"So if you want to watch all the games, you now need subscriptions to Apple (somehow that Friday night package survived this turnover), Netflix, MLB.TV (now controlled by ESPN - Yuck!), whatever cable or streaming company you use to get "regular" channels like Fox, NBC and TBS, and of course that delightful, always reliable NESN 360 product to watch the Sox games if you live in New England."
"The most concerning piece of this for me is ESPN taking over the MLB.TV platform, which has been the best thing MLB has had going TV wise. Details here are murky (also a bad sign) but it sounds like, for now, people who have it will be grandfathered in with a similar experience in 2026 (probably too quick for the powers that be to truly turn things around). But I'd expect a decline in quality and an increase in price for that service sometime in the next 18 months given the players involved."
"All of this follows the path of both the NFL and NBA, which have also spread their inventory across numerous platforms behind multiple paywalls. I guess the only good news about this is that it actually does put pressure on the owners to not have a work stoppage in 2027. With all of these deals (both old like the Fox and TBS stuff, and new like the NBC and Netflix stuff) ending at the conclusion of the 2028, MLB is setting itself up to have its entire inventory for sale at once in just three more years."
A new MLB rights deal spreads national games and events across more networks and streaming platforms, requiring viewers to subscribe to Apple, Netflix, ESPN-controlled MLB.TV, regional services like NESN 360, and traditional channels such as Fox, NBC and TBS. ESPN's acquisition of MLB.TV raises concerns about potential quality declines and price increases despite temporary grandfathering. The move mirrors NFL and NBA strategies of distributing inventory across multiple paywalls. Consolidated rights contracts end after 2028, positioning MLB to sell its full inventory simultaneously and creating pressure to avoid a 2027 work stoppage that would jeopardize this marketplace timing.
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