A key element of MLB’s significantly reworked rights deal with ESPN goes fully into effect Tuesday, as the Disney-owned outlet will begin its distribution of the league’s MLB.TV out-of-market streaming service.
Nearly three months after finalizing a three-year pact that retools ESPN’s baseball rights, the new deal will look to combine ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service with MLB.TV, a 23-year-old product that is one of the longest-running and most successful ventures anywhere in sports streaming.
There will be three primary ways to acquire MLB.TV in the new structure, beginning Tuesday:
- Current subscribers of ESPN Unlimited, the highest tier of ESPN’s DTC service that costs $29.99 per month unbundled, can get MLB.TV for $134.99 for the entire season—a $15 discount from the regular price.
- Fans who don’t have ESPN Unlimited can purchase MLB.TV for the normal $149.99 price, and then get a free month of ESPN Unlimited. That latter subscription then auto-renews after that initial month, and requires an active cancellation to stop, but largely resembles the first option. These first two options will be the avenues for new MLB.TV subscribers.
- Existing MLB.TV subscribers that predate the new ESPN-MLB pact will auto-renew at the regular price, and they don’t need to have any interaction with ESPN Unlimited unless they choose to do so.
The latter group, at least in the short-term, will be the largest subset of MLB.TV subscribers. The integration of the ESPN and MLB streaming services, however, was a fundamental part of the new rights deal. The revised pact kept the same $550 million annual fee but jettisoned prior inventory, such as the Sunday night primetime package, in favor of ventures such as this.
A Different Deal
That’s a long way from a year ago, when ESPN and MLB mutually opted out of the final three years of the prior deal, prompting a series of barbs between the two. Later, after a cooling period, talks between the two sides resumed, ultimately leading to the deal struck last fall.
“It’s certainly been a journey, but we are closer and more directly connected with MLB than we ever have been,” ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant told Front Office Sports. “What we’re doing now with MLB.TV is definitely a big step forward for us, but we believe, also for fans.”
As has been the case, the out-of-market package will enforce existing blackout rules. There ultimately will be a local-level integration, too, as ESPN Unlimited is also expected in 2027 to begin including teams that have their local games produced and distributed by the league. That is expected to involve half the league following a large-scale departure from embattled regional sports network operator Main Street Sports Group.
Monthly subscription options for MLB.TV through ESPN will also be available.
There is certainly potential for confusion for fans in the new structure, though. During the recent Australian Open, streaming coverage of tournament matches was split between ESPN Unlimited and the lower-tier ESPN Select, prompting widespread fan outcry.
