SEATTLE — The Mariners are shutting down the main broadcasting network for the team, according to two sources at ROOT Sports.
The team bought the last stake in the ROOT Sports from Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023, becoming the sole owners of the network.
Distribution will shift to Major League Baseball’s Local Media in 2026, which has been running some teams’ broadcasts since the division was created in 2023. MLB Local Media currently distributes broadcasts for the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Guardians, and Twins.
In recent years, Mariners games have become more challenging to watch. Comcast moved ROOT Sports to a higher-priced tier, and a direct-to-consumer app and website only became available for the first time this season for $19.99 per month.
Mariners games stream on MLB.tv, the league’s longtime streaming service, but local blackouts have restricted access to the Seattle market.
The only way to watch Mariners games online in 2025 was on the ROOT Sports app or FUBO. This became a frustrating reality for the rising number of cord-cutters who canceled their cable television subscriptions.
In a 2024 interview, Mariners majority owner John Stanton acknowledged that subscriber numbers are way down from a decade ago, citing 3.3 million in 2014 to just 1.2 million.
ROOT Sports had also struggled to provide programming outside of Mariners games and content.
The network held the rights to broadcast Seattle Kraken games from the team’s inaugural 2021-2022 season until the end of an agreement in 2024.
ROOT Sports also lost Portland Trail Blazers games in 2024.
The final Mariners broadcast on ROOT Sports will be on Sunday.