ESPN and Major League Baseball look to have decided that their current arrangement is pretty good so they’ve made just a few modifications, tacked on a few years and signed through 2021. Published reports indicate the deal is in the neighborhood of $5.6 billion over the eight years.
The agreement covers both radio and TV along with online and mobile devices, though the bulk of the agreement announcement pertains to television.
For ESPN Radio there is a modification concerning broadcast rights conflicts and blackouts in markets where an ESPN property’s broadcast might conflict with a local broadcast. The organization added an “additional right to co-exist during two Saturday windows per team, per year.”
Many points concern the additional playoff games brought about by the extra wild card. Also there will be more studio programming opportunities for ESPN along with new baseball “nights.”
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig noted, “Through its various networks and other media platforms, ESPN offers baseball fans more avenues to experience the game than ever before …”
ESPN and MLB have partnered on baseball broadcasts since 1990, a release stated.
