ESPN Nears Deal: MLB.TV and In‑Market Rights for Five Teams

The landscape of watching Major League Baseball could shift pretty drastically soon. MLB and ESPN are reportedly close to a huge media rights agreement.

This deal would hand ESPN control over all out-of-market digital broadcasts, basically taking over the long-running MLB.TV service. It’d also add in-market rights for five franchises that don’t have stable regional sports network deals right now.

For baseball fans, that might mean more games in one place. But it could also bring higher costs and new subscription hoops to jump through.

ESPN to Take Over MLB.TV Digital Rights

Under this agreement, ESPN will get the rights to sell all out-of-market MLB games digitally. That pretty much replaces MLB.TV, which fans have relied on since 2002.

Instead of a standalone MLB.TV platform, ESPN would stream those games — maybe even more — through its new $29.99-per-month service. That’s a big change for anyone used to the old system.

What This Means for Fans

If you’re a current MLB.TV subscriber, you might feel a mix of hope and annoyance. ESPN’s platform could offer a better viewing experience and tie in with other sports, which sounds great.

But you may need to juggle subscriptions, possibly keeping your MLB.TV account while also paying for ESPN’s service. That’s likely to drive up costs, even if MLB.TV’s base price drops or stays the same.

New In-Market Rights for Five Teams

This deal would also give ESPN exclusive local broadcast rights to these teams:

• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Cleveland Guardians
• San Diego Padres
• Colorado Rockies
• Minnesota Twins

Blackout Rules Could Affect Accessibility

Fans of those five clubs could see big changes in how they watch games. With regional sports networks fading, ESPN might require fans to subscribe — and maybe pay extra — to stream their team’s games without blackouts.

This isn’t a new problem. Across sports, local access keeps getting split up and tied to more and more subscriptions.

An Exclusive Weekly National Game

Another wrinkle: the deal would give ESPN rights to a new, nationally broadcast MLB game every week. Details are still coming out, but it’d be exclusive, kind of like Sunday Night Baseball, just on a different night.

That’s a pretty big draw for ESPN, and it could bring in both hardcore and casual fans looking for a marquee matchup.

Short-Term Contract Strategy

The deal would only run through 2028. MLB wants to keep national media contracts short, so they can offer a bigger rights package when negotiations start for the 2029 season.

Short deals also give the league some flexibility as media habits keep changing.

Challenges on the Horizon

Even with all this potential, big questions remain. Labor tensions between MLB owners and the Players Association could spark a lockout after the 2026 season.

If there’s a work stoppage, league revenues would take a hit, broadcasters would have fewer games to show, and the momentum from this deal could fizzle out fast.

Balancing Growth with Fan Costs

From a business angle, bringing MLB.TV under ESPN’s umbrella could make distribution a lot simpler. It might also draw in a wider audience, at least in theory.

But for fans—especially those who root for one of the five teams affected—this move might just feel like another paywall. Baseball’s long struggle with blackouts, confusing bundles, and rising streaming prices keeps making it tough for people to actually watch the games.

The target for finalizing this MLB-ESPN media rights deal is September. Fans, teams, and industry folks are all waiting to see if this changes the way we watch baseball—and maybe even the game itself—for a long time to come.

 
Here is the source article for this story: MLB, ESPN Nearing Deal Involving MLB.TV And In-Market Rights For Five Clubs