ESPN could soon own the broadcasting rights for the Arizona Diamondbacks and four other teams as a result of a deal with MLB, The Athletic reported on Thursday.
Under the current framework of the deal, the network would get the teams and MLB.TV as part of its direct-to-consumer — without cable, satellite or similar providers — offering that debuted Thursday.
“Fans would likely need to subscribe to ESPN either directly or through an operator, and then for an added price, they would be able to receive their local teams’ games,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote.
MLB has broadcasted Diamondbacks games through streaming service “DBACKS.TV” since the league took control in July 2023, when Diamond Sports and the team were unable to agree on a deal that would allow Bally Sports Arizona to continue broadcasting.
Since then, fans have been able to watch through the streaming service and limited over-the-air broadcasts.
The Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies are the other teams whose broadcasting rights currently belong to MLB.
It’s yet to be decided whether ESPN would also receive MLB Network in the deal. ESPN will retain 30 regular season games but no longer on Sunday nights after the network opted out of the “Sunday Night Baseball” deal in February.
The new deal is expected to be completed in September for an unknown amount, according to The Athletic.
The agreement comes after ESPN’s move to buy up numerous NFL-owned properties, such as NFL Network and the RedZone channel.
