ESPN’s coverage of Major League Baseball games will conclude at the end of the 2025 season. Both parties agreed to end their national television deal early.
“We have had a long and mutually beneficial partnership with ESPN that dates back to its first MLB game in 1990,‘‘ MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. ‘‘Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen ESPN scale back their baseball coverage and investment in a way that is not consistent with the sport’s appeal or performance on their platform.
‘‘Given that MLB provides strong viewership, valuable demographics and the exclusive right to cover unique events like the Home Run Derby, ESPN’s demand to reduce rights fees is simply unacceptable. As a result, we have mutually agreed to terminate our agreement.’’
Said ESPN in a statement: ‘‘We are grateful for our longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball and are proud of how ESPN’s coverage super-serves fans. In making this decision, we applied the same discipline and fiscal responsibility that has built ESPN’s industry-leading live events portfolio as we continue to grow our audience across linear, digital and social platforms.
‘‘As we have been throughout the process, we remain open to exploring new ways to serve MLB fans across our platforms beyond 2025.”
There was a March 1 deadline for MLB and ESPN to opt out of the final three years of their contract. The sides agreed to a seven-year deal in 2021 that averaged $550 million per season.
ESPN has carried MLB games since 1990, but the network cut back its coverage in the current contract to 30 regular-season games — mostly on Sunday night — and the Wild Card postseason series. ESPN also had the Home Run Derby and 10 spring training games.
“Entering the 2025 season, MLB is enjoying tremendous momentum led by generational talent on the field and an entertaining brand of baseball due to rule changes which have improved the pace of play and action on the field,’’ Manfred said. ‘‘The results have generated increases in attendance, viewership, streaming, international growth and overall fan engagement.
‘‘The positive energy around the sport has also led to significant interest from both traditional media companies and streaming services who would like to obtain rights to MLB games. We will be exploring those opportunities for a new agreement which would start in the 2026 season following the conclusion of ESPN’s agreement at the end of this year.‘‘