Major League Baseball’s digital rights have almost slid home to ESPN, according to a new report from The Athletic. Per the report, MLB and ESPN have outlined an agreement that would make ESPN the exclusive digital seller of out-of-market regular-season games, with the potential to subsume the long-running MLB.TV product into ESPN’s streaming lineup.

The framework reportedly also includes in-market rights for five teams over the next three seasons and would keep roughly 30 regular-season games on linear ESPN. The parties hadn’t finalized a signed deal at the time of the reporting. It was previously reported that major streamers and broadcasters are jockeying for event windows, including showcase events like the Home Run Derby and weekend windows, as the baseball league looks to reshuffle its rights across platforms.

If the deal is signed, the report states that ESPN would gain control of the in-market rights to the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies. The MLB currently controls the rights for all five clubs and the deal could eventually give ESPN rights to the MLB Network. The 24/7 network could become an add-on offer for the ESPN DTC app, but that hasn’t been decided yet, per the report.

If an agreement is signed, MLB.TV could become part of ESPN’s DTC service, and the old standalone product could be rebranded, bundled, or moved behind an ESPN subscription or add-on. For cord cutters, this could mean a simpler single app, or it could mean new fees and bundle rules.

With MLB going all-in on streaming after the 2028 season, the ESPN deal is expected to be a three-year deal. All of the league’s rights, including the World Series, playoffs, national, and international rights, will be up for grabs.

ESPN just launched its DTC app for $29.99 per month today, and the company has had a busy month on the digital front. Last week, the company snagged WWE rights in a five-year, $1.6 billion deal; that agreement preceded the company’s purchase of NFL Media.

Credit: The Athletic