BEND, Ore. — The Seattle Mariners on Friday announced the end of ROOT Sports, the regional sports television network that has been the home to live Northwest sports including the Mariners, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Kraken, college and more for nearly four decades.

Sunday’s game between the Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers will be the final game broadcast on ROOT. Starting in 2026, Mariners games will be broadcast by Major League Baseball on a yet-to-be determined channel. Fans who subscribe to the livestream on MLB.TV will no longer be subject to regional blackouts.

The Seattle Times reports most of the 25 remaining ROOT staff members will be laid off starting Nov. 3. Those reportedly include on-air talent such as Angie Mentink and Brad Adam, some of whom are likely to be hired by the Mariners or MLB or become contract employees.

ROOT started as Northwest Cable Sports in 1988 and took on various other names and partnerships over its nearly 40 years of existence, including Prime Sports Northwest and Fox Sports Northwest. 

Here is the full announcement from the Mariners:

SEATTLE — The Mariners on Friday announced that, beginning next season, Major League Baseball will take over the distribution of their game telecasts and streaming, roles previously fulfilled by ROOT Sports.

Essentially, the club is exiting the regional sports networking business and closing the doors at ROOT, which will broadcast its final game on Sunday.

The Mariners and MLB will share full information and details about television broadcasts for games prior to the start of the 2026 season, but there are not expected to be wholesale changes to the viewer experience.

Cable subscribers will still be able to view games through a specific channel, and streamers will be able to watch through MLB.TV with no blackouts.

“We continue to focus on finding new ways to bring our games in 2026 and beyond to our fans and we’ve determined joining with Major League Baseball is the best path,” Mariners chairman and managing general partner John Stanton said in a statement. “Beginning in 2026 and moving forward, Major League Baseball will provide opportunities to bring new features and benefits to viewers of Mariners baseball.

“We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and excellence demonstrated by the ROOT Sports staff over the [nearly] four decades they have televised our games.”

The 2025 season featured a hybrid partnership between ROOT, which the club has carried a 100% ownership stake in since the 2023-24 offseason, and MLB, which oversees the television production of five other clubs (Twins, Guardians, Rockies, Padres, D-backs). Moving forward, everything for Mariners TV broadcasts will fall under the MLB umbrella.