Sports have long been big business; but now event the
broadcasting of those sports is getting to be an even bigger business.
Last February, ESPN opted out of its broadcast rights deal with Major League Baseball; only to return nine months later.
ESPN, NBC, and Netflix have signed a three-year deal to broadcast games beginning next season.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke on the deal saying, “I think it’s really important that we manage to continue a relationship with ESPN. They’ve been kind of the bedrock of our broadcast program for a long time.”
NBC is about to get a lot busier on Sunday nights with the new broadcaster for Sunday Night Baseball and will pick up the Wild Card games in the playoffs. The season kicks off on March 26 when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The first of 25 Sunday night games will be April 12 and take a break for the NBA playoffs before returning in May. With the new deal, NBC has sports on nearly every Sunday night with the NFL, NHL, and MLB.
Netflix will broadcast two games and the annual Home Run Derby. Netflix will be broadcasting the MLB game on March 25 between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. The “Field of Dreams” game returns next season from the Iowa cornfield between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies on August 13.
While ESPN loses playoff games and the Home Run Derby, they become the rights owner for MLB.TV which will become a part of the ESPN app.
The deal comes to a total of $800 million for the MLB with ESPN paying $550 million, $200 from NBC, and $50 from Netflix. The sports network also gets the in-market streaming right for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, and Seattle Mariners. They will be broadcasting 30 games exclusively mostly during the weekday summer months.
Rob Manfred added, “we’re excited to have a midweek package back out there. This is an evolution of a relationship. Long relationships go through these things, and it’s an evolution that I think is significant. I think it is consonant with ESPN’s focus on streaming going forward.”
The NBC streaming affiliate Peacock will be broadcasting the Sunday afternoon games.
The $729 million deal with FOX and the $470 million deal with Turner Sports run through 2028.
Commissioner Manfred would like to see more national games instead of regional broadcasts.