
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Pulls No Punches on State of RSN Market, Considers League's Direct-to-Consumer Future Why friction-less digital access to games is critical and where gambling entities fit in By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, October 18, 2021 - 2:42 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With ratings up and matchups living up to their billing (see the epic Dodgers-Giants NLDS series), Major League Baseball is enjoying a prosperous postseason so far. But, in a rapidly evolving media landscape, what does the future of America's Pastime look like?
At SportsBusiness Journal's World Congress of Sports, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed some of those topics, including where the sport stands on the regional-sports-network business, what he would like a direct-to-consumer MLB product to look like, and what production enhancements are making the game a more enjoyable watch?
On this MLB Postseason:
We were due for a little bit of good luck. The last couple of years have been a real challenge with the pandemic. We've been very fortunate this year with great teams and great rivalries early in the playoffs, which is important in terms of capturing people's interest. I think the east-west piece of it has been really good, too. Having Boston, Tampa, San Francisco, L.A. has made this really good for us.
On the future of regional sports networks:
The cord-cutting phenomenon has made the RSN business one that is declining, by definition. Fewer subs makes the business more difficult. I think that the negativity surrounding the RSNs has increased exponentially as a result of the situation with the Sinclair subsidiary, Diamond.
Part of their problem is cord-cutting. The other part of their problem is that there is excessive leverage on that business when you think about what they paid for it, how much debt they have on it. That leverage has produced headlines that are more negative. There are RSNs that may not be thriving or growing, but they are going to survive.
MLB's future as a result of the RSN decline:
I think the key for us is the development of direct-to-consumer products to increase our reach. The biggest problem for us on the RSN side is that, even within the cable bundle - particularly with the Diamond subsidiary - is that their reach, within the bundle, is not what it used to be. It's important for us to develop digital products that allow us to get to our fans in a friction-less way. That's really your future.
On whether MLB's future is with Sinclair:
Our view of digital rights is that they are our future and it's something that the league and the clubs should control. We do have a pretty good track record on the digital side. MLB.TV was one of the first over-the-top products and has continued to grow and at a really impressive rate. Who exactly the partners will be I'm not prepared to [discuss], but we see those digital rights as very valuable and crucial to our future.
On what a direct-to-consumer service looks like:
It has to be friction-less: easy for the consumer to get in and buy what they want. It also has to be flexible. I see that flexibility, in the context of baseball, as buying an out-of-market package, buying up into your local rights, buying just your local rights; the consumer gets to decide what he's buying.
On having an ownership stake in a future direct-to-consumer product:
I think ownership stake probably understates it. We believe those digital rights are crucial, and we want to own and control the platform on which they are delivered. We may have partners in that process. This idea that, late in the discussions, we somehow demanded an equity stake is just not accurate. We've told [Sinclair] that from day one.
On the remaining package of national games still available:
We re fortunate. We have multiple major entities that are interested in that package. That's great for creating competition from a financial standpoint. More important for us, we want that package to be forward-looking. What does the future look like? How are we going to deliver games digitally in a way that is friction-less. There are two big opportunities there: not only additional revenue but the opportunity to take a step forward in the way we're delivering games to fans.
On potentially selling those rights to a sports-gambling company:
Our thought, with respect to the gaming entities, is that there is a place for them in the media lineup for Major League Baseball. I think the important thing is that, whatever we do with a gaming company, we're always going to have that clean, family-friendly broadcast that isn't going to have a gambling overlay to it. We're going to have to find a gambling entity with the flexibility to adhere to that larger strategic thought.
I'm not saying you're never going to see odds on a national broadcast. I'm talking about a gambling-focused feed where it's not once or twice per game and it's every inning and every pitch where there's [betting] material. If we ever go that far, we're going to have a clean feed as well.
On production enhancements that can be expected in future MLB broadcasts:
I think you're going to see a continuation of some of the things that we've been doing. Microphones and in-game interviews are at the top of that list. We saw that at the All-Star Game, where you were having conversations with players in the field. Fans seemed to love that. We're going to do more and more of that. I think the opportunity for supplemental information as either a second-screen experience or integrates into the broadcast is really important to us. Statcast is the best example of that. It provides the fan the opportunity to understand the game in a way that they might not otherwise. We
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
02/04/2026
4 - 11 April 2026
VEMIA's latest gear auction is just around the corner, and there's already a wealth of sought-after instruments and studio gear li...
02/04/2026
Little Labs emulation now available to all
The latest Universal Audio plug-in to become available outside of the company's DSP-powered UAD2 platform has...
02/04/2026
SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever
2 April, 2026
Media releases
Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...
02/04/2026
Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...
02/04/2026
L3Harris has successfully powered the historic launch of the Artemis II mission, providing propulsion and avionics....
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Already deployed extensively by NBC Sports, FOR-A Corporation will demonstrate GoVertical! AiDi, the real-time 9:16 autocropping feature of viztrick AiDi, durin...
02/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its B...
02/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that TDF, a...
02/04/2026
NBC Sports Deploys viztrick AiDi to Stream Live Events in 9:16 Mobile-First Formats with Auto Tracking, Development Signals Strategic Shift for FOR-A
Long reco...
02/04/2026
Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including:
New advances i...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone year, celebrating the university'...
02/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...
02/04/2026
Avid today announced it will showcase new innovations designed to help media companies win in the new media economy at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas Co...
02/04/2026
PlayBox Neo helps AIS PLAY kick-off premier football content direct to fans
PlayBox Neo has provided MIMO Tech with a brand-new major installation to extend it...
02/04/2026
Globo has transitioned its primary content distribution to Secure Reliable Transport over a fully IP-based managed backbone using Synamedia's Quortex PowerV...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Al-Fadl Salem The Danish singer recently performed for the queen of Denmark.
April 1, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Image by Junia Morrow
Wh...
02/04/2026
Taku Hirano's Career Is Defined by Identity Whether he's performing, composing, teaching, or developing instruments, the do-it-all percussionist sees ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for The Trials of Winnie Mandela
Entertainment
02 April 2026
GlobalSouth Africa
Link copied to clipboard
...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Start of Production and New Cast for Second ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer for Ronaldinho: The One and Only Features Never-Be...
02/04/2026
Red Seat Ventures Launches Speakeasy, a New Hosting, Distribution and Monetizati...
02/04/2026
GoVertical! AiDi Powers Real-Time 9:16 Autocropping for Immediate Streaming to M...
02/04/2026
By Lance Maurer, CEO
Image generated by AI
Engineering is supposed to be fun....
02/04/2026
2FM Breakfast to extend on weekday mornings from 6am to 10am
Doireann Garrihy m...
02/04/2026
RT News & Current Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of RT Radio 1 reporter, Barry Lenihan, as Political Correspondent.
Barry has reported across...
02/04/2026
No joke - GFN Thursday is skipping the tricks and heading straight into the games. April kicks off with ten new titles, bringing fresh adventures to GeForce NOW...
01/04/2026
As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...
01/04/2026
The SVG GFX Forum hit New York City earlier this month for a day packed with sessions focused on the creative strategy and technology behind today's cutting...
01/04/2026
This year, Spotify celebrates the five-year anniversary of EQUAL, our global pro...
01/04/2026
Analogue-style tape splicing in the digital domain
In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splici...
01/04/2026
Latest release introduces new Orbita Engine
Zero G's latest release marks the start of a new series of libraries, as well as introducing an all-new engi...
01/04/2026
Until now, one format has largely been left behind
Warm Audio's extensive product range includes modern-day recreations of all manner of sought-after s...
01/04/2026
A piano with glass vessels for strings!
The Crow Hill Company's recently released Gong Piano offered a refreshing new take on piano libraries, harnessin...
01/04/2026
Remote Streaming Studio Condenser
Aim Audio have just revealed their latest creation, the ESSENCE RS Remote Streaming Studio Condenser, which becomes the wo...
01/04/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/04/2026
Bilbao, April 1st, 2026 - AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technolog...
01/04/2026
Green Hippo is excited to announce the launch of its new Hippotizer Media Server training courses at Pixel Academy, a purpose built AV learning hub combining ha...
01/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, a global leader in IP-native broadcast monitoring, multiviewing, and quality control, today announced a collaboration with Oracle Cloud Infra...
01/04/2026
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, wher...
01/04/2026
AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technology solutions, has deployed next , the new IPTV platform of the Austrian telco LIWEST, marking the first st...
01/04/2026
LTN, a leader in fully managed IP video transport, and Ateme, a global leader in video compression and delivery solutions, today announced a collaboration integ...
01/04/2026
Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator
Deepa Subramaniam April 1, 2026
0 Comments
I'm excited to share that...