MLB is approaching an endgame on reselling national media rights being abandoned by ESPN after this season, with a decision anticipated before next month’s All-Star Game.
As team owners meet this week in New York, league commissioner Rob Manfred said discussions are ongoing with three bidders to cover the 2026–28 seasons. Two are known, with NBC potentially returning to baseball to expand its sports hold on Sunday nights, Apple TV+ looking to expand its presence beyond its current Friday night package, and a third suitor that Manfred declined to name. MLB could potentially break the ESPN rights into multiple parts.
“I’m hopeful that in the next few weeks, prior to the All-Star Game, we get something done,” Manfred said. “But when you’re having three different sets of conversations, it’s a lot. Each set of conversations involves a different group of content. We’re talking to three people about different packages.”
The rights deals would be interim ones to bridge to 2028, when MLB’s other national rights deals expire, and when Manfred is looking to repackage the sport’s national and local rights in a more centralized strategy. Because of that shorter time frame, the commissioner said he will look to prioritize reach over gaining maximum dollars. But he also acknowledged that the mutual opt-out with ESPN exercised earlier this year has created something of an awkward situation.
“We agreed to the opt-out as a set of compromises that got us to the deal we had. We liked the deal we had,” Manfred said of ESPN. “Looking backwards, do I wish I wasn’t in a position to sell three years so we can line our rights up in 2028? The answer to that is yes.”
Next Steps in Tampa?
Manfred said progress is continuing on repairing hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field so the Rays can return there at or near Opening Day in 2026. The team’s long-term future, however, remains decidedly uncertain.
His comments follow the team’s decision in March to walk away from a deal with St. Petersburg, Fla., and Pinellas County to build a $1.3 billion stadium. The Rays are currently playing to sharply decreased and league-low attendance in the Yankees’ spring training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“The big contingency [for next year] is what happens with the [2025] hurricane season. There’s not much you can do about that besides keep your fingers crossed,” Manfred said. “Long-term, they’re going to honor their lease [at Tropicana Field] through 2028, but I don’t really have anything to add beyond that.”
More Business
In other matters that Manfred addressed:
- Manfred said there is a “really positive” mood among owners as the league enjoys solid increases in both attendance and national TV viewership so far in the 2025 season. Other factors, such as the continued success of the pitch clock and popular stars such as the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge are having significant impacts, too. “The product we’re putting on the field is better than it was five years ago,” Manfred said.
- There is still no deal for MLB to be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But as negotiating progresses with LA28 organizers, parallel talks are also happening with other league business partners. “We have some other partners that we need to talk to about changes that would need to be made to accommodate the Olympics,” Manfred said.
- The commissioner cited strong buzz among owners about the league’s recent investment in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. “They think we found a good organization and are excited to get going with that,” he said.
- Manfred said the sentiments of U.S. President Donald Trump were among many inputs in his recent decision to reinstate the late Pete Rose.
“I have respect for the office and paid attention to the advice that he gave,” he said. “But I had a lot of other people that we were weighing in on the topic as well.”
