342/)

‘Shrinking Platform’: MLB, ESPN to Split After 35 Years (https://frontofficesports.com/shrinking-platform-mlb-espn-to-split-after-35-years/)

The End Of An Era: This Will Be The Final Season Of MLB On ESPN As The Network Has Opted Out Of The Final 3 Years Of Their Agreement (https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3539140/the-end-of-an-era-this-will-be-the-final-season-of-mlb-on-espn-as-the-network-has-opted-out-of-the-final-3-years-of-their-agreement)

Going, Going, Gone: ESPN, MLB Opt-Out Portends Industry Changes (https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2025/mlb-espn-contract-deal-opt-out-1234829223/)

ESPN-MLB split includes radio, streaming (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/espn-mlb-split-includes-radio-streaming/)

How will ESPN fill its Sunday Night Baseball vacancy? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/how-will-espn-replace-sunday-night-baseball-march-madness-stanley-cup-wnba/)

Scott Boras rips MLB for being a ‘decade behind’ in rights deals (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/scott-boras-rips-mlb-for-being-a-decade-behind-in-rights-deals.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky)

nUBOqbeKzqI

Sports business analyst Joe Pompliano breaks down (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPSbSTJvSN4) ESPN’s decision to opt out of its television deal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g2xBsyYH9o) with Major League Baseball three years early after the 2025 season. Joe analyzes why the two sides (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF8HKfJ24bY) decided to part ways after 35 years (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn8M1PITYJQ), what MLB will look for in a new broadcast partner (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/mlb-radio-streaming-coverage-world-series-all-star-game.html), how the move affects ESPN’s business, and offers up a potential bidder for MLB’s newly available media rights package. Enjoy!

Sl3A9LNEBr8

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred (https://www.si.com/mlb/why-rob-manfred-mlb-drop-espn-national-tv-partner) sent a letter to all 30 owners earlier this week explaining why the league decided to "mutually" part ways with ESPN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw4nvCnS6zM) and opt out of their national television contract (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/gabe-lacques/2025/02/23/mlb-espn-tv-rights-baseball/79698309007/).

In the letter, Manfred cited ESPN's lack of baseball coverage in its programming outside of the games as one of the reasons why he agreed to terminate the deal that was set to run through the 2028 season. However, CNN Sports' Kyle Feldscher reported that the breakup perhaps wasn't completely mutual.

"A source with knowledge of ESPN’s approach to the negotiations disputed the idea that the split was mutual," Feldscher reported. "The source told CNN that ESPN opted out of the contract and was surprised by commissioner Rob Manfred’s note to MLB owners that the league and network had mutually agreed to end their relationship.

"The source noted that ESPN had an opt-out clause in the contract and decided to exercise it on Thursday."

Why the ESPN-MLB Deal Blew Up. - Puck (https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/comments/1ixahkw/why_the_espnmlb_deal_blew_up_puck/)

Puck’s Media Correspondent, Dylan Byers, wrote about MLB and ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=ESPN+MLB&cId=363ba6d9-a40e-4725-b87a-95bfaffcf31e&iId=35c879b3-69d6-4fc7-94fc-5a921d5a3b96) parting ways at the end of the 2025 season after the sports network refused to re-up their current diluted deal, while Rob Manfred is trying to save face, scrambling to find a new home for America’s pastime.

Excerpt below:

“This week, in what may be remembered as another pivotal regression in Major League Baseball’s retreat from the zeitgeist, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro told the league that his network would be opting out of its annual $570 million contract at the end of this season. Before ESPN’s letter could even be FedExed to MLB headquarters in Midtown, commissioner Rob Manfred was trying to get ahead of the news and put his own spin on the ball. ‘We do not think it’s beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform,’ Manfred wrote in a memo to his owners that soon somehow made its way into the digital pages of The Athletic—thereby likely putting the final kiss-off on a relationship that has existed for three and a half decades.

Manfred, a former labor lawyer who has been navigating the balkanized sports media landscape, wasn’t quite done. In the extraordinarily chummy and relationships-based world of sports media, he seemed intent on delivering the message that his league didn’t need Disney’s money and that, despite the cratering of the regional sports network industry, he had plenty of options. ‘Given that MLB provides strong viewership, valuable demographics, and the exclusive right to cover unique events like the Home Run Derby, ESPN’s demand to reduce rights fees is simply unacceptable. As a result, we have mutually agreed to terminate our agreement,’ the league said in a statement.

This framing was a source of great amusement for executives at both ESPN and rival media organizations—including current and possible future league partners—all of whom knew that it wasn’t quite so mutual. The seeds of the MLB-ESPN contretemps will be familiar to the readership of my partner John Ourand, who has been reporting on all this dialectic for years, but if not, a quick refresher… Baseball, a game popularized by radio and monetized through its tonnage, has been losing some of its media cachet for years amid the growth of the NFL, increase in televised college sports, ascent of the NBA, and proliferation of niche sports. To wit: A decade-plus ago, Manfred and Pitaro negotiated a $750 million a year, eight-year package that ran through 2021. In 2021, of course, they re-upped into the current $570 million per annum deal. (Yes, it’s $570 million, not $550 million).

But then Manfred went and reset the market by striking substantially cheaper add-on deals, like licensing a package of Friday night games to Apple TV+ for $85 million, in 2022, and Sunday morning games to Roku for $10 million, in 2024. These may have been delightful incremental revenue plays, but they backfired. As The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand noted, the Roku deal is only netting each team $300,000, ‘which is less than half the minimum rookie salary of $760,000 for one player.’ More importantly, measured against those deals, ESPN’s package—which includes Sunday Night Baseball, the wild card playoffs, and the Home Run Derby—seemed overpriced…”

You can explore the full piece here (https://puck.news/why-the-espn-mlb-deal-blew-up/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=1&utm_content=why-the-espn-mlb-deal-blew-up) for deeper insight.

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MLB (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9fl_6FNLqI) and ESPN (https://youtu.be/NUy94VkhpR8) are parting ways (https://youtu.be/GmE3qKysA_4?t=349) after being broadcasting partners since 1990. The time is right to turn the page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw4nvCnS6zM), but the role that ESPN played in our consumption of baseball was seismic.


ESPN reportedly open to negotiating new MLB deal; MLB looking for new partners (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/open-negotiating-new-mlb-deal-new-partners.html)

MLB-ESPN breakup includes network’s radio, streaming coverage (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/mlb-radio-streaming-coverage-world-series-all-star-game.html)

ESPN and MLB breakup reportedly wasn’t so ‘mutual’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/tv-deal-breakup-not-mutual.html)

MLB, ESPN mutually opt out of broadcast deal, with league citing decrease in studio show coverage (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-mutual-opt-out-broadcast-deal.html)

Why the MLB-ESPN standoff is really about local TV (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/looming-media-rights-race-really-about-local-tv.html)

Sports media wax nostalgic about MLB-ESPN media rights announcement (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/sports-media-nostalgic-mlb-media-rights-deal-ending.html)

Monday musings: MLB-ESPN bridges burned? Plus: Four Nations and more (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/monday-musings-mlb-espn-split-permanent-four-nations-viewership-recap/)

The timeline of MLB and ESPN’s long, slow breakup (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/the-timeline-of-mlb-and-espns-long-slow-breakup.html)

While the MLB-ESPN divorce was a stunning moment with the opt-out of the current rights deal, it was years in the making.

By Matt Yoder on 02/27/2025

ESPN and Major League Baseball stunned the sports media world when they both announced an opt-out of their current rights deal after the season that was scheduled to end in 2028.

Although there were rumors and reports that an opt-out may be coming, the reality of baseball no longer airing on ESPN is a shock to anyone who has watched the network over the last 30-plus years. But as ESPN changed and the sports media world changed with it, so did the standing and influence of baseball on the network.

Given the statements released by the parties involved, there’s definitely some hard feelings at play from the MLB side specifically as they feel they were slowly pushed aside by the WorldWide Leader. And as a look at the timeline of the declining relationship shows, it’s a fairly accurate assessment. For the last decade or more, MLB has seen its standing slowly decline as flashier topics and more explosive debates ruled the day. And in the end, the two sides drifted further apart than what was reconcilable in their current television contract.

Early 2010s: Declining influence vs NFL, NBA

If you turn on ESPN at any point in the day, you have about a 90% chance of seeing two sports discussed – football or basketball. Specifically, ESPN spends much of its time talking about the NFL and NBA with college football also getting a ton of airplay in the fall.

This didn’t happen overnight, but gradually as takes began to rule the day and highlights were de-emphasized, the 24/7 news cycles of the NFL and NBA began to dominate the daily sports conversation. For the NFL, it was only natural given the sport has supplanted baseball as the national pastime. For the NBA, the off-court drama following the league’s superstars has seen a constant church going all the way back to The Decision in 2010. And perhaps that moment when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach was a turning point in the daily sports conversation.

For whatever reason, baseball hasn’t been able to match the popularity of the NFL or the interest in the NBA to warrant regular coverage around the clock at ESPN. And as it faded further from the spotlight, its presence became less significant.

Late 2010s: End of Baseball Tonight

For years, it was impossible to think of ESPN without Baseball Tonight. The program aired nightly on ESPN beginning in 1990 until coming to an end in 2017 after a run of layoffs at the network. Those layoffs hit Bristol’s baseball coverage particularly hard. The network let go of analysts Dallas Braden, Doug Glanville, Raul Ibanez, Jim Bowden, and Jayson Stark. For a time, MLB Network’s Intentional Talk was even syndicated on ESPN to try to help fill the gap, but that did not last long.

Baseball Tonight was an institution every night over the course of the season with a star studded panel that showed live look-ins and highlights from games. But as highlights went the way of the dodo, so too did ESPN’s focus on the sport. When there are 162 games during the season what happens on the field usually takes precedence over debates and narratives. It’s easy for Stephen A. Smith to rant about Jerry Jones and LeBron James, it’s less easy to rant about why a pitching change shouldn’t have happened in the top of the 8th inning during an August Padres-Dodgers game.

Ironically, current SportsCenter anchor Gary Striewski gave a social media tour of the old Baseball Tonight studio that currently sits abandoned in Bristol like ancient temple ruins as a shrine to what once was the network’s MLB coverage.

Even though Baseball Tonight has continued to air alongside Sunday Night Baseball in recent years, it was never the same as when it was in its heyday.

What if: ESPN’s RSN opportunity thwarted by DOJ

One of the larger components for the transformative $71 billion Disney acquisition of the majority of Fox’s assets (initially announced as closer to $60 billion before a Comcast bid upped the price) were the 22 local RSNs included in the deal. In fact, Disney valued those 22 RSNs as nearly a third of the total value of the deal at over $20 billion.

Had the deal gone through, ESPN, via these rebranded RSNs, would essentially have had broadcast rights to the majority of all MLB, NHL, and NBA games with a much wider presence thanks to these local channels and rights.

It was that stranglehold across those sports that ended up nixing the deal as half a year later the Department of Justice announced that the deal could only go through if Disney sold the RSNs to another company. Less than a year later, Disney offloaded the RSNs to Sinclair in a deal that only returned $10 billion of the over $20 billion they agreed to pay a little more than a year before.

With RSNs in the midst of an ongoing collapse, many believe the DOJ’s decision is one of the biggest what if moments in all of sports media and one that would have had major implications for both ESPN and Major League Baseball.

In an alternate timeline, ESPN would have had the rights for a little over half of all MLB games, which would have likely springboarded and accelerated their streaming strategy. Perhaps Baseball Tonight would have found more stable footing or syndication on channels and platforms that collectively had millions of viewers that were already watching baseball. There is no doubt that baseball would have become a much more significant focus of ESPN’s overall content as well as business strategy had the deal gone through.

Early 2020s: Bare bones baseball

Instead, the writing might have been the wall for the ESPN-MLB relationship when the two sides announced their new broadcast deal in 2021. The agreement, which was supposed to run until 2028 before the opt-out went into effect, saw a vastly reduced presence for baseball games on the network.

ESPN went from televising 90 games per year all the way down to 30 per season at $550 million in rights fees annually. While ESPN did pick up some playoff games, they dumped mid-week national baseball coverage, which would have at least been an outlet and a bridge for continuing coverage throughout the season. With baseball relegated to Sunday Night Baseball, the sport became much more isolated on WorldWide Leader airwaves.

The opt-out comes with the reality that Sunday Night Baseball is coming off of a season where it scored its best ratings as a franchise since 2019. It should be especially troubling to the sport that even with baseball being in a good moment, ESPN felt its deal was no longer good value in light of some of the smaller, friendlier deals the league has signed elsewhere.

And as far as MLB’s presence on ESPN airwaves? It hit rock bottom in this time period when the network went an entire day of studio shows without even talking about the Wild Card playoff games it was airing that night. It’s hard to blame Rob Manfred when he noted in a statement about pulling the plug on the television deal, “Furthermore, we have not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage.”

Mid 2020s: ESPN playing MoneyBall?

In saying goodbye to the national pastime, ESPN is making a bold but ruthless calculation. It’s simply better off without it. ESPN has found alternatives like TGL that are still pulling in decent numbers without paying a huge rights fee. And consider that ESPN is paying $90 million in annual rights fees for F1 races that are pulling comparable numbers to MLB at a fraction of the cost (1.5 million vs 1.1 million average viewers). And ESPN has decided that even the F1 contract is not value for money anymore.

Instead, ESPN is going boom or bust with sports rights. While they lean on better valued deals like TGL, the NCAA, and the WNBA to invest airtime in, they are also splashing huge amounts of cash at major products that they view as untouchable. These include Monday Night Football, the expanded College Football Playoff, and the NBA. ESPN has re-upped or expanded rights on all of these in recent years. And when it comes to what the network covers on a daily basis, it makes total sense.

Unfortunately for MLB, ESPN has found that those calculations do not include baseball. And it might not for some time. As for what comes next, ESPN has shown that it has the capacity to freeze out sports after losing the rights for them. So whatever happens in the future and wherever MLB finally lands, it may make the last few years look like their golden age in Bristol.

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In another episode of The Sporting Class with David Samson, John Skipper and Pablo Torre, we examine Major League Baseball's opt-out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcFf1FO66eY) from its ESPN contract (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sw0C-cwiHc): Are we underestimating baseball's fundamental value? Why doesn't MLB have bigger stars? And why would a network sign a broadcast-rights deal in the first place, if you can just put crap on TV?


Inside the Manfred-Pitaro Divorce (https://puck.news/inside-the-mlb-espn-split/)

Braves chairman says ‘dry powder’ available for payroll; calls MLB-ESPN break-up a ‘non-event’ (https://puck.news/inside-the-mlb-espn-split/)

Boog Sciambi reveals MLB requested opt-out that ESPN just used on TV deal: ‘Major mistake’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/boog-sciambi-opt-out-espn-major-mistake.html)

Could ESPN and MLB still have a broadcast future together? (https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2025/2/27/24373585/could-espn-and-mlb-still-have-broadcast-future-together)

CNBC Sport: MLB may need to rethink rights packaging after ESPN opts out (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/27/cnbc-sport-mlb-rights-packaging-in-question-after-espn-opts-out.html)

MLB and ESPN Split Reveals What's On Deck Amid TV's Streaming Shift (https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/mlb-espn-split-further-accelerates-tvs-streaming-shift/)

What led to ESPN and MLB’s messy breakup (https://nypost.com/2025/02/25/sports/what-led-to-espn-and-mlbs-messy-breakup/)

David Samson on potential new ESPN-MLB deal: ‘Not going to happen’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/david-samson-new-espn-deal-not-going-happen.html)

What led to the MLB-ESPN divorce? (https://dknetwork.draftkings.com/2025/02/27/the-sporting-class-pablo-torre-john-skipper-david-samson-mlb-espn-breakdown-analysis/)

MLB’s Wandering Eye Sinks Relationship with ESPN (https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/96748/prospectus-feature-mlbs-wandering-eye-sinks-relationship-with-espn/)

6 Reasons MLS Should Court ESPN (Again) After Its Divorce From MLB (https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianquillen/2025/02/22/6-reasons-mls-should-court-espn-again-after-its-divorce-from-mlb/)

Jim Souhan: Leaving ESPN is a bad idea for Major League Baseball (https://www.startribune.com/espn-major-league-baseball-broadcast-rights-jayson-stark-buster-olney-tim-kurkjian-peter-gammons/601227072)

ESPN wanted to slash MLB payments by over $300m, per report (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/slash-mlb-payments-over-300m.html)

The network (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1j2ab5i/lerner_espn_wanted_to_slash_mlb_payments_by_over/) wanted to cut its annual rights payment (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/03/espn-sought-reduce-mlb-rights-fee-200-million/) from $550 million to $200 million (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1ivt3qg/si_espn_disputes_breakup_with_mlb_over_national/).

Why shifting sports media landscape made MLB-ESPN opt-out possible (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/why-shifting-sports-media-landscape-made-mlb-espn-opt-out-possible.html)

The MLB-ESPN opt-out is a sign of the changing state of play in sports media where all sides are constantly re-evaluating deals.

MLB reportedly talking to Netflix, Amazon, NBC after ESPN opt-out (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/netflix-amazon-nbc-espn-opt-out.html)

According to Puck's John Ourand, MLB is already in discussions with several networks and streaming platforms (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/02/mlb-media-rights-talks-amazon-nbc-netflix-espn-2028/) after the ESPN opt-out.

Fox exec expresses interest in ESPN’s MLB package (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/fox-exec-espn-baseball-package-interest.html)

"Baseball has been a great product for us."

Major League Baseball commissioner admits to "dissatisfaction" with ESPN before the network announced it was cutting ties (https://www.mediaite.com/sports/mlb-commish-sounds-off-at-espn-after-network-cut-ties-with-the-sport-there-was-a-level-of-dissatisfaction-with-coverage/)

"You know, look, we — there was a level of dissatisfaction on our part. It started, you know, with the end of Baseball Tonight, I think if you watch ESPN — and I do — you know, where we appear on SportsCenter in the morning, there were issues," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred (https://www.reddit.com/r/mlb/comments/1jlb7kc/you_wonder_why_rob_manfred_was_pissed_with_espn/) told (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1jl3y3r/shipley_rob_manfred_on_mlb_leaving_espn_we_felt/) Chris "Mad Dog" Russo.

NBCUniversal reportedly making bid for ESPN’s MLB package, including ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/rights-espn-sunday-night-baseball-nbcuniversal-peacock.html)

NBC would not be seeking international and radio rights or the rights to highlight clips.

By Sean Keeley on 05/21/2025

Since it was announced that ESPN and Major League Baseball were mutually opting out of their television rights (https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/espn-opts-out-of-mlb-deal.2988289/page-3), it’s been a guessing game for who might pick them up next season.

Many of the guesses have included NBCUniversal (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1j3kcp2/why_nbc_is_a_natural_successor_for_espns_voided/), and it appears they were on point (https://www.reddit.com/r/mlb/comments/1kscpoh/nbc_reportedly_makes_offer_to_take_over_espns_mlb/).

According to The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond and Joe Flint (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/nbcuniversal-bids-for-mlb-rights-espn-dropped-a98e16c5?st=G38tmC), NBCUniversal has made an offer to take over the same package of regular-season and postseason games that ESPN is leaving behind, though at a discounted rate from what they were paying. The offer was reportedly made in early May, but the WSJ notes that MLB and NBC had been in talks for several weeks beforehand.

“League commissioner Rob Manfred has also discussed a potential deal with Brian Roberts, chief executive of NBC parent Comcast, people familiar with the matter said,” per Diamond and Flint.

The offer includes Sunday Night Baseball, a staple of ESPN’s lineup since 1990. The WSJ said MLB games would also appear on the Peacock streaming service. NBC is also said to be interested in ESPN’s rights to the Home Run Derby and the first round of the MLB postseason.

According to the report, NBC’s offer was lower than what ESPN currently pays because it would not be seeking international and radio rights or the rights to highlight clips.

In February, ESPN exercised an opt-out clause for the final three years of its $550 million/year deal with MLB, presumptively ending the two sides’ 35-year partnership (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/the-timeline-of-mlb-and-espns-long-slow-breakup.html). While it was entirely possible that ESPN could reevaluate for a new deal, it sounds like their relationship is frosty (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-talked-media-rights-opt-out.html). The Worldwide Leader reportedly wanted to cut its annual rights payment from $550 million to $200 million (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/slash-mlb-payments-over-300m.html).

It was reported at the time that Netflix, Amazon, and NBC (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/netflix-amazon-nbc-espn-opt-out.html) would be potential suitors for MLB rights, and NBC Sports president Jon Miller confirmed interest (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-rights-jon-miller-interest.html) in March.

If NBC were to get MLB broadcasting rights, it would put NBCUniversal in the driver’s seat for Sunday sports coverage throughout the year. They already have the rights to NFL Sunday Night Football and will begin broadcasting NBA games again next season (https://awfulannouncing.com/peacock/nba-on-nbc-upfront-sports-future.html), including an eight-game Sunday Night Basketball package. Adding Sunday Night Baseball and other games to NBC and Peacock, would ensure they have a major sporting event happening on just about every Sunday of the year.

The WSJ also noted (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/nbcuniversal-bids-for-mlb-rights-espn-dropped-a98e16c5?st=G38tmC) that Versant, the spin-off company of NBCUniversal cable channels, is also interested in acquiring a baseball package (https://awfulannouncing.com/versant/comcast-spinoff-live-sports-rights.html) but is not currently in talks with MLB.

ESPN, MLB reportedly rekindle negotiations to keep baseball on network (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-renew-talks-baseball-rights.html)

ESPN and MLB are back (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/mlb-espn-resume-negotiations-report/) at the negotiating table.

MLB media rights: Who should get the expiring ESPN package? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/07/mlb-media-rights-breakdown-espn-nbc-apple-contenders-best-options/)

by Jon Lewis

In about two weeks at MLB All-Star (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/mlb-media-rights-update-manfred-hopes-deal-ready-by-all-star-game/), Major League Baseball could finally announce the resolution of a media rights negotiation few expected at the start of the year.

ESPN’s February decision to opt-out of its contract — followed by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to publicly announce the end of the sides’ relationship — immediately put a package of marquee rights on the open market. Between Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, the MLB Wild Card Series and even Opening Day, the current ESPN package is stacked with enough high profile programming to split between multiple partners. But while there is no question the properties are attractive, MLB seems likely to come away from negotiations making less off of the package than the reported $550 million/year ESPN currently pays.

Heading into what appears to be the home stretch of negotiations, here is a refresher on the contenders.

#1: Comcast (NBC)

Comcast has consistently been mentioned as a contender for the rights, specifically the Sunday Night Baseball component, but it remains to be seen how much the cable giant would pay.

Comcast owned MLB rights fairly recently, acquiring a Sunday morning package of games — carved out from weeknight rights ESPN ceded in the 2021 negotiations — for its streaming service Peacock in 2022. The $30 million annual price tag was barely anything for a major sports package, and yet Comcast was still unwilling to renew, instead seeking a cut to $10 million/year. MLB met that price, but went with the streaming service Roku instead, a deal that by all accounts motivated ESPN to opt out earlier this year.

So in Comcast, one has a contender that was barely paying anything for exclusive MLB rights two years ago and still wanted to cut that rate by more than half. Why should anyone assume they are looking to pay even the $200 million/year that ESPN, per The Wall Street Journal, is said to have offered?

To begin with, as Manfred noted in his initial announcement of ESPN’s opt-out in February, the Sunday morning package that previously belonged to Peacock is not the equivalent of Sunday Night Baseball, which is a fully exclusive window in which no other games take place. The Sunday morning window is only partially exclusive, with start times that precede the day’s other games by no more than two hours (Sunday’s Orioles-Braves game on Roku began at 11:35 AM ET, two hours before the day’s other games).

That is not nearly enough of a difference to justify the wild gap in price between the two packages, even acknowledging that Sunday Night Baseball is only one component of a larger deal. Nonetheless, it is one way the primetime window is more attractive. As goes without saying, so too is the fact that it is a primetime window, and the fact that it lasts the full season — the Sunday morning schedule begins a month in and ends a month early.

But the biggest difference between now and 2023 may be Peacock. When it last aired its exclusive Sunday morning MLB window two years ago, the streamer had yet to have aired Big Ten football and baseball, had yet to carry an exclusive NFL game, and had yet to acquire an extensive slate of NBA rights. Peacock has gone full bore into live sports, and MLB rights would help close the only gap on its calendar, the non-Olympic summer months.

A year-round schedule would also be useful to NBC, which between Sunday Night Football and the NBA has sports scheduled for every Sunday night from August to presumably late May. A Sunday Night Baseball schedule that includes exclusive Peacock games in April, May and September, with NBC simulcasts the rest of the year, would strengthen both the broadcast network and the streamer — and give MLB a second over-the-air primetime window for much of the season.

Assuming, of course, that Comcast is willing to spend the money.

#2: ESPN

Rob Manfred was publicly insistent that MLB and ESPN were done after this season, but it never made sense that MLB would freeze out the incumbent — much less one with whom it has had a continuous relationship for nearly four decades.

Besides, ESPN and MLB have been down this road before. MLB went as far as to terminate ESPN’s contract three years early in 1999, setting off a legal fight that ultimately ended with the sides agreeing to a new six-year deal. Bad blood is never permanent in this business, and if staying with ESPN is ultimately the best deal for MLB, holding a grudge would be counterproductive.

With that in mind, the report last week that ESPN and MLB had resumed negotiations was not a surprise — and while those talks were said to be in the early stages, the fact that there are any talks at all is a strong signal that Manfred’s tough talk has given way to reality. Staying with ESPN is not the most exciting move, but the time for exciting moves is not now, but three years from now, when all of the MLB national rights will be up for bid. Manfred is well aware, as he said last month: “[D]o I wish I wasn’t in a position to sell three years, so we can line our rights up to 2028? The answer to that is yes.”

It has been overlooked, but John Ourand of Puck reported soon after the opt-out that ESPN entered negotiations willing to pay MLB in line with current levels in the event that it was awarded more rights. ESPN has long coveted local MLB rights, and in his report last week that the sides had resumed talks, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic said local rights were a part of those discussions. Marchand also reported in April that MLB has floated including exclusive rights to MLB.tv as part of negotiations, though it is not clear whether those plans went anywhere — or whether they are playing any role in the resumed ESPN talks.

In the event that ESPN and MLB reach a deal that includes any local rights, much less exclusive rights to MLB.tv, one would have to think MLB has a good chance of maintaining most of the current ESPN rights fee. Whatever complaints MLB has about the way ESPN covers the sport will be largely immaterial if the network is outbidding the competition.

#3: Apple TV

When ESPN scaled back its MLB coverage as part of the 2021 media rights negotiations — which allowed the network to cut down its rights fee from nearly $800 million — that meant ceding the weeknight rights that had sustained the network’s spring and summer lineup for generations. No more Monday Night Baseball, no more Wednesday Night Baseball.

In seeking a new home for those rights, MLB did not have many takers and ended up looking at some unconventional outlets — including Barstool — before splitting the rights between the aforementioned Comcast on Sunday mornings and Apple TV+ on Friday nights.

It is impossible to know whether the Apple TV+ deal has succeeded in attracting an audience, as no data has been reported in the four seasons the streamer has carried games. But it would seem like the deal is at least working out for Apple, which has been widely reported as a contender for at least part of the ESPN package. Beyond game inventory itself, the ESPN package includes highlight and international rights that could be valuable to Apple, which has prioritized global reach.

With all of that said, an Apple deal does not make much sense. One, Apple would have to outbid Comcast and ESPN for such a deal to make sense, and that is not how Apple has done business in this industry. (The Pac-12 essentially died waiting for Apple to back up the Brinks truck.) Two, Apple would have no real need for Sunday Night Baseball given its Friday night doubleheaders. Three, Manfred has said that he is prioritizing reach, and perhaps more than any other of the major streamers, Apple is lacking on that front.

The May report by Ourand noting Apple’s interest in the ESPN package characterized talks between the sides as “the most extensive among the streamers,” which is a very different terminology than the “the most extensive.”

#4: Fox Sports

Fox is the MLB “A” partner with an annual rights fee north of $700 million, so there is not much more the network can add without approaching the billion mark — quite the expense given that MLB is getting barely $100 million per year from Apple and Roku combined.

Fox has thus far been mentioned as a realistic contender for the Home Run Derby, but that is pretty much the extent of the speculation. While it’s true that the network’s non-sports schedule has faded to the point that it is willing to feature pretty much any sporting event in primetime — even rugby — the idea of it carrying primetime MLB on both Saturday and Sunday nights seems like a little much, between the cost and the commitment.

#5: Anyone else?

Versant, the spinoff company consisting of NBCUniversal cable networks, threw its hat into the ring — but nobody believes it is a serious option. Manfred made his feelings about cable clear when he described ESPN as a “shrinking platform,” a description that surely applies to cable networks like USA, which will not even have a corresponding streaming platform once the spinoff is complete.

TNT Sports reached out as well, per Ourand of Puck, but “talks never got serious.” With TNT set to be spun off as well, and separated from both HBO and Max in the process, simply hanging onto its existing MLB package will be enough of a challenge — much less acquiring more rights.

Little has been said about Amazon’s Prime Video, a bit surprising given that Amazon already has a toehold in MLB by way of its deal with the Yankees and its link-up with FanDuel Sports Network. Of all the streamers, Prime Video is the most established in sports, and the only one for which viewership estimates are regularly available.

All other bidders are just speculative thought experiments at this point. Netflix for the Home Run Derby? Nexstar’s CW making its biggest splash yet on Sunday nights? Paramount somehow resolving the SkyDance merger in time to get CBS involved? If any of these were realistic options, one imagines there would be a hint of smoke by now.

Who should it be?

The most interesting option is a Comcast deal for NBC and Peacock. While that would include a fair number of Sunday Night Baseball streaming exclusives, the full summer of Sunday night games would presumably air on NBC. Being part of a year-round package of Sunday night sports would be a benefit to the league, particularly the association with the venerable Sunday Night Football.

Could a Comcast deal potentially involve playoff games on Peacock? If so, MLB would be simply joining the NFL and NBA on that front.

But the simplest solution is usually the best one. ESPN’s decision to opt out was clearly intended to spark a negotiation, either for additional rights or a lower rights fee. It seems fairly evident that MLB has a better chance at a good deal from a party that wants to negotiate than from parties who are essentially just doing their due diligence.

The “shrinking platform” of ESPN has delivered some of baseball’s largest audiences this year, including 2.0 million for Detroit-Minnesota last week. MLB may have legitimate complaints about ESPN’s coverage, but those can be addressed in the next set of negotiations in 2028, when presumably the competing bids will be a bit more compelling.

If ESPN is willing to stay in the neighborhood of its current $550 million payout for an extension of its current package, plus local rights, it is hard to argue for MLB making any other decision. If splitting the rights multiple ways somehow adds up to the same or greater figure — unlikely, based on any of the reporting thus far — then that could change the calculus. But remember, what got MLB into this mess in the first place were tiny deals for small amounts of money. It might be good for MLB to avoid setting another low price tag for these properties ahead of ’28.

NBC, Apple, ESPN have bid for ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ package, per Rob Manfred (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/nbc-apple-espn-bid-sunday-night-baseball-package-rob-manfred.html)

ESPN has also expressed interest in obtaining the local rights for five MLB clubs.

By Drew Lerner on 07/17/2025

We are finally getting some clarity on what may happen to Sunday Night Baseball after ESPN decided to opt out of its MLB contract earlier this year.

Speaking to CNBC’s Alex Sherman (https://link.cnbc.com/public/40714917), MLB commissioner Rob Manfred revealed that NBC, Apple, and yes, ESPN have all submitted bids (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1m278fn/nbc_apple_espn_have_bid_for_sunday_night_baseball/) for the league’s exclusive package of Sunday games. Manfred’s comments come shortly after reports emerged that MLB and ESPN had reengaged (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-renew-talks-baseball-rights.html) in talks that could see the Worldwide Leader retain some amount of baseball inventory.

However, Manfred also revealed that the Sunday Night Baseball package could be split between two bidders. NBC, in particular, could be a sensible destination for the inventory during the summer to bridge its gap between the end of Sunday Night Basketball and the start of Sunday Night Football in the fall. ESPN could then, hypothetically, bookend the season with the package while NBC has NBA and NFL obligations. Last week, Sports Business Journal reported Apple is a front-runner (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/06/02/apple-tv-emerging-as-leading-candidate-among-streamers-to-land-more-mlb-rights/) for the package, so they shouldn’t be counted out either.

Perhaps even more notable, Manfred suggested that a potential ESPN deal could include the local broadcast rights for the five MLB clubs the league currently controls production and distribution for: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro has been on the record (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/08/29/mlb-rsns-jimmy-pitaro-espn/) about wanting the network to get involved in local MLB rights, and with the forthcoming launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streamer this fall, securing a handful of local rights deals could help jump-start the platform.

Per Sheman, “ESPN sources tell me there’s renewed optimism a deal can be struck with MLB – when a few weeks ago it looked like a long shot.”

Any deal reached between MLB, ESPN, or others would only be short-term, ending in 2028 when the league can reorganize its entire suite of national media rights. MLB’s other primary national rights agreements with Fox and TNT Sports expire in 2028.


Manfred acknowledges NBC, Apple, ESPN, are bidders for expiring package (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/07/manfred-mlb-media-rights/)


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NBC, Apple reportedly ‘top contenders’ for ‘Sunday Night Baseball’, ESPN could buy weekday games (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/nbc-apple-top-contenders-sunday-night-baseball-espn-weekday-games.html)

Major League Baseball executives are in negotiations (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6553812/2025/08/14/mlb-negotiating-with-apple-netflix-espn-nbc-sources/) that could result in new broadcast packages and relationships with Netflix, ESPN, NBC and Apple, according to officials briefed on the discussions.

NBC/Peacock and Apple TV+ are considered the top contenders for “Sunday Night Baseball” and first-round playoff games, while ESPN could add weekday games and a bigger daily digital presence, the officials said. Netflix has emerged as the potential Home Run Derby destination.

The main rights in play are the ones ESPN opted out of in February, including the Home Run Derby, “Sunday Night Baseball” and eight to 12 first-round playoff games per year. MLB had three seasons remaining on that deal with ESPN, which was paying, on average, $550 million per year. ESPN is now after a new set of rights.

New details on how MLB might split expiring ESPN package (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/08/mlb-media-rights-update-espn-nbc-apple-netflix/)

The saga of ESPN's expiring MLB rights package involves four contenders -- and perhaps more -- vying for different pieces...

MLB in Talks With NBC, Netflix, AppleTV, and More for Possible Broadcast Deal (https://collider.com/mlb-broadcast-deal-nbc-netflix-appletv/)

This could be a home run for baseball fans.

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[AwfulAnnouncing] Report: Apple drops MLB, NBC/Peacock in, ESPN to buy MLB (dot) tv, Netflix nabs Home Run Derby (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/apple-drops-baseball-nbc-peacock-espn-buys-mlb-tv-netflix-nabs-home-run-derby.html)

MLB is reportedly closing in (https://www.resetera.com/threads/rumor-on-mlb-television-rights-deal-apple-out-and-nbc-in.1275183/) on its new media rights deals (https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/update-on-mlb-media-rights-in-2026.777685/) that will see (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1muyi72/awfulannouncing_report_apple_drops_mlb_nbcpeacock/) Apple (https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1muz59l/report_apple_drops_mlb_nbcpeacock_in_espn_to_buy/) drop its package (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/08/mlb-nbc-apple-rights-deal-report/), NBC get one (https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/20/apple-may-back-out-of-mlb-entirely-as-nbc-closes-in-on-sunday-night-baseball-rights), and ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/mlb/comments/1muzlbj/comment/n9mwziu/) buy MLB.tv (https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/espn-opts-out-of-mlb-deal.2988289/post-201366796).

ESPN and Major League Baseball have an agreement for streaming games (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6567327/2025/08/21/mlb-espn-exclusive-out-of-market-digital/?source=emp_shared_article)

"Major League Baseball and ESPN have a framework agreement (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1mwf3x3/marchand_mlb_espn_have_agreement_for_network_to/) that would give the network the exclusive rights to sell all out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs over the next three years," reports The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, adding: "ESPN would continue to broadcast around 30 regular-season games, but not Sunday Night Baseball (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1mwmnps/nbc_mlb_nearing_sunday_night_baseball_deal_worth/). ESPN would move to a different night during the week. The games on the network would remain exclusive, meaning viewers would only be able to watch these matchups through ESPN. The agreement would begin next season.”


NBC, MLB nearing ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ deal worth nearly $200m per year (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-nearing-sunday-night-baseball-deal-worth-200m-per-year.html)

MLB expects to surpass expiring ESPN rights fee with new deals (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/08/mlb-media-rights-fee-expected-increase-combined-nbc-netflix-espn/)

ESPN reportedly gets MLB.tv, local rights, and exclusive national games in MLB deal (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/08/espn-acquiring-mlb-tv-local-rights-exclusive-national-games-report/)

NBCUniversal and MLB Nearing 3-Year Deal Approaching $600 Million (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/nbcuniversal-and-mlb-nearing-3-year-deal-approaching-600-million-90225636?mod=hp_listc_pos2)


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Karl Ravech wraps ESPN’s final season of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ with NBC set to take over package (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/karl-ravech-wraps-final-season-sunday-night-baseball-nbc-take-over.html)

"We will see you again."

By Brendon Kleen on 09/22/2025

For 36 years and 865 broadcasts, ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/search/?q=ESPN&cId=32a4f9c3-c3e2-4cd9-8304-d117abf57eb1&iId=a446fc1c-5e9f-4e48-ba91-5f4a59b9f720) has punctuated its deep ties to Major League Baseball (https://www.reddit.com/r/mlb/search/?q=ESPN&cId=ee8411ef-6cd5-4eca-852e-3fa0bd74c450&iId=1948e5db-d4b8-41b6-83ef-006c54b99905) each week with Sunday Night Baseball.

The Worldwide Leader aired its final national end-of-week game from Houston on Sunday with its MLB package set to end after the season (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-mutual-opt-out-broadcast-deal.html). After the Seattle Mariners completed a road sweep that sent the Astros to the bottom of the AL Wild Card race, longtime ESPN announcer Karl Ravech signed off from Sunday Night Baseball for what could be the final time.

Elly De La Cruz on his home run, postseason race

Ravech stuck to the script and kept it short while acknowledging a “very special so-long” to the audience at home.

“For my partners David Cone and Eduardo Perez, great friends, and all of us on our Sunday night crew, a very special so-long from Houston,” Ravech said. “We will see you again.”

ESPN will broadcast a big NL tilt on Wednesday as the New York Mets had to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

“Thanks to everybody for watching another season of Sunday Night Baseball,” Ravech added, choosing not to address the elephant in the room that it could be the final season of the beloved long-running series.

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Next month, ESPN will air its final Wild Card round postseason games under the current deal.

MLB has not officially announced how it will reassemble ESPN’s package starting next season. But the latest reports suggest SNB will move to NBC (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-nearing-sunday-night-baseball-deal-worth-200m-per-year.html) (likely following the end of the NBA regular season) along with the Wild Card round (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/apple-drops-baseball-nbc-peacock-espn-buys-mlb-tv-netflix-nabs-home-run-derby.html), while ESPN will retain a package of midweek national games and take over the MLB.tv out-of-market subscription service (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/espn-netflix-nbc-media-deals-dtc-home-run-derby-sunday-night-baseball.html), housing it within the new ESPN app.

Commissioner Rob Manfred recently confirmed (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/rob-manfred-agreements-principle-nbc-espn-netflix.html) these deals.

The wind-down of national MLB coverage on ESPN has been long and well-documented. First the network reduced the hallowed Baseball Tonight to a weekly program (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/relaunch-daily-baseball-tonight-streaming-app-mlb-deal.html) and cut down on baseball talk within studio shows. Now, the institution that is SNB is over for the Worldwide Leader.

The old ESPN package ended when it and MLB mutually opted out earlier this year. The replacement deal with NBC (which will also reportedly see Netflix take over the Home Run Derby) is set to last just three years, ending after the 2028 season.

At that point, ESPN could look to take over an even bigger package of games once again, with insiders speculating the network could even bid on the World Series.

So despite the sad end to SNB this week, Ravech certainly struck the proper tone given that ESPN and MLB could remain in business for years to come.

nRvKVCMSoKg

Despite record-breaking attendance and viewership, ESPN's baseball coverage is surprisingly minimal. This deep dive explores the network's declining investment in the sport, despite its recent growth. A critical analysis reveals potential reasons behind this seemingly contradictory business decision.

ESPN television ignores bombshell investigative report into MLBPA (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/television-ignores-investigative-report-into-mlbpa.html)

ESPN broke major news into corruption allegations against the MLBPA, but you wouldn't know it from watching the network.

ESPN, MLB.tv deal ‘finalized,’ won’t be available on YouTube TV (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/finalizes-mlb-tv-deal-not-available-youtube-tv.html)

The out-of-market package will presumably be exclusive (https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/1p03ie0/espn_acquisition_of_mlbtv_finalized_but_not_yet/) to the ESPN app next year.

What were (https://poe.com/s/UjpucLBhiMRdgdrjEtIs) the biggest marketing mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifN9GYR4x5XUfg_9TUY6JJBUAhbX4g%3A1763529125720&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRN1CodD-cpH2ufuiX0feDbgMuuvOvJUVbjqnBgZ8saefOBAIRVcU-8itIO2xb67MolapDzSNgnqzymMFd1jSHTUCsv7i1jQ73iyU1LEpd0U6mlK5-sR9cMEXJtkj3jHFDeEdy9eA&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBxNv4uf2QAxUH6skDHcx5GgoQ2J8OegQIERAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDmVhql9GrO5fGAVuAJMeqxjt4BZ-LozveR3WSimdoi8rB-rOKVUwfoM04LXDgwq3UYTy0xFjT8W0rXcFVEU0DMuXi3pbTFxBkB3iLhEi1mXi43cmXeHs_52f5z_otScyYBWfeWUVCZQTA3PdQNihvYTSfZtCWSjvR4pnjmNcd35_HctAZRhEW_3nmpvKulKIUmvXW-re7crJReJyR_Q2HYjxHrfH43tEyVuxMYh0dkS2NvQBESruAyt725zSne-p1WX675_dWsAYKUx48_hFer8o4RYk0E7k2-og2REW6obtXgxDDrJCo0oBcr3IOzbR3v5NHYxmEkWg&csuir=1&mtid=9VEdadOLHfWIwbkPtYaK4QM) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#0) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d52fb3c588191b64e1a052e979130) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifPkHblX8MZa7aQ5h87N4yvjhjDRqw%3A1763529061170&ei=ZVEdabGTCqq8p84Pg66M0Ak&ved=0ahUKEwjx2ffZuf2QAxUq3skDHQMXA5oQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifVdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBtYXJrZXRpbmcgbWlzdGFrZXMgdGhhdCB3ZXJlIG1hZGUgZHVyaW5nIHRoZSBwcm9kdWN0aW9uIG9mICJNYWpvciBMZWFndWUgQmFzZWJhbGwgb24gRVNQTiIgKDE5OTAtMjAyNSk_SABQAFgAcAB4AJABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHALIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025 (https://x.com/i/grok/share/so79ai8ly2afkJX6kHoNdrR9A))?

What were (https://poe.com/s/ZApQolnBt7DNqrw06Znm) the biggest creative mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMW7xIW5SQh5Udtjvy0jPb457MXCg%3A1763529644277&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEnH5XGu4qYy9CVnS2jZYmsDBhq-pjmbIJZpFx-KHr_LlHWPFs2OMIeqz2zCXKASYkHsWT6mmmU2prtu6NaFN5dAA2fvID1kgTeMDZQTsWyPUpdgXAQGNcUAx12aWmbhkKq4sZtiK2RwzmXW2Pw6MvTdC049qpmxSE3dW9GXzYfHPq2rN-Q&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjj5v3vu_2QAxXLLtAFHWv2Kp4Q2J8OegQIFBAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDNAxVbJR4XmcRj6Yd_TJwmKTwF21bQy27_wP286B7fFYQk-evMWaC9yGow-QNGQilffqCj_Ef50UB2nWDdaSiyq0aFQawsFoWF5AtEvqMmLOaWPLudyQdr1O1vG1JtZYdyWjJn9JUDR5r0J9B3PdRxEN87jmhcTsqT9J-ZgWjzsMTf3lSYtd2OC3ZYqVElAKaOsSsfydOcfX3dsoAtXdNArdMdUv0JDfncgWYmQF4GjGUGKSdCyWyZS6y9mNr5cc5GYoh995iRNAKFT8KX5z3we9WVLJboTwmQVbeLnQNykUnEFflqMky5BVPb926gH8FqWChbEwPcxA&csuir=1&mtid=6lMdaf3tK8SJkvQPq6fj6Q0) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#1) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d54555b408191ace3fa1eb8d2bcb1) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOOWLn8s2MxDSYy4OBXR04XJthZmg%3A1763529627797&ei=m1MdafK7ML3-p84P-__MgAc&ved=0ahUKEwiy9Y_ou_2QAxU9_8kDHfs_E3AQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifFdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBjcmVhdGl2ZSBtaXN0YWtlcyB0aGF0IHdlcmUgbWFkZSBkdXJpbmcgdGhlIHByb2R1Y3Rpb24gb2YgIk1ham9yIExlYWd1ZSBCYXNlYmFsbCBvbiBFU1BOIiAoMTk5MC0yMDI1KT9IAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAEDyAEA-AEB-AECmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcAsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/7uhvZNbGI9dZfPipGBfN) the biggest personnel mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+personnel+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMA0Y7aLR64lmxH3xr1Ixoiioy-Ug%3A1763529897430&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEnH5XGu4qYy9CVnS2jZYmsDBhq-pjmbIJZpFx-KHr_LlHWPFs2OMIeqz2zCXKASYkHsWT6mmmU2prtu6NaFN5dAA2fvID1kgTeMDZQTsWyPUpdgXAQGNcUAx12aWmbhkKq4sZtiK2RwzmXW2Pw6MvTdC049qpmxSE3dW9GXzYfHPq2rN-Q&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia-djovP2QAxX61skDHXuhLDAQ2J8OegQIEhAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDFVZeDsUf7bhjJYAKrIvwJDfGeJes1eDbj_Ladz-8zCFI7_ehJUQQ9gc61W8IGa_qfrRZYw4E4XgtKXfjdCbWPKxWeOIh--rfngtZfryFi9NKlb1ADjP-fdZItzXOOlbgrjghC_4lWpGPUqMBD5nMHgbuBHKr3RR5-tM_1E6OywYUOtJddOwbwoCk_6GgtbTr32rGvLksjikKRudMB0fyDLkbtAyHgNIn_RMLpHX0vD5h2kUmDRTMmcEE6qIYdSHYzMhDjuk-XUQVMAjUhhXSQmndgDRgff56AT-GtMjAkfDMr4tYDLb1sBmruY_qEQtH7cz-FlumJkg&csuir=1&mtid=2lQdacK7EPydwbkP5qahsAs) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#2) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d559608848191ae37fc6865bb5787) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+personnel+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMW7xIW5SQh5Udtjvy0jPb457MXCg%3A1763529644277&ei=rFMdaePgEMvdwN4P6-yr8Qk) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/gcIIUVjvsSCObFtosREB) the biggest technical mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOgO2gKiqrAr2XCc2lhPD0HPRWZkQ%3A1763530278406&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie6K2evv2QAxWKVTABHctaGBMQ2J8OegQIDRAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfCm2DT2xQ2yQBlLfzNdFMbAnNDDl9fSXC-KGYR1LbiJBUFt5NWtwenWoeBIlhqO_732OKOt5iDHqy2h_vYKel8e5-c_CQAjVC0eg-p4kLNz2SV2D9aZ1pzlOi1DUadNhMqgUrXPmkmIU-wlZDxn77VhZbTQErJa74sgfoVmNNLZu5j-OcLkdc6PxoD8IOjo0kHW_64S9AjGWzFmeOZsKnaqfk1SAjKOd_Mnd2-IzZ9cHMk8Cm5ZpYDDYmIQk5LhzR1mt1jiphLapnVzwSGYb3uB-INoH-yrk2292rdW5p_DsYKp7GYrzzy9rMhP9u8KQfcU5Oa1-dHi96TmsDJq4MK3sm59J4P3yrSk8bQWzPyBXIT23z3MdvDJE_2kvGTqTUR4-kCJHZbSfOqD7cFs9qdtkKxxvjkXOealhbfTf_KZUpKZXMZCiJ0B_Cu0buB-OWbDnX8uxBc&csuir=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#3) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d56f1f838819197a848f38ffd48d3) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes++that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMA0Y7aLR64lmxH3xr1Ixoiioy-Ug%3A1763529897430&ei=qVQdadqAGvqtp84P-8KygQM&ved=0ahUKEwia-djovP2QAxX61skDHXuhLDAQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes++that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifldoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCB0ZWNobmljYWwgbWlzdGFrZXMgIHRoYXQgd2VyZSBtYWRlIGR1cmluZyB0aGUgcHJvZHVjdGlvbiBvZiAiTWFqb3IgTGVhZ3VlIEJhc2ViYWxsIG9uIEVTUE4iICgxOTkwLTIwMjUpP0gAUABYAHAAeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQD4AQH4AQKYAgCgAgCYAwCSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/AYbvm8cSLcPOa1mL50oe) the biggest financial mistakes (google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifNKUFGWR7bGtRR3cESG5fPAtoql5Q:1763530516993&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXjJCQv_2QAxWUMNAFHT_GJagQ2J8OegQIDRAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#4) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d57f3b1c081918a7c2c94391986fb) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOgO2gKiqrAr2XCc2lhPD0HPRWZkQ%3A1763530278406&ei=JlYdaZ69GIqrwbkPy7XhmAE&ved=0ahUKEwie6K2evv2QAxWKVTABHctaGBMQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifVdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBmaW5hbmNpYWwgbWlzdGFrZXMgdGhhdCB3ZXJlIG1hZGUgZHVyaW5nIHRoZSBwcm9kdWN0aW9uIG9mICJNYWpvciBMZWFndWUgQmFzZWJhbGwgb24gRVNQTiIgKDE5OTAtMjAyNSk_SABQAFgAcAB4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBA8gBAPgBAfgBApgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHALIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/yaIQLLlgeECDybTpZYFI) the biggest scheduling mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifM85n8Ku9vCWp6PM3U3P2U2t4SulA:1763530768202&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF0_SHwP2QAxUmQjABHQKVIgUQ2J8OegQIERAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#5) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d5901ff08819182b192815e787d85) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifNKUFGWR7bGtRR3cESG5fPAtoql5Q%3A1763530516993&ei=FFcdaZeyPJThwN4Pv4yXwQo&ved=0ahUKEwiXjJCQv_2QAxWUMNAFHT_GJagQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifldoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBzY2hlZHVsaW5nIG1pc3Rha2VzIHRoYXQgd2VyZSBtYWRlIGR1cmluZyB0aGUgcHJvZHVjdGlvbiBvZiAiTWFqb3IgTGVhZ3VlIEJhc2ViYWxsIG9uIEVTUE4iICgxOTkwLTIwMjUpP0gAUABYAHAAeAGQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQD4AQH4AQKYAgCgAgCYAwCSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/ug8OkGTEDWdbCRpReOvf) the biggest on-air presentation mistakes (google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOB-kX3oj6ktFcy8IuUNjCSNIb4PA:1763531098602&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5C9pIcRYGnhu1hovRjvvIMOIfgvW8ns1TCsFJ-Adh9mvXe_YcfCwoxP2oLtGcs_UnKBg2fAQdFzI40uw7QLGDDZ-8V5X4jY4LUGXvX1PpZVg_hANgIDJl5fjeMvVsJpTH7GQfbinomE7K8QGgprqWZF4mXCTg&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj02Lqlwf2QAxV1RTABHQQ9Od4Q2J8OegQIExAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#6) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d59f1d48c819182bcd926e40da24a) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifM85n8Ku9vCWp6PM3U3P2U2t4SulA%3A1763530768202&ei=EFgdacWLDKaEwbkPgqqKKQ&ved=0ahUKEwjF0_SHwP2QAxUmQjABHQKVIgUQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAihwFXaGF0IHdlcmUgdGhlIGJpZ2dlc3Qgb24tYWlyIHByZXNlbnRhdGlvbiBtaXN0YWtlcyB0aGF0IHdlcmUgbWFkZSBkdXJpbmcgdGhlIHByb2R1Y3Rpb24gb2YgIk1ham9yIExlYWd1ZSBCYXNlYmFsbCBvbiBFU1BOIiAoMTk5MC0yMDI1KT9IAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAEDyAEA-AEB-AECmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcAsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/UjpucLBhiMRdgdrjEtIs) the biggest marketing mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifN9GYR4x5XUfg_9TUY6JJBUAhbX4g%3A1763529125720&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRN1CodD-cpH2ufuiX0feDbgMuuvOvJUVbjqnBgZ8saefOBAIRVcU-8itIO2xb67MolapDzSNgnqzymMFd1jSHTUCsv7i1jQ73iyU1LEpd0U6mlK5-sR9cMEXJtkj3jHFDeEdy9eA&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBxNv4uf2QAxUH6skDHcx5GgoQ2J8OegQIERAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDmVhql9GrO5fGAVuAJMeqxjt4BZ-LozveR3WSimdoi8rB-rOKVUwfoM04LXDgwq3UYTy0xFjT8W0rXcFVEU0DMuXi3pbTFxBkB3iLhEi1mXi43cmXeHs_52f5z_otScyYBWfeWUVCZQTA3PdQNihvYTSfZtCWSjvR4pnjmNcd35_HctAZRhEW_3nmpvKulKIUmvXW-re7crJReJyR_Q2HYjxHrfH43tEyVuxMYh0dkS2NvQBESruAyt725zSne-p1WX675_dWsAYKUx48_hFer8o4RYk0E7k2-og2REW6obtXgxDDrJCo0oBcr3IOzbR3v5NHYxmEkWg&csuir=1&mtid=9VEdadOLHfWIwbkPtYaK4QM) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#0) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d52fb3c588191b64e1a052e979130) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifPkHblX8MZa7aQ5h87N4yvjhjDRqw%3A1763529061170&ei=ZVEdabGTCqq8p84Pg66M0Ak&ved=0ahUKEwjx2ffZuf2QAxUq3skDHQMXA5oQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+marketing+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifVdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBtYXJrZXRpbmcgbWlzdGFrZXMgdGhhdCB3ZXJlIG1hZGUgZHVyaW5nIHRoZSBwcm9kdWN0aW9uIG9mICJNYWpvciBMZWFndWUgQmFzZWJhbGwgb24gRVNQTiIgKDE5OTAtMjAyNSk_SABQAFgAcAB4AJABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHALIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025 (https://x.com/i/grok/share/so79ai8ly2afkJX6kHoNdrR9A))?

What were (https://poe.com/s/ZApQolnBt7DNqrw06Znm) the biggest creative mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMW7xIW5SQh5Udtjvy0jPb457MXCg%3A1763529644277&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEnH5XGu4qYy9CVnS2jZYmsDBhq-pjmbIJZpFx-KHr_LlHWPFs2OMIeqz2zCXKASYkHsWT6mmmU2prtu6NaFN5dAA2fvID1kgTeMDZQTsWyPUpdgXAQGNcUAx12aWmbhkKq4sZtiK2RwzmXW2Pw6MvTdC049qpmxSE3dW9GXzYfHPq2rN-Q&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjj5v3vu_2QAxXLLtAFHWv2Kp4Q2J8OegQIFBAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDNAxVbJR4XmcRj6Yd_TJwmKTwF21bQy27_wP286B7fFYQk-evMWaC9yGow-QNGQilffqCj_Ef50UB2nWDdaSiyq0aFQawsFoWF5AtEvqMmLOaWPLudyQdr1O1vG1JtZYdyWjJn9JUDR5r0J9B3PdRxEN87jmhcTsqT9J-ZgWjzsMTf3lSYtd2OC3ZYqVElAKaOsSsfydOcfX3dsoAtXdNArdMdUv0JDfncgWYmQF4GjGUGKSdCyWyZS6y9mNr5cc5GYoh995iRNAKFT8KX5z3we9WVLJboTwmQVbeLnQNykUnEFflqMky5BVPb926gH8FqWChbEwPcxA&csuir=1&mtid=6lMdaf3tK8SJkvQPq6fj6Q0) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#1) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d54555b408191ace3fa1eb8d2bcb1) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOOWLn8s2MxDSYy4OBXR04XJthZmg%3A1763529627797&ei=m1MdafK7ML3-p84P-__MgAc&ved=0ahUKEwiy9Y_ou_2QAxU9_8kDHfs_E3AQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+creative+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifFdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBjcmVhdGl2ZSBtaXN0YWtlcyB0aGF0IHdlcmUgbWFkZSBkdXJpbmcgdGhlIHByb2R1Y3Rpb24gb2YgIk1ham9yIExlYWd1ZSBCYXNlYmFsbCBvbiBFU1BOIiAoMTk5MC0yMDI1KT9IAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAEDyAEA-AEB-AECmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcAsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/7uhvZNbGI9dZfPipGBfN) the biggest personnel mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+personnel+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMA0Y7aLR64lmxH3xr1Ixoiioy-Ug%3A1763529897430&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEnH5XGu4qYy9CVnS2jZYmsDBhq-pjmbIJZpFx-KHr_LlHWPFs2OMIeqz2zCXKASYkHsWT6mmmU2prtu6NaFN5dAA2fvID1kgTeMDZQTsWyPUpdgXAQGNcUAx12aWmbhkKq4sZtiK2RwzmXW2Pw6MvTdC049qpmxSE3dW9GXzYfHPq2rN-Q&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia-djovP2QAxX61skDHXuhLDAQ2J8OegQIEhAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfDFVZeDsUf7bhjJYAKrIvwJDfGeJes1eDbj_Ladz-8zCFI7_ehJUQQ9gc61W8IGa_qfrRZYw4E4XgtKXfjdCbWPKxWeOIh--rfngtZfryFi9NKlb1ADjP-fdZItzXOOlbgrjghC_4lWpGPUqMBD5nMHgbuBHKr3RR5-tM_1E6OywYUOtJddOwbwoCk_6GgtbTr32rGvLksjikKRudMB0fyDLkbtAyHgNIn_RMLpHX0vD5h2kUmDRTMmcEE6qIYdSHYzMhDjuk-XUQVMAjUhhXSQmndgDRgff56AT-GtMjAkfDMr4tYDLb1sBmruY_qEQtH7cz-FlumJkg&csuir=1&mtid=2lQdacK7EPydwbkP5qahsAs) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#2) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d559608848191ae37fc6865bb5787) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+personnel+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMW7xIW5SQh5Udtjvy0jPb457MXCg%3A1763529644277&ei=rFMdaePgEMvdwN4P6-yr8Qk) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/gcIIUVjvsSCObFtosREB) the biggest technical mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOgO2gKiqrAr2XCc2lhPD0HPRWZkQ%3A1763530278406&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie6K2evv2QAxWKVTABHctaGBMQ2J8OegQIDRAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1&mstk=AUtExfCm2DT2xQ2yQBlLfzNdFMbAnNDDl9fSXC-KGYR1LbiJBUFt5NWtwenWoeBIlhqO_732OKOt5iDHqy2h_vYKel8e5-c_CQAjVC0eg-p4kLNz2SV2D9aZ1pzlOi1DUadNhMqgUrXPmkmIU-wlZDxn77VhZbTQErJa74sgfoVmNNLZu5j-OcLkdc6PxoD8IOjo0kHW_64S9AjGWzFmeOZsKnaqfk1SAjKOd_Mnd2-IzZ9cHMk8Cm5ZpYDDYmIQk5LhzR1mt1jiphLapnVzwSGYb3uB-INoH-yrk2292rdW5p_DsYKp7GYrzzy9rMhP9u8KQfcU5Oa1-dHi96TmsDJq4MK3sm59J4P3yrSk8bQWzPyBXIT23z3MdvDJE_2kvGTqTUR4-kCJHZbSfOqD7cFs9qdtkKxxvjkXOealhbfTf_KZUpKZXMZCiJ0B_Cu0buB-OWbDnX8uxBc&csuir=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#3) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d56f1f838819197a848f38ffd48d3) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes++that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifMA0Y7aLR64lmxH3xr1Ixoiioy-Ug%3A1763529897430&ei=qVQdadqAGvqtp84P-8KygQM&ved=0ahUKEwia-djovP2QAxX61skDHXuhLDAQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+technical+mistakes++that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifldoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCB0ZWNobmljYWwgbWlzdGFrZXMgIHRoYXQgd2VyZSBtYWRlIGR1cmluZyB0aGUgcHJvZHVjdGlvbiBvZiAiTWFqb3IgTGVhZ3VlIEJhc2ViYWxsIG9uIEVTUE4iICgxOTkwLTIwMjUpP0gAUABYAHAAeACQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQD4AQH4AQKYAgCgAgCYAwCSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/AYbvm8cSLcPOa1mL50oe) the biggest financial mistakes (google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifNKUFGWR7bGtRR3cESG5fPAtoql5Q:1763530516993&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXjJCQv_2QAxWUMNAFHT_GJagQ2J8OegQIDRAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#4) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d57f3b1c081918a7c2c94391986fb) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOgO2gKiqrAr2XCc2lhPD0HPRWZkQ%3A1763530278406&ei=JlYdaZ69GIqrwbkPy7XhmAE&ved=0ahUKEwie6K2evv2QAxWKVTABHctaGBMQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+financial+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifVdoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBmaW5hbmNpYWwgbWlzdGFrZXMgdGhhdCB3ZXJlIG1hZGUgZHVyaW5nIHRoZSBwcm9kdWN0aW9uIG9mICJNYWpvciBMZWFndWUgQmFzZWJhbGwgb24gRVNQTiIgKDE5OTAtMjAyNSk_SABQAFgAcAB4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBA8gBAPgBAfgBApgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHALIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/yaIQLLlgeECDybTpZYFI) the biggest scheduling mistakes (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifM85n8Ku9vCWp6PM3U3P2U2t4SulA:1763530768202&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5CZ3BMqEOmSLosB6ewVwbRNDe0WMBBUuIH_PQDrqiDiEE7p3X1oyw529VzjCrsxQQKDnSuVSeXUkJx8co-4uqmwgirp7mlEjB0zV96lcDJ7-bCRjDxLORBri2-dNKIDt-MTD3kEurvk7GWnjekz18hwPCDhmw&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF0_SHwP2QAxUmQjABHQKVIgUQ2J8OegQIERAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#5) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d5901ff08819182b192815e787d85) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifNKUFGWR7bGtRR3cESG5fPAtoql5Q%3A1763530516993&ei=FFcdaZeyPJThwN4Pv4yXwQo&ved=0ahUKEwiXjJCQv_2QAxWUMNAFHT_GJagQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+scheduling+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAifldoYXQgd2VyZSB0aGUgYmlnZ2VzdCBzY2hlZHVsaW5nIG1pc3Rha2VzIHRoYXQgd2VyZSBtYWRlIGR1cmluZyB0aGUgcHJvZHVjdGlvbiBvZiAiTWFqb3IgTGVhZ3VlIEJhc2ViYWxsIG9uIEVTUE4iICgxOTkwLTIwMjUpP0gAUABYAHAAeAGQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQPIAQD4AQH4AQKYAgCgAgCYAwCSBwCgBwCyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?

What were (https://poe.com/s/ug8OkGTEDWdbCRpReOvf) the biggest on-air presentation mistakes (google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN+(1990-2025)%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifOB-kX3oj6ktFcy8IuUNjCSNIb4PA:1763531098602&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEjQNBpxsiq00_NKkwkaPC5C9pIcRYGnhu1hovRjvvIMOIfgvW8ns1TCsFJ-Adh9mvXe_YcfCwoxP2oLtGcs_UnKBg2fAQdFzI40uw7QLGDDZ-8V5X4jY4LUGXvX1PpZVg_hANgIDJl5fjeMvVsJpTH7GQfbinomE7K8QGgprqWZF4mXCTg&aep=1&ntc=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj02Lqlwf2QAxV1RTABHQQ9Od4Q2J8OegQIExAE&biw=1600&bih=739&dpr=1) that were made (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-were-the-biggest-marketin-izNIji_CSUOYU7KmpYml.g#6) during the production (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d59f1d48c819182bcd926e40da24a) of Major League Baseball on ESPN (https://www.google.com/search?q=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&sca_esv=f12b18e24a927b5f&sxsrf=AE3TifM85n8Ku9vCWp6PM3U3P2U2t4SulA%3A1763530768202&ei=EFgdacWLDKaEwbkPgqqKKQ&ved=0ahUKEwjF0_SHwP2QAxUmQjABHQKVIgUQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=What+were+the+biggest+on-air+presentation+mistakes+that+were+made+during+the+production+of+%22Major+League+Baseball+on+ESPN%22+%281990-2025%29%3F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAihwFXaGF0IHdlcmUgdGhlIGJpZ2dlc3Qgb24tYWlyIHByZXNlbnRhdGlvbiBtaXN0YWtlcyB0aGF0IHdlcmUgbWFkZSBkdXJpbmcgdGhlIHByb2R1Y3Rpb24gb2YgIk1ham9yIExlYWd1ZSBCYXNlYmFsbCBvbiBFU1BOIiAoMTk5MC0yMDI1KT9IAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAEDyAEA-AEB-AECmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcAsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) (1990-2025)?


ESPN's MLB (https://www.google.com/search?q=I+remember+when+Dan+Shulman+and+Aaron+Boone+were+in+one+radio+booth+during+the+CS%2C+and+Boog+Sciambi+and+Chris+Singleton+were+in+the+other%2C+and+Shulman%2C+Boone+and+Mendoza+were+the+team+for+SNB.+Ever+since+Shulman+left+and+Boone+took+the+Yankees+job%2C+ESPN+coverage+has+been+terrible+and+everything+went+south+for+them.+To+summarize%3A+Over+Covid%2C+their+three-man+booth+led+by+Ravech+got+exposed+as+not+very+good+and+seemingly+not+very+interested+in+talking+about+the+actual+game%2C+and+needed+Cone+to+replace+Kurkjian+to+salvage+it+and+give+the+company+man+the+SNB+spot.+Their+flashy+new+hire+over+Covid+in+Chipper+Jones+was+dry+and+let+go+after+one+season.+Around+the+same+time%2C+they+were+forced+to+swallow+their+pride+and+bring+back+Doug+Glanville+after+laying+him+off+previously.+Vasgersian+delivered+easily+his+worst+work+as+a+professional%2C+A-Rod+brought+nothing+but+the+name%2C+and+they+were+actively+sexist+to+Mendoza+on-air%2C+who+proceeded+to+be+demoted+and+got+negative+press+for+defending+the+cheating+scandal.+Sciambi+clearly+lost+his+passion+for+calling+radio+games+when+forced+to+do+them+remotely+over+Covid%2C+and+Singleton+refused+to+comply+with+their+vaccine+policy%2C+first+doing+only+remote+work+in+2020+and+then%2C+after+not+being+renewed+in+2021%2C+deciding+to+post+anti-vax+propaganda+and+transphobia+on+Twitter+instead.+Shulman+signed+a+new+deal+to+only+call+college+basketball+for+ESPN%2C+Joe+Buck+joined+ESPN+but+turned+down+the+opportunity+to+call+baseball%2C+and+Dave+Flemming+was+re-assigned+to+only+call+college+sports+and+golf+for+them.+John+Schriffen+left+for+Chicago+and+became+deeply+unpopular%2C+limiting+his+options+to+be+a+potential+SNB+radio+voice.+Kevin+Brown+essentially+stopped+calling+baseball+for+ESPN%2C+and+Sean+McDonough+saw+his+modern+baseball+level+of+knowledge+embarrassed+by+Ben+McDonald+in+the+playoffs.+They+won%27t+let+Tom+Hart+call+anything+but+college+in+baseball%2C+so+Roxy+Bernstein+and+Mike+Couzens+have+to+fill+in+for+Sciambi+on+SNB+when+he%27s+not+there%2C+which+is+most+of+the+time.+They+just+laid+off+their+top+radio+anchor+Kevin+Winter%2C+and+their+other+one%2C+Marc+Kestecher%2C+mostly+focuses+on+basketball+these+days.+They+no+longer+trust+Rick+Sutcliffe+or+Jim+Bowden+to+call+games+other+than+the+odd+radio+fill-in+spot.+Buster+Olney+has+essentially+lost+all+credibility+as+a+breaking+news+reporter+and+was+re-assigned+to+be+their+podcast+guy+and+sideline+reporter%2C+and+Jeff+Passan+was+reportedly+nearly+switched+by+executives+to+basketball.+Yes%2C+really.+They+let+their+top+scouting+writer+Keith+Law+leave+for+The+Athletic%2C+let+their+top+analytics+writer+Mark+Simon+leave+for+Sports+Info+Solutions%2C+and+slashed+the+budget+and+proceeded+to+cancel+Fantasy+Focus+Baseball%2C+leaving+Eric+Karabell+without+a+podcast+platform+for+the+second+time+in+a+decade.+This+also+left+Tristan+Cockcroft+as+one+of+the+only+major+fantasy+baseball+analysts+without+a+podcast+platform.+Basically+-+ESPN+MLB+has+been+sunk+by+a+million+paper+cuts+since+the+beginning+of+2018+and+should+not+be+renewed.&oq=I+remember+when+Dan+Shulman+and+Aaron+Boone+were+in+one+radio+booth+during+the+CS%2C+and+Boog+Sciambi+and+Chris+Singleton+were+in+the+other%2C+and+Shulman%2C+Boone+and+Mendoza+were+the+team+for+SNB.+Ever+since+Shulman+left+and+Boone+took+the+Yankees+job%2C+ESPN+coverage+has+been+terrible+and+everything+went+south+for+them.+To+summarize%3A+Over+Covid%2C+their+three-man+booth+led+by+Ravech+got+exposed+as+not+very+good+and+seemingly+not+very+interested+in+talking+about+the+actual+game%2C+and+needed+Cone+to+replace+Kurkjian+to+salvage+it+and+give+the+company+man+the+SNB+spot.+Their+flashy+new+hire+over+Covid+in+Chipper+Jones+was+dry+and+let+go+after+one+season.+Around+the+same+time%2C+they+were+forced+to+swallow+their+pride+and+bring+back+Doug+Glanville+after+laying+him+off+previously.+Vasgersian+delivered+easily+his+worst+work+as+a+professional%2C+A-Rod+brought+nothing+but+the+name%2C+and+they+were+actively+sexist+to+Mendoza+on-air%2C+who+proceeded+to+be+demoted+and+got+negative+press+for+defending+the+cheating+scandal.+Sciambi+clearly+lost+his+passion+for+calling+radio+games+when+forced+to+do+them+remotely+over+Covid%2C+and+Singleton+refused+to+comply+with+their+vaccine+policy%2C+first+doing+only+remote+work+in+2020+and+then%2C+after+not+being+renewed+in+2021%2C+deciding+to+post+anti-vax+propaganda+and+transphobia+on+Twitter+instead.+Shulman+signed+a+new+deal+to+only+call+college+basketball+for+ESPN%2C+Joe+Buck+joined+ESPN+but+turned+down+the+opportunity+to+call+baseball%2C+and+Dave+Flemming+was+re-assigned+to+only+call+college+sports+and+golf+for+them.+John+Schriffen+left+for+Chicago+and+became+deeply+unpopular%2C+limiting+his+options+to+be+a+potential+SNB+radio+voice.+Kevin+Brown+essentially+stopped+calling+baseball+for+ESPN%2C+and+Sean+McDonough+saw+his+modern+baseball+level+of+knowledge+embarrassed+by+Ben+McDonald+in+the+playoffs.+They+won%27t+let+Tom+Hart+call+anything+but+college+in+baseball%2C+so+Roxy+Bernstein+and+Mike+Couzens+have+to+fill+in+for+Sciambi+on+SNB+when+he%27s+not+there%2C+which+is+most+of+the+time.+They+just+laid+off+their+top+radio+anchor+Kevin+Winter%2C+and+their+other+one%2C+Marc+Kestecher%2C+mostly+focuses+on+basketball+these+days.+They+no+longer+trust+Rick+Sutcliffe+or+Jim+Bowden+to+call+games+other+than+the+odd+radio+fill-in+spot.+Buster+Olney+has+essentially+lost+all+credibility+as+a+breaking+news+reporter+and+was+re-assigned+to+be+their+podcast+guy+and+sideline+reporter%2C+and+Jeff+Passan+was+reportedly+nearly+switched+by+executives+to+basketball.+Yes%2C+really.+They+let+their+top+scouting+writer+Keith+Law+leave+for+The+Athletic%2C+let+their+top+analytics+writer+Mark+Simon+leave+for+Sports+Info+Solutions%2C+and+slashed+the+budget+and+proceeded+to+cancel+Fantasy+Focus+Baseball%2C+leaving+Eric+Karabell+without+a+podcast+platform+for+the+second+time+in+a+decade.+This+also+left+Tristan+Cockcroft+as+one+of+the+only+major+fantasy+baseball+analysts+without+a+podcast+platform.+Basically+-+ESPN+MLB+has+been+sunk+by+a+million+paper+cuts+since+the+beginning+of+2018+and+should+not+be+renewed.&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTE2NzZqMGoxNagCCLACAfEFDgl3PCRD0d7xBQ4JdzwkQ9He&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) Coverage (https://www.perplexity.ai/search/https-www-reddit-com-r-basebal-weRHIYNNR.e50_ojYrVfIg#0): A Chronicle (https://x.com/i/grok/share/Md2DaynFD21gZGBSg4rqeTvj4) of (https://poe.com/s/shDadnmcCXEGweOAHQsG) Decline (https://chatgpt.com/s/t_691d81cb4aa8819198e08cf162fe73b3) and the End of an Era

MLB strikes new deals with NBC, ESPN and Netflix (https://www.axios.com/2025/11/20/mlb-espn-netflix-nbc-rights-deal)

Major League Baseball (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/major-league-baseball-saved-face-what-cost.html) has signed new three-year media rights deals (https://www.google.com/search?q=MLB+strikes+new+deals+with+NBC%2C+ESPN+and+Netflix&oq=MLB+strikes+new+deals+with+NBC%2C+ESPN+and+Netflix&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg80gEINzE1ajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBQpbeS_dGi6O8QUKW3kv3Roujg&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) with ESPN, NBC, and Netflix (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/11/mlb-announces-deals-with-espn-nbcu-netflix/), averaging nearly $800 million annually. These agreements will bring the Home Run Derby to Netflix, establish "Sunday Night Baseball" on NBC, and include a package of midweek games and out-of-market streaming rights for ESPN.

Deal breakdown (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/11/mlb-media-rights-analysis-winners-espn-nbc-netflix-manfred/):

ESPN: Will continue to broadcast a package of midweek games and now has the rights to sell MLB.TV, which allows viewers to watch out-of-market games.
NBC/Peacock (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-new-deal-labor-day-peacock-nbcsn-sunday-night-baseball.html): Will air "Sunday Night Baseball" and the entire Wild Card Series, with some games also streaming on NBC's service, Peacock.
Netflix: Will broadcast the Home Run Derby, an exclusive Opening Night game, and an additional special event game each year, starting with the "MLB at Field of Dreams" game in 2026.


Other details (https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/mlb-to-announce-new-tv-deals-with-nbc-netflix-and-espn.3016798/):

The deals are for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.
The agreements were made after ESPN opted out of its previous deal, which was set to run through 2028.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed that the new partnerships would expand the league's reach to fans through various platforms.

MLB strikes new deals with NBC, ESPN and Netflix (https://www.axios.com/2025/11/20/mlb-espn-netflix-nbc-rights-deal)

Major League Baseball (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/major-league-baseball-saved-face-what-cost.html) has signed new three-year media rights deals (https://www.google.com/search?q=MLB+strikes+new+deals+with+NBC%2C+ESPN+and+Netflix&oq=MLB+strikes+new+deals+with+NBC%2C+ESPN+and+Netflix&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg80gEINzE1ajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBQpbeS_dGi6O8QUKW3kv3Roujg&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) with ESPN, NBC, and Netflix (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/11/mlb-announces-deals-with-espn-nbcu-netflix/), averaging nearly $800 million annually. These agreements will bring the Home Run Derby to Netflix, establish "Sunday Night Baseball" on NBC, and include a package of midweek games and out-of-market streaming rights for ESPN.

Deal breakdown (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/11/mlb-media-rights-analysis-winners-espn-nbc-netflix-manfred/):

ESPN: Will continue to broadcast a package of midweek games and now has the rights to sell MLB.TV, which allows viewers to watch out-of-market games.
NBC/Peacock (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-new-deal-labor-day-peacock-nbcsn-sunday-night-baseball.html): Will air "Sunday Night Baseball" (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p1pwv9/nbc_now_has_the_rights_to_sunday_night_baseball/) and the entire Wild Card Series, with some games also streaming on NBC's service, Peacock.
Netflix: Will broadcast the Home Run Derby, an exclusive Opening Night game, and an additional special event game each year, starting with the "MLB at Field of Dreams" game in 2026.


Other details (https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/mlb-to-announce-new-tv-deals-with-nbc-netflix-and-espn.3016798/):

The deals are for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.
The agreements were made after ESPN opted out of its previous deal, which was set to run through 2028.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed that the new partnerships would expand the league's reach to fans through various platforms.


HkPSkZr7Ni4

TOPICS:

0:00 IT'S NOW OFFICIAL WITH MLB
1:04 WHAT DOESN'T CHANGE
2:27 WHAT'S NEW (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p2adrn/who_should_nbc_pick_as_its_top_mlb_announcer/): NBC (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p1iw1u/major_league_baseball_to_return_to_nbc_and/)
5:37 WHAT'S NEW (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p1duvj/marchand_mlb_lands_new_media_deals_with_nbc/): NETFLIX
7:29 WHAT'S NEW: ESPN
10:58 WHAT NETWORKS ARE PAYING MLB (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p1kbis/complete_breakdown_of_mlbs_national_media_rights/)
12:48 TAKEAWAYS


ESPN planned to pay around $1.65 billion over the next three seasons (https://www.reddit.com/r/sports/comments/1p1jttb/mlb_announces_new_3year_rights_deals_with_espn/) for “Sunday Night Baseball,” the Home Run Derby and first-round playoff games. Now, NBC/Peacock (https://www.reddit.com/r/Dodgers/comments/1p1m070/mlb_announces_a_new_threeyear_media_deal_adding/) has picked up (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p2c7i8/heres_a_look_at_what_nbcs_sunday_nights_are/) “Sunday Night Baseball” and the first-round playoff games for nearly $200M a year, while Netflix took on (https://www.reddit.com/r/Reds/comments/1p1emgb/mlb_lands_new_media_deals_with_nbc_netflix_and/) the Home Run Derby, Opening Day and the “Field of Dreams” game for $50 million per season.

Those two deals add up to nearly $750 million in total over the next three years, which is $900 million less than what ESPN owed before the opt-out. Manfred’s move in the original negotiations is akin to reaching for a 3-0 pitch and fouling out instead of just taking first base and collecting $1.65B. And then, there was a little more.


NBC’s MLB debut set to showcase Dodgers-Diamondbacks (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/nbc-dodgers-2026-opening-day-world-series-banner.html)

NBC announces additional MLB deal details, including Labor Day primetime game (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-new-deal-labor-day-peacock-nbcsn-sunday-night-baseball.html)

Who should NBC pick as its top MLB announcer? (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-play-by-announcer-candidates.html)

HkPSkZr7Ni4




NBC’s MLB debut set to showcase Dodgers-Diamondbacks (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/nbc-dodgers-2026-opening-day-world-series-banner.html)

NBC announces additional MLB deal details, including Labor Day primetime game (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-new-deal-labor-day-peacock-nbcsn-sunday-night-baseball.html)

Who should NBC pick as its top MLB announcer? (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-play-by-announcer-candidates.html)


AZYJOIGb2D8

ESPN announces 2026 MLB schedule with 30-game package replacing ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/schedule-replaces-sunday-night-baseball-2026.html)

The network's new deal (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/12/espn-to-debut-new-mlb-package-april-15/) drops Sunday Night Baseball in favor of weeknight games and MLB.tv streaming rights.

Jason Benetti reportedly top candidate to be NBC MLB play-by-play voice (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/jason-benetti-top-candidate-mlb-voice.html)

Fox Sports' Jason Benetti appears to be NBC's top choice (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/01/jason-benetti-leading-candidate-mlb-nbc-report/) to call MLB games (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/01/nbc-considering-kevin-brown-clayton-kershaw-mlb-report/).

By Matt Clapp on 01/05/2026

Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti is “the leading candidate (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1q54ge9/jason_benetti_is_leading_candidate_to_be_nbcs_top/) to be the top MLB play-by-play voice on NBC,” according to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports (https://frontofficesports.com/jason-benetti-nbc-baseball/).

Jason Benetti has emerged as the leading candidate to be the top MLB play-by-play voice on NBC, sources told Front Office Sports. Benetti previously called MLB for Sunday morning games on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

Benetti is one of the most versatile broadcasters in the industry, calling MLB, college football, college basketball, and occasionally NFL games for Fox Sports. Additionally, he’s the television play-by-play voice of the Detroit Tigers.

And Benetti has experience calling MLB games for NBC, as Glasspiegel notes. In 2021, he served as NBC’s play-by-play announcer for baseball at the Summer Olympics, and in 2022, he became the lead play-by-play announcer for MLB Sunday Leadoff games on Peacock.

Before joining Fox Sports, Benetti put his multi-sport broadcasting skills to use for ESPN from 2011-2022. And prior to becoming the TV voice of the Tigers in 2024, he was the TV voice of the Chicago White Sox from 2016 to 2023. He’s been a fan favorite in any role he’s had.

Glasspiegel notes that “[Benetti’s] contract is not up until later this year, and Fox would have to grant permission for him to take the NBC job, sources said.”

In March 2026, MLB returns to NBC (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1p1iw1u/major_league_baseball_to_return_to_nbc_and/) for the first time since 2000 with a three-year media rights deal (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-new-deal-labor-day-peacock-nbcsn-sunday-night-baseball.html) that includes 25 Sunday Night Baseball games per year, as well as the entire Wild Card round of postseason games, and exclusive Opening Day (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/nbc-dodgers-2026-opening-day-world-series-banner.html) and Labor Day primetime games.

Benetti would be an excellent choice to be the top MLB play-by-play announcer for NBC, as Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann explained (https://amp.awfulannouncing.com/nbc/mlb-play-by-announcer-candidates.html) in November.

NBC announces Jason Benetti will be Sunday Night Baseball’s play-by-play caller, but he won’t have a full-time analyst (https://www.si.com/media/nbc-passes-on-hiring-full-time-analyst-for-sunday-night-baseball)

Instead, NBC Sports announced Benetti “will be paired with analysts with connections to each participating team.” According to Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, NBC Sports’ decision may alienate viewers. “Fans want to build a connection with a broadcast crew, no matter the sport. Sports fans also like consistency,” says Traina. “I’m not a fan of playing ‘guess the announcer’ every week. If you miss the opening segment of Sunday Night Baseball this season, more often than not, you’re going to have no idea who the analysts are unless you recognize the voice of your local broadcaster. The flip side is that fans like to hear their local broadcasters. This is especially true in the postseason. National guys come in and just don’t know the team nearly as well as the analyst who has been there all year calling more than a hundred games.”

ESPN unveils MLB schedule with return to weeknight games (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/schedule-return-to-weeknight-games.html)

While ESPN’s schedule (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/03/espn-mlb-schedule-announced-mondays-wednesdays-summer/) is certainly more fragmented than in previous years, the focus on summer makes sense for both MLB and ESPN.

Zac Brown Band will perform ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ open for NBC (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/zac-brown-band-sunday-night-baseballl-theme-song.html)

The country group will record an opening number for the network's premier MLB package.

NBC will hire another ‘Sunday Leadoff’ play-by-play voice (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/second-sunday-leadoff-play-by-play-voice.html)

"There is one more that we've got conversations with and have agreed to a plan with."

NBC reveals first ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ broadcast team (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/sunday-night-baseball-debut-guardians-mariners-jason-benetti.html)

NBC's Sunday Night Baseball makes its debut March 29 as Jason Benetti calls Guardians-Mariners alongside Rick Manning and Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Orel Hershiser, Luis Gonzalez to call MLB Opening Day for NBC (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/orel-hershiser-luis-gonzalez-opening-day.html)

Jason Benetti will do play-by-play for Dodgers-Diamondbacks.


News: NBC MLB announcers, SEC Nation, PWHL and more (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/03/nbc-mlb-analysts-sec-network-barrie-pwhl-ion/)

Jason Benetti explains how he left Fox early to become NBC’s MLB play-by-play announcer (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/jason-benetti-left-fox-early-mlb-play-by-announcer.html)

Baseball’s great TV reset has arrive (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/tv-deals-2026-where-to-watch.html)

NBC will debut ‘Inside the Pitch’ feature starting with Clayton Kershaw, Adam Ottavino on Opening Day (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/clayton-kershaw-adam-ottavino-inside-pitch-live-at-bats.html)

Al Leiter, Neil Walker reportedly slated to call NBC’s MLB Opening Day game (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/al-leiter-neil-walker-call-nbc-opening-day-game.html)

NBC announces Jason Benetti will be Sunday Night Baseball’s play-by-play caller, but he won’t have a full-time analyst (https://www.si.com/media/nbc-passes-on-hiring-full-time-analyst-for-sunday-night-baseball)

Instead, NBC Sports announced Benetti “will be paired with analysts with connections to each participating team.” According to Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, NBC Sports’ decision may alienate viewers. “Fans want to build a connection with a broadcast crew, no matter the sport. Sports fans also like consistency,” says Traina. “I’m not a fan of playing ‘guess the announcer’ every week. If you miss the opening segment of Sunday Night Baseball this season, more often than not, you’re going to have no idea who the analysts are unless you recognize the voice of your local broadcaster. The flip side is that fans like to hear their local broadcasters. This is especially true in the postseason. National guys come in and just don’t know the team nearly as well as the analyst who has been there all year calling more than a hundred games.”

NBC’s rotating analyst format on ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ runs into first real problem (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/rotating-analyst-sunday-night-baseball-problem.html)

The issue seems to be more with the analysts used on Sunday, and less with the format itself.

By Sam Neumann on 04/13/2026
The idea behind NBC’s rotating analyst model for Sunday Night Baseball was sound enough on paper.

Jason Benetti — one of the best play-by-play voices in baseball, by most accounts — anchors every game, while former players with direct ties to the teams playing that week fill the analyst chairs beside him. Instead of a set analyst, NBC can parachute in team-specific knowledge, genuine personal history with the organizations, and insights that a permanent national analyst couldn’t replicate.

Three weeks into NBC’s first season of Sunday Night Baseball since returning to baseball after a 26-year absence, the dinner party — which Benetti compared to the format (https://awfulannouncing.com/peacock/jason-benetti-peacock-mlb-curb-your-enthusiasm.html) during his Peacock days — is running into a problem: not every guest is comfortable talking at the table.

Sunday’s Guardians-Braves broadcast put Corey Kluber and Andruw Jones in the booth alongside Benetti. The problem is that a Hall of Fame career and a functional broadcast career are related only in the most generous sense of the word. Kluber said as much himself ahead of Sunday’s game, telling the Akron Beacon Journal that broadcasting wasn’t a burning interest (https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/2026/04/10/sunday-night-baseball-corey-kluber-analyst-guardians-braves-game/89533440007/) — it was more of a curiosity, something he was open to exploring. He was recommended for the opportunity by the Guardian’s PR department. He acknowledged he wouldn’t be flawless. That’s a refreshingly honest thing to say before your national television debut.

It is also, if you’re a viewer tuning into Sunday Night Baseball for the first time, not entirely reassuring.

Benetti is elite. He can carry a broadcast and has done it under far more difficult circumstances. But carrying a broadcast and elevating it are different things, and the rotating analyst format (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/sunday-night-baseball-local-analysts-rotating-booth.html) works only as well as the analysts it rotates in. When the model debuted on the season’s first Sunday Night Baseball — the Guardians visiting the Mariners in March (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/sunday-night-baseball-debut-guardians-mariners-jason-benetti.html) — Rick Manning was in the booth for Cleveland. Manning has been calling Guardians games since 1990. He has been doing this for 36 years. The comfort level, the authority, the instinct for when to talk and when to let the game breathe, those are things you develop over decades, not days.

None of this is a knock on either man as a person or as a baseball mind. Jones knows the Braves and what it means to play center field at that level better than virtually anyone alive. Kluber understands pitching sequencing and preparation with the kind of granular specificity that the Inside the Pitch format — NBC’s real innovation this year — was built to showcase. Unfortunately for Kluber, CC Sabathia was tasked with that role (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/cc-sabathia-inside-the-pitch-nbc-sunday-night-baseball-guardians-braves.html) on Sunday’s broadcast.

The question isn’t whether they know baseball. It’s whether knowing baseball and talking about baseball on live national TV are the same skill, and the uncomfortable answer is that they are not, and the gap between them tends to be widest on someone’s first time in front of a camera at this scale.

The format NBC chose was always going to produce this problem eventually, if the network opted not to use traditional analysts. When you commit to using different analysts every week, you’re committing to a range of broadcasting experience that spans from seasoned veterans like Manning — who could slot into any national booth and not miss a beat — to first-timers who are, by definition, learning the job in public. The team-specificity is real and valuable. But it comes with a cost that becomes apparent the moment someone brilliant at baseball sits in front of a microphone and discovers that that brilliance doesn’t automatically translate.

The solution isn’t necessarily to abandon the format. The local knowledge elevates the broadcast when the analyst has the tools to deliver it. What Sunday suggested is that NBC may need to be more selective about which local voices it puts in the booth versus which ones it directs toward the pregame show, where Sabathia was, incidentally, very good alongside Bob Costas. There is no shame in being a great analyst for a pregame segment, but it is a less natural fit for three hours of offering your thoughts on carefully selected nuggets. Take Dexter Fowler (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/dexter-fowler-nbc-sports-studio-coverage.html), for example.

Benetti is good enough to make the format work, even when it doesn’t. The experiment is still in its early stages, and the sample size is small. But Sunday was the first real test of what happens when the pedigree on paper doesn’t match the performance in the booth, and it might not be the last.

NBC sticks with Travelers Championship after weather delay over Yankees-Red Sox (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/stays-traveler-championship-weather-delay-yankees-red-sox-sunday-night-baseball.html)

NBC chose to stay with a PGA Tour event (https://www.reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/1uicgrq/nbc_chooses_golf_over_baseball/) after a weather delay over Sunday Night Baseball between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

NBC Misses First Hour of Red Sox–Yankees Amid PGA Tour Delay (https://frontofficesports.com/nbc-red-sox-yankees-pga-tour-delay/)

NBC missed the first hour (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy?ocid=iehp%2F%3F&apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1) of its first Red Sox–Yankees broadcast since 1995 Sunday night due to the network's PGA Tour coverage running late (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1uidhv2/the_golf_broadcast_cuts_into_the_boston_red_sox/)...

NBC bumps Yankees-Red Sox to stay with golf as Scheffler forces playoff (https://www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/nbc-bumps-yankees-red-sox-to-stay-with-golf-as-22324587.php)

It is rare that a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game gets preempted for anything, especially on network television.

NBC angers MLB fans with golf decision (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy)

The Travelers Championship PGA Tour event experienced a weather delay for nearly 90 minutes in the final round on Sunday at TPC River...

Why is the Travelers Championship Delayed Today? When Will it Start Again? (https://heavy.com/sports/golf/travelers-championship-delay-start-time-update/)

The Travelers Championship was delayed on Sunday as weather interrupted play at TPC River Highlands and forced a pause in the final round.

What channel is Yankees vs. Red Sox on? Why start of 'Sunday Night Baseball' broadcast isn't on NBC (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/yankees-red-sox-channel-sunday-night-baseball-nbc/fd7cac8ece678efb9250babb)

Fans tuning into "Sunday Night Baseball" won't see the start of the Yankees (https://www.reddit.com/r/NYYankees/comments/1ui94ww/game_thread_yankees_red_sox_sun_jun_28_720_pm_edt/)-Red Sox (https://www.reddit.com/r/redsox/comments/1ui7n97/game_thread_628_yankees_4834_red_sox_3546_720_pm/) game on NBC. Here's why.

Yankees fans fume as NBC preempts Red Sox clash with storm-delayed Travelers (https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-fans-fume-nbc-preempts-031221503.html)

Baseball fans were not happy (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy) with NBC's decision to stick with golf over the broadcast of the Yankees (https://www.reddit.com/r/NYYankees/comments/1ui7jg9/yankees_sunday_night_baseball/)-Red Sox (https://www.reddit.com/r/redsox/comments/1uicaih/psa_tv_peacock_nbcsn_until_golf_is_done_then_nbc/) game on Sunday night.

NBC consults with PGA Tour, MLB, turns to Yankees-Red ... (https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/49212565/nbc-consults-pga-tour-mlb-turns-yankees-red-sox-late)

NBC preempted (https://www.abc4.com/news/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-nbc-bumps-yankees-red-sox-to-stay-with-golf-as-scheffler-forces-playoff/amp/) the Yankees-Red Sox "Sunday Night Baseball" game in favor of the Travelers Championship (https://www.reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/1uicgrq/nbc_chooses_golf_over_baseball/), which ran late after rain suspended (https://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/641136/2026-thread-empire-wears-blue?page=50) ...

Fans left furious over NBC's Yankees-Red Sox decision (https://www.dailymail.com/sport/mlb/article-15937201/yankees-red-sox-nbc-broadcast-fans.html)

The PGA Tour's Travelers Championship suffered a lengthy weather delay on Sunday. NBC opted to stick with the golf rather than switch to the ...

2071673820130267593

DaK46CJkmwH


From NBC Sports PR, NBC has decided to push Yankees-Red Sox Sunday Night Baseball to Peacock in favor of Travelers Championship Golf. (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1uic578/from_nbc_sports_pr_nbc_has_decided_to_push/)

The Needle: College sports viewership recap and NBC’s golf-baseball conflict (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/06/the-needle-college-sports-viewership-recap-nbc-golf-baseball-conflict/)

NBC sticks with Travelers Championship after weather delay over Yankees-Red Sox (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/stays-traveler-championship-weather-delay-yankees-red-sox-sunday-night-baseball.html)

NBC chose to stay with a PGA Tour event (https://www.reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/1uicgrq/nbc_chooses_golf_over_baseball/) after a weather delay over Sunday Night Baseball between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

NBC Misses First Hour of Red Sox–Yankees Amid PGA Tour Delay (https://frontofficesports.com/nbc-red-sox-yankees-pga-tour-delay/)

NBC missed the first hour (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy?ocid=iehp%2F%3F&apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1) of its first Red Sox–Yankees broadcast since 1995 Sunday night due to the network's PGA Tour coverage running late (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1uidhv2/the_golf_broadcast_cuts_into_the_boston_red_sox/)...

NBC bumps Yankees-Red Sox to stay with golf as Scheffler forces playoff (https://www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/nbc-bumps-yankees-red-sox-to-stay-with-golf-as-22324587.php)

It is rare that a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game gets preempted for anything, especially on network television.

NBC angers MLB fans with golf decision (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy)

The Travelers Championship PGA Tour event experienced a weather delay for nearly 90 minutes in the final round on Sunday at TPC River...

Why is the Travelers Championship Delayed Today? When Will it Start Again? (https://heavy.com/sports/golf/travelers-championship-delay-start-time-update/)

The Travelers Championship was delayed on Sunday as weather interrupted play at TPC River Highlands and forced a pause in the final round.

What channel is Yankees vs. Red Sox on? Why start of 'Sunday Night Baseball' broadcast isn't on NBC (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/yankees-red-sox-channel-sunday-night-baseball-nbc/fd7cac8ece678efb9250babb)

Fans tuning into "Sunday Night Baseball" won't see the start of the Yankees (https://www.reddit.com/r/NYYankees/comments/1ui94ww/game_thread_yankees_red_sox_sun_jun_28_720_pm_edt/)-Red Sox (https://www.reddit.com/r/redsox/comments/1ui7n97/game_thread_628_yankees_4834_red_sox_3546_720_pm/) game on NBC. Here's why.

Yankees fans fume as NBC preempts Red Sox clash with storm-delayed Travelers (https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-fans-fume-nbc-preempts-031221503.html)

Baseball fans were not happy (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/nbc-angers-mlb-fans-with-golf-decision/ar-AA26KPNy) with NBC's decision to stick with golf over the broadcast of the Yankees (https://www.reddit.com/r/NYYankees/comments/1ui7jg9/yankees_sunday_night_baseball/)-Red Sox (https://www.reddit.com/r/redsox/comments/1uicaih/psa_tv_peacock_nbcsn_until_golf_is_done_then_nbc/) game on Sunday night.

NBC consults with PGA Tour, MLB, turns to Yankees-Red ... (https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/49212565/nbc-consults-pga-tour-mlb-turns-yankees-red-sox-late)

NBC preempted (https://www.abc4.com/news/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-nbc-bumps-yankees-red-sox-to-stay-with-golf-as-scheffler-forces-playoff/amp/) the Yankees-Red Sox "Sunday Night Baseball" game in favor of the Travelers Championship (https://www.reddit.com/r/billsimmons/comments/1uicgrq/nbc_chooses_golf_over_baseball/), which ran late after rain suspended (https://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/641136/2026-thread-empire-wears-blue?page=50) ...

Fans left furious over NBC's Yankees-Red Sox decision (https://www.dailymail.com/sport/mlb/article-15937201/yankees-red-sox-nbc-broadcast-fans.html)

The PGA Tour's Travelers Championship suffered a lengthy weather delay on Sunday. NBC opted to stick with the golf rather than switch to the ...

2071673820130267593

DaK46CJkmwH


From NBC Sports PR, NBC has decided to push Yankees-Red Sox Sunday Night Baseball to Peacock in favor of Travelers Championship Golf. (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1uic578/from_nbc_sports_pr_nbc_has_decided_to_push/)

The Needle: College sports viewership recap and NBC’s golf-baseball conflict (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/06/the-needle-college-sports-viewership-recap-nbc-golf-baseball-conflict/)


3QHqeRME83s

Sal Licata expresses frustration over the accessibility issues faced by fans when national sports broadcasts shift across various platforms. The discussion details the personal inconvenience caused by network scheduling conflicts and highlights the difficulty of navigating digital subscriptions to view live games.