Say Goodbye to Sunday Night Baseball

For years, Sunday Night Baseball has been just as much of an institution as Monday Night Football.  Broadcast by ESPN for as long as anyone can remember, in its heyday, it featured the outstanding broadcast team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for the only nationally-exclusive featured game every week.  If the Yankees were playing the Red Sox or the Cubs were playing the Cardinals, there was a good chance the series finale would be played on Sunday Night Baseball.

Sunday Night Baseball as we know it will cease to exist after this season.  It's one of MLB's most valuable broadcast properties, so I'm sure it'll live on.  But it'll be on another network.  Because just like the NBA's divorce with TNT, this will be the final season of Major League Baseball on ESPN.  At least for a while.  (ESPN could conceivably sign a new deal with MLB, but that seems highly unlikely.)

According to Major League Baseball, it was a mutual decision to part ways with the network.  According to ESPN, it wasn't.  The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.  In a way, they're both right.  Because neither side was happy with the current arrangement and they mutually agreed that they didn't want it to continue.  So, it won't.

MLB wants ESPN to actually care about baseball.  Right now, they don't.  ESPN cares about the NBA, the NFL, college football and college basketball.  Probably in that order.  Despite being the primary rightsholder of both the NHL and WNBA, those leagues are significantly lower on the ESPN totem pole.  Baseball ranks even lower than them.

ESPN has been gradually reducing its MLB coverage for several years.  It started with dropping Baseball Tonight, which went from airing nightly before Sportscenter to once a week...as the Sunday Night Baseball pregame show.  As a result, MLB Network's MLB Tonight has become the only place to get nightly baseball highlights.  Likewise, the number of games on ESPN per season is down to just 30.  In 2025, that'll be an Opening Day doubleheader, their weekly Sunday Night Baseball contest and that's about it.  MLB wants more.  Especially from a network that has exclusive rights to the Home Run Derby and all four Wild Card Series.

Simply put, MLB wanted more for ESPN's buck.  And ESPN, for their part, thought they were paying too much for the limited coverage they offered.  ESPN pays $550 million a year for its MLB rights.  They think those rights have been devalued since MLB has also signed deals with every streaming service known to man who also have exclusive games/windows and pay far less for them.  ESPN wanted their MLB contract structured similarly to those.  MLB disagreed.  As a result, they exercised their opt-out.

While I see each side's point, I've gotta say I'm with Major League Baseball on this one.  The package that ESPN had was pretty valuable.  Sunday Night Baseball is the only weekly exclusive primetime broadcast (and has been for years).  The Home Run Derby is annually one of the most-viewed events of the summer.  And the Wild Card Series is anywhere between eight and 12 playoff games. 

All MLB wanted in return was for the network that had those rights to actually care.  ESPN doesn't.  Certainly not to the degree it cares about the NBA, NFL and SEC.  They've proven that through their gradual reduction of baseball coverage to the point it's all but disappeared.

I remember a time not too long ago when ESPN had a tripleheader on Opening Day and doubleheaders on every holiday, in addition to Sunday Night Baseball.  There was also Wednesday Night Baseball, which was the first thing to go.  Then the Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day games.  Now all that's left is Sunday Night Baseball and Opening Day.  And ESPN barely seems to want that.

Simply put, ESPN doesn't want to spend $550 million a year for approximately 40 Major League Baseball games.  MLB's response was "OK."  What ESPN's been doing hasn't been working for them anyway and this was their chance to get out.  They want and expect better than what ESPN was willing to give.  So, in that regard, it was indeed mutual.  They both wanted out.  MLB just made the first move.

What Major League Baseball is banking on is somebody else not only wanting ESPN's package, but actually acting like one of the league's TV partners and giving it the coverage it deserves.  There's a good chance they'll get it, too.  Because somebody who's been on the outside looking in will almost certainly jump at the chance to take over the rights to Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and all four Wild Card Series.  One of MLB's other current rightsholders might even swoop in and expand their own relationship with Major League Baseball.

TBS has had an MLB contract since 2007.  Outside of their exclusive coverage to one league's playoffs each season, though, does anyone even know when games are on TBS?  Their Tuesday night games are blacked out in local markets anyway!  It's easy to see TBS being very interested in those exclusive Sunday night and Home Run Derby rights.  (And, don't forget, events like the Little League Classic are a part of the Sunday night package.)  Frankly, ESPN's regular season package is better than the one TBS currently has.

Another interesting element of MLB's relationship with ESPN coming to an end is that it also includes ESPN Radio.  So, those national radio rights (which also include everything that FOX has the TV rights to) may end up being just as lucrative and another source of new revenue for Major League Baseball.  Westwood One is considered the early favorite there.

There's a massive caveat with all of this, too.  Whoever replaces ESPN will likely only be signing a short-term contract.  Major League Baseball has made no secret of its desire to combine local and national TV rights when its current deals with FOX and TBS expire in 2028.  Who'll sign that short-term deal?  And will it be for more than the $550 million MLB was getting from ESPN?  It'll be very interesting to see.