• Loading stock data...
Friday, August 8, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

MLB Faces Critical Transition As Streaming Alters Media Landscape

MLB has more local games than any other major U.S. pro league. It also has a growing economic disparity problem. Streaming is being increasingly eyed as a key tool in both situations.

Feb 19, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (right) talks to center fielder Jose Siri (center) and right fielder Starling Marte (left) during a spring training workout at Clover Park.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

MLB is approaching a key inflection point in a difficult transition to a streaming-based future for its local media distribution.

The Mets and SportsNet New York this week rolled out a new, direct-to-consumer offering access to the club’s local games without a traditional cable or satellite TV subscription. The initiative makes the Mets the 22nd MLB club to pursue such a move, and follows a frenetic offseason that saw the completion of Main Street Sports’ bankruptcy reorganization and rebranding, as well as several other baseball clubs such as the Rangers and Twins making significant moves into the over-the-top streaming space. 

The shift no doubt is chasing consumers who have either cut the cord from traditional pay-TV or never entered in the first place. Will it replace the critical club revenues previously provided by linear TV? Certainly not yet, says MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, but it’s now getting closer to doing so. In the meantime, the heightened streaming efforts are also helping attract younger fans imperative for the league’s long-term growth.

“I think we’ve been clear that at least for some interim period, there’s going to be a hybrid model out there that we’re going to continue to monetize on the linear side while the streaming side develops more fully,” Manfred said at a spring training media availability in Arizona. “I do think that the combination of the remaining cable activity and streaming can get clubs into a good position.”

Larger Goals

The overhaul is only part of a planned and much larger reconstruction of MLB’s media business in which Manfred is aiming to pool both national and local rights in a centralized strategy in 2028—when current deals with ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are due to expire.

That media situation, in turn, is also being eyed as a critical aid to address large-scale revenue and payroll disparity that is quickly rising to the top of the sport’s worries—both among baseball fans and within league offices. 

“Disparity should be, it certainly is, at the top of my list of concerns about what’s occurring in the sport,” Manfred said.

“We certainly have owners in the game who are as concerned as fans are about the level of disparity in the game. … I think that issue, combined with the effect of the changes in the media environment are 1–2 on the radar screen of owners. They’re related, at least right now, because the brunt of the downturn in the regional sports network market has been felt generally in our smaller markets.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Chad Ochocinco

Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco Settle $20 Million Defamation Suit 

It’s the second multimillion-dollar lawsuit Sharpe has settled in recent weeks.

More RedZones? 10 Burning Questions With ESPN’s Pitaro and NFL’s Schroeder

The execs behind the landmark ESPN-NFL deal sat down with FOS.

After Draft-Day Snub and Drama, Sanders to Start Preseason Opener

Multiple injuries mean Sanders gets the nod for the opening preseason game.

Featured Today

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
Coco Gauff at New York Liberty
August 2, 2025

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
NFL Network host Kimmi Chex gives Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor a draft do-over during the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Taylor was drafted in 2020 when the draft was held virtually due to COVID.

ESPN Reaches NFL Draft Rights Extension Following Mega-Deal

The network will continue to broadcast the draft through 2030, say sources.
August 4, 2025

NFL’s Hall of Fame Game Draws 6.9M TV Viewers, Highest Since 2021

The Lions and Chargers played this year’s game in Canton, Ohio.
Apr 2, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Roman Reigns during Wrestlemania Night 2 at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit:
August 6, 2025

ESPN Strikes $1.6 Billion Streaming Deal With WWE

WWE’s premium live events are migrating from NBC’s Peacock in 2026.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to the crowd as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter at TD Garden.
July 30, 2025

WNBA Viewership Up Across All Networks Compared to 2024

Non-Fever games are up 37% compared to the full 2024 season.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) celebrates winning Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
July 30, 2025

Amazon, TNT Post Near-Identical NASCAR Ratings in Debut Season

The cable channel is a new media-rights partner this season.
Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse (11) drives to the basket against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the second half at United Center.
July 29, 2025

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences

Clark and Reese both missed the game due to injury.
July 29, 2025

WBD Restructuring Shows What’s Old Is New Again

WBD will become Warner Bros. and Discovery Global as two separate entities.