Major League Baseball hopes to have an ESPN replacement — or three — lined up by next month’s All-Star Game.
Speaking at owners meetings in New York, Manfred reportedly said Wednesday that he is “hopeful” to have deals lined up by the All-Star Game for ESPN’s expiring media rights package, which includes Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, Opening Day and the Wild Card playoffs. Manfred said MLB is having “three different sets of conversations … talking to three people about different packages.”
It is not clear whether “three different sets of conversations” means that MLB plans to split the rights three ways or simply that it has three different suitors. Per recent reporting in The Wall Street Journal and Sports Business Journal, both Comcast (NBC) and Apple TV are expected to bid on part or all of the current ESPN package.
In particular, SBJ on Monday characterized Apple TV as “the leading streamer” in negotiations for rights that would “not necessarily” conflict with those being pursued by NBC. Apple already owns rights to a Friday night MLB package worth $80 million/year, making it fairly unnecessary for the streamer to acquire Sunday Night Baseball.
Comcast, meanwhile, is uninterested in the radio, international and highlight rights that are part of the ESPN package, the WSJ reported last month.
A plausible-sounding outcome is that NBC acquires Sunday Night Baseball and Apple takes over most or all of the other inventory, particularly international rights, which the streamer has always prized as part of its media rights deals. If MLB truly does split the rights three ways, perhaps the Home Run Derby — which Fox Sports was said to have interest in acquiring — would be the centerpiece of that additional package.
ESPN exercised an opt-out in its MLB deal in February, and while the network has consistently expressed a desire to renegotiate a new deal, Manfred has from the beginning maintained that the sides’ relationship will be over at the end of this season.