BREAKING: ESPN and MLB are no longer national TV partners after this season. They "mutually agreed" to opt out of the final 3 years of their deal, per a letter obtained by The Athletic. www.nytimes.com/athletic/614... - ThreadSky

evandrellich.bsky.social • 2 days ago

BREAKING: ESPN and MLB are no longer national TV partners after this season. They "mutually agreed" to opt out of the final 3 years of their deal, per a letter obtained by The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6149921/2025/02/20/mlb-espn-opt-out-tv-deal/

Comments

junipermo.bsky.social•2 days ago

I hate, hate, hate the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast on #ESPN. Screen is crowded with a crawl and useless stats, the announcers are mediocre. Hopefully #MLB will find someone better; can’t get much worse

movieguru83.bsky.social•2 days ago

This isn't good because of no more of the mediocre broadcast team calling games with the same handful of teams year after year. It's good because it's a sign that MLB might actually be listening and working to make MLB TV the one stop shop to watch all MLB games, no national or local blackouts.

lbcrog.bsky.social•2 days ago

I mute the TV anytime the Dodgers are on national TV and it isn't Joe Davis calling it.

jockcartier.bsky.social•2 days ago

Well, if they think ESPN didn't talk about them enough before...

briesmith.xyz•2 days ago

ESPN's baseball coverage went into the shitter when Baseball Tonight died and Sunday Night Baseball got rid of Jon Miller

ben210.bsky.social•2 days ago

MLB’s next deal is going to with either Apple TV+ or TBS.

zeemev.bsky.social•2 days ago

That booth makes Smoltz look good. It’s time.

dahoovster.bsky.social•2 days ago

The espn announcers were so bad I stopped watching the Sunday night games

michaelsb89.bsky.social•2 days ago

They’re absolutely atrocious.

therealscotthodes.bsky.social•2 days ago

The Joe Buck announcement was the straw that broke the camels back.

skullcrshr.bsky.social•2 days ago

I know people are rejoicing about this & ESPN does a lousy job of covering MLB. But it's doubtful MLB can find a partner that will pay as much as ESPN has. So that’s less money for each team leading into the expiration of the CBA. If they do find another, it will be a streaming service.

twobitwhackjob.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's likely MLB has an offer on the table for double or more the ESPN contract from either Amazon or Apple.

skullcrshr.bsky.social•2 days ago

Perhaps. Even if they do though, it's going to make it more difficult for fans to watch games. Say what you want about ESPN but they are available on pretty much every platform at no extra cost.

daddyo.bsky.social•1 day ago

Cord cutters don't have ESPN. It doesn't offer a stand alone product and a high percentage of cord cutters don't subscribe to $100 a month packages like YTTV or FUBO

kwagnecht.bsky.social•2 days ago

Even ESPN knows mlb is a cooked product

themahimike.bsky.social•2 days ago

MLB didn’t want ESPN either cause they do such a bad job with baseball coverage.

davidpegram.bsky.social•2 days ago

Because... ?

tonyhawksproskater.bsky.social•2 days ago

Bc they only focus on NFL coverage. Sometimes they'll dabble in CFB and NBA, but they chase $$$ and it's bad for sports as a whole. Which, whether or not they recognize it yet, is bad for ESPN.

Their social media strategy over the past decade has been the key to their downfall. Chasing brain rot

davidpegram.bsky.social•2 days ago

My sense: broadcasting MLB games is a money pit. And MLB is to blame for that, not ESPN.

themahimike.bsky.social•2 days ago

Seems pretty speculative. I don’t know and I’m guessing you don’t any insight it the costs/revenue either. I do know mlb is a regional sport and ESPN is not committed to regional coverage.

tonyhawksproskater.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm not even really advocating for national broadcasts. I'm kinda just looking for highlights. Baseball Tonight was NFL Redzone before NFL Redzone

tonyhawksproskater.bsky.social•2 days ago

I love the NFL, CFB, and the NBA btw. But I'm also a fan of many other sports bc ppl like Stuart Scott, Scott Van Pelt, Chris Berman (and many others) made me fall in love with sports as a whole.

Over emphasizing a few sports is bad for sports as a whole.

pzmcg.bsky.social•2 days ago

Also not a fan of the increased focus on sports betting angles. Great for those who do, but an attention killer for those who don’t. SVP’s whole Sunday night show is almost unwatchable to me.

tonyhawksproskater.bsky.social•2 days ago

ESPN would only cover the NFL if that was an option. It's bad for sports

howdytimbo.bsky.social•2 days ago

they'd only cover the Dallas Cowboys if it was an option

tonyhawksproskater.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yup, guys who have worked there will tell you that too. Bomani Jones says it all the time on his show. He loves when the cowboys are relevant bc it makes his job easier.

I hate it though bc he has so much more to offer and nobody is tuning into his show for that shit no matter what the numbers say.

cptjackaubrey.bsky.social•2 days ago

Good. The talk show laugh track commentary has grown intolerable.

ewokbaseball.bsky.social•2 days ago

Fantastic news for baseball fans

stecah.bsky.social•2 days ago

Good

bigzman3412.bsky.social•2 days ago

I expect a streamer (do I hear Amazon?) will probably take over either the Sunday night package or the Home Run Derby in July. I am hoping that NBC (since ABC is out after this October) could do the 2026 Wild Card playoffs. Outside of that, it's the sad of another tradition in American sports on TV

davidpegram.bsky.social•2 days ago

Direct correlation to MLB's lack of a salary cap and business model.

itmeolliev.bsky.social•2 days ago

Just stopped by to say this doesn’t make any sense.

davidpegram.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'd have to connect the dots...which takes time. But generally, a lack of a cap = lack of viability for all 30 franchises. And hence a lack of national interest in the sport. Thus, low TV ratings.

itmeolliev.bsky.social•2 days ago

Sorry I meant your take doesn’t make any sense like, it’s incredibly wrong and nonsensical. Not confusing.

davidpegram.bsky.social•2 days ago

Well, how about this: the NFL has a business model that values all of its franchises. A cap was added in the early 90s. That's about the time the gap between NFL and MLB really started to widen. Just look at the TV ratings.

itmeolliev.bsky.social•2 days ago

In other words, this is called correlation without causation.

itmeolliev.bsky.social•2 days ago

The NHL will be thrilled to learn having a salary cap is all you need to get better ratings than MLB.