It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. First he defended the Los Angeles Dodgers’ aggressive free agency spending. And then he handed down a timeline for the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas.
Now Manfred is ending MLB’s association with ESPN. The commish has grown increasingly frustrated with the Worldwide Leader, stating in a memo sent to team owners that “[the league has] 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,” per The Athletic.
Ultimately, MLB and ESPN have “mutually agreed” to terminate their TV deal following the 2025 season. The current contract ran through the 2028 season but included an opt out that needed to be exercised by March 1.
Rob Manfred and MLB are leaving ESPN
ESPN responded to the split diplomatically. “We are grateful for our long standing relationship with Major League Baseball and proud of how ESPN’s coverage super-serves fans. In making this decision, we applied the same discipline and fiscal responsibility that has built ESPN’s industry-leading live events portfolio as we continue to grow our audience across linear, digital and social platforms. As we have been throughout the process, we remain open to exploring new ways to serve MLB fans across our platforms beyond 2025,” ESPN wrote in a statement posted to the company’s PR account on X.
The current deal was agreed to in 2021 and expired in 2028. However, ESPN wanted MLB to lower the rights fee agreed to in the contract. Manfred, obviously, was unwilling to accept the proposal.
“While ESPN has stated they would like to continue to have MLB on their platform, particularly in light of the upcoming launch of their DTC (direct-to-consumer) product, we do not think it’s beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform,” Manfred’s statement continued, per The Athletic.
Manfred, who’s entering his 10th year as commissioner, acknowledged that MLB is exploring new broadcast and/or streaming partnerships. “We have been in conversations with several interested parties around these rights over the past several months and expect to have at least two potential options for consideration over the next few weeks,” he added.
ESPN recently released its picks for the top 100 MLB prospects. Unsurprisingly, new Dodgers’ pitcher Roki Sasaki was the headliner for potential talent heading into 2025.
The post MLB, ESPN part ways as Rob Manfred vents frustration appeared first on ClutchPoints.
