What if CBS had a Major League Baseball streaming deal for Paramount Plus

[TMC]

I immediately thought of this after the recent news about NBC acquiring a deal to broadcast Major League Baseball games for their Peacock streaming service. The last time that CBS televised a Major League Baseball game was Game 6 of the 1993 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. That particular game, of course ended on Joe Carter's walk off home run off of Mitch Williams.

The closest that CBS ever got to broadcasting MLB again was in 1995, when they were in the running to broadcast Thursday night games. The deal fell-through and the network contract went to Fox and NBC for the next five years.

There were also rumblings in 2012 about them broadcasting baseball but they were only interested in the All-Star Game and World Series.

[TMC]

What if CBS had a Major League Baseball streaming deal for Paramount Plus?

Hypothetically, if CBS had a Major League Baseball streaming deal for Paramount+, it could significantly change the streaming landscape and MLB viewership. With the recent acquisition of Paramount by Skydance, the new ownership may be more aggressive in pursuing sports rights to boost the platform.

Here is a breakdown of potential impacts.

Benefits for Paramount+

• Boosts subscriber base: A major, year-round sport like baseball would give subscribers a reason to keep their subscriptions active during the spring and summer months, reducing churn between major events like the NFL season and March Madness.
• Expands sports portfolio: Paramount+ would fill a programming gap with MLB content, bolstering a lineup that already includes the NFL, UEFA soccer, PGA golf, and UFC.
• Offers a broadcast and streaming home: Similar to NBC's Peacock, a CBS/Paramount+ deal would provide MLB with a valuable mix of broadcast television and direct-to-consumer streaming exposure.
• Enables new features: The platform has been adding features like multi-view for soccer, which could also be used to show multiple MLB games at once, appealing to serious fans.

Effects on MLB

• Creates new revenue streams: The league is reportedly seeking to expand its national media deals and has been exploring new arrangements for its various TV rights packages, especially after ESPN opted out of its deal after the 2025 season. A large offer from a major network would aid this goal.
• Provides a new broadcast partner: With ESPN's departure, MLB has been looking for new partners to carry national games. CBS would be a prominent replacement, providing a broad, free-to-air outlet for games.
• Changes viewer habits: A streaming deal on Paramount+ could move a significant number of nationally televised games behind a paywall, requiring fans to subscribe to yet another service to watch their favorite sport. This trend is already happening with other leagues like the NFL, and with MLB experimenting with partners like Apple and Roku.

Potential structure of a deal

With multiple rights packages available, a CBS/Paramount+ deal could take several forms:

• A "Sunday Night Baseball" package: This would likely include a weekly, marquee national game on Sunday nights, with most games streaming on Paramount+ but some shown on CBS's broadcast network.
• A full package, including MLB.TV: As ESPN is reportedly doing, Paramount+ could license the MLB.TV out-of-market package, potentially adding the ability to stream in-market games for some teams as well.
• Postseason games: CBS could bid for a share of the MLB postseason games that were vacated by ESPN, potentially showing early-round matchups.

Challenges for a CBS/Paramount+ deal

• Competition from other streamers: Other players, including NBC/Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+, are also vying for MLB rights and experimenting with different packages, making the market competitive.
• Cost: Live sports rights are expensive, and even with the recent acquisition, the new Paramount is smaller than major competitors like Disney and Comcast. Any deal would be a major financial commitment.
• Local rights: The complexities of local market blackout restrictions and regional sports network (RSN) deals remain a challenge for a complete streaming package. The league is considering centralizing rights, but major-market teams are hesitant.