Key Takeaways
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Disney's ESPN confirmed on Thursday that the sports giant has mutually agreed to end its broadcasting partnership with the MLB after this season.
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ESPN wanted to lower how much it paid to broadcast "Sunday Night Baseball" and other games, while MLB was unhappy with the amount of coverage baseball was getting on ESPN.
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The decision follows reports last week that ESPN may also be out of the bidding for the next contract to broadcast Formula One racing after the 2025 season.
ESPN on Thursday confirmed reports that the sports giant and Major League Baseball have mutually agreed to opt out of their current broadcasting contract after the 2025 season.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that the sides had agreed to opt out of the deal which could have seen ESPN—owned by Disney (DIS)—broadcast its "Sunday Night Baseball," one round of the playoffs, and the Home Run Derby through the 2028 season. ESPN and the MLB confirmed the report in their own statements on Thursday.
ESPN wanted to lower the fees it would pay for the broadcasting rights from the $550 million average it paid previously, while league officials had reportedly grown unhappy with how little coverage the MLB was given across ESPN's traditional sports talk show programming, per The Athletic. The league called ESPN's request to lower its rights fees "simply unacceptable."
ESPN said it was exercising "discipline and fiscal responsibility" with the decision, and said it remains "open to exploring new ways to serve MLB fans across our platforms beyond 2025." The network has broadcast MLB games since 1990, but scaled back the number of games it shows in recent years.
MLB Decision Comes as ESPN Likely to Also Drop F1 Broadcasting
The decision comes days after Puck News reported that ESPN is also likely to end its partnership with Formula One racing after its latest three-year extension expires after the 2025 season.
The estimated $90 million a year ESPN has paid to broadcast F1 races is likely to get more expensive in the next round of negotiations, as the sport's popularity and viewership has grown in the U.S. in recent years thanks to Netflix's (NFLX) "Drive to Survive" docuseries. Other broadcasters like Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC, or streaming providers like Netflix and Amazon (AMZN) are reportedly contenders for the next F1 broadcasting deal, according to The Athletic.
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