Despite growth in its last two media rights deals with Fox Sports and Turner, it appears MLB might be in danger of losing ground with ESPN.

• How it started: An 8-year, $5.6 billion deal signed in 2012
• How it’s going: A 7-year, $3.85 billion deal is being discussed

The approximately $150 million per year drop stems from ESPN looking to cut the number of exclusive games it broadcasts by more than half. Signs point to the network keeping Sunday Night Baseball and the Home Run Derby.

It’s not just national TV: The Miami Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers are without regional contracts less than three months out from the season.

Before this development with ESPN, MLB signed deals with Fox in 2018 and Turner in 2020 that renewed their contracts for higher amounts. 

• Fox: A 7-year $5.1 billion deal increased annual payments from $525 million to $728.6 million
• Turner: The 7-year $3.75 billion deal increased annual payments from $325 million to $535 billion

Fox and Turner both get wider playoff rights, and Fox carries the World Series and All-Star Game, which helps explain the costs. 

Another factor: ESPN has lost more than 17 million cable subscribers in the past decade — a multi-billion dollar loss. The network is also expected to vie for NHL and NFL rights.

The Quibi saga appears to be over.

Roku, maker of the most popular streaming device in the U.S., is acquiring the rights to all content from the defunct short-form streaming service.

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman raised $1.75 billion to develop mobile-first shows before launching Quibi last April. For a variety of reasons, including an ill-fated on-the-go approach during the pandemic, the $4.99 per month service never gained traction. 

The company announced in October that it was shutting down. 

Terms of The Deal:

• Roku paid less than $100 million to acquire Quibi’s content, The Wall Street Journal reported.  
• All of Quibi’s 75-plus shows are exclusive to the free-to-watch Roku Channel through 2021, with Roku retaining rights to air the content through 2027.
• Roku must air Quibi’s shows in their original bite-sized format; it cannot string together multiple episodes for longer segments. 

In addition to shows featuring big stars like Will Smith and Chrissy Teigen, Quibi offered a lineup of sports content, including the LeBron James-produced “I Promise,” Steph Curry-produced “Benedict Men” and Megan Rapinoe-hosted “Prodigy.”

MLS is turning to the left sleeve of player uniforms to make up for financial shortcomings.

Teams will reportedly be allowed to sell an ad on the sleeve for the 2021 season. The effort is intended to help recoup $1 billion in net losses from around the league due to COVID-19. 

MLS teams were previously allowed to sell the left sleeve for a handful of 2020 games, beginning with the MLS is Back Tournament. In that bubble, some were also allowed to place a sponsor on the back left side of players’ shorts.

Teams were already allowed to sell ad space on the right sleeve as part of a pilot program that began last year and will run through 2025.

MLS’ move follows similar efforts from the NBA and NHL. 

The NBA has allowed jersey patch sponsors since 2017, generating $150 million for all teams with the program. The NHL recently announced helmet ads for the 2021 season, hoping to raise $15 million across its teams.