ESPN and Major League Baseball have not held talks since the former opted out of its contract in February. Plus: ESPN is reportedly considering Peter Schrager for a potential \u201cAround the Horn\u201d replacement; the Indiana Fever have launched a direct-to-subscriber streaming service.<\/p>\n
ESPN, MLB, have not held talks since opt-out<\/p>\n
ESPN and Major League Baseball have not returned to the negotiating table since the network opted out of its current deal in February, according to John Ourand of Puck. While ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has consistently expressed a desire to resume talks, there has been little if any indication of reciprocal interest by MLB.<\/p>\n
According to Ourand, Pitaro recently told reporters his assumption is that MLB is \u201cout there testing the market, which is their right to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon announcing ESPN\u2019s opt-out in February, Manfred said he hoped to have \u201cat least two potential options\u201d to replace ESPN \u201cover the next few weeks.\u201d In the three months since, signs of progress have been scarce.<\/p>\n
ESPN considering Schrager as it looks to replace \u201cHorn\u201d<\/p>\n
ESPN is considering a daily sports show headlined by new addition Peter Schrager as it seeks to fill the hole in its lineup created by the cancellation of \u201cAround the Horn,\u201d according to Alex Sherman of CNBC<\/a>. While Schrager is primarily an NFL analyst and arrived at ESPN from NFL Network, any potential show would likely have a broader focus. Per Sherman, ESPN considers Schrager an \u201call-sports\u201d personality.<\/p>\n \u201cAround the Horn\u201d airs its final show a week from Friday, after which ESPN will air \u201cSportsCenter\u201d in its timeslot.<\/p>\n Fever launch direct-to-subscriber streaming service<\/p>\n The WNBA Indiana Fever announced Thursday the launch of a direct-to-subscriber streaming service<\/a> that will distribute the team\u2019s locally-produced game telecasts within its Midwest viewing territory. Titled \u201cFever Direct,\u201d the service will cost $30 for the full season.<\/p>\n