Comcast is bidding on the Major League Baseball rights package currently owned by ESPN.
Comcast earlier this month bid to acquire part of ESPN’s expiring MLB rights package, and its CEO Brian Roberts has had discussions on a potential deal with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Joe Flint and Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Per Flint, Comcast is offering “much less” than the $550 million/year ESPN currently pays for the package. ESPN, per previous reporting by WSJ, wanted to cut its rights fee to as low as $200 million/year.
Since opting out of its deal in February, ESPN has consistently expressed interest in negotiating a new deal.
Any deal would shift Sunday Night Baseball to NBC and Peacock, where it would fill out a year-round schedule of Sunday night sporting events on NBC — from Sunday Night Football in the fall to Sunday Night Basketball in the spring and finally baseball in the summer. Comcast is also said to be interested in the Home Run Derby and Wild Card playoff round, which air exclusively on ESPN, but not in the network’s international and radio rights.
It is unclear how much of ESPN’s current rights package MLB will bundle together in a potential new deal. Fox was previously said to be interested in the Home Run Derby.
Comcast last held MLB rights from 2022-23, paying just $30 million/year to air an exclusive Sunday morning window on Peacock. The company was not willing to renew at that price in 2024, and instead offered $10 million/year, according to reporting at the time. MLB eventually signed with Roku for that same $10 million/year figure. The Roku deal has been cited as one of the primary reasons why ESPN chose to exercise the opt-out in its MLB contract in February.
Under previous ownership, NBC held rights to Major League Baseball for all-but-four years from 1947-2000.