ESPN, MLB Extend Rights Deal for Additional Seven Years; Network To Televise 30 Regular-Season Games, MLB Little League Classic, Home Run Derby By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 5:01 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Walt Disney Company, ESPN, and Major League Baseball have reached a seven-year agreement that begins in 2022 and extends through the 2028 season. The new deal will allow ESPN to exclusively televise 30 regular-season games annually, including 25 editions of Sunday Night Baseball, the national MLB game of the week, the MLB Little League Classic, the Home Run Derby, and much more.
ESPN has been one of MLB's longest and most important partners, says Robert D. Manfred, Jr., Commissioner of Baseball.
This extension continues the evolution of our relationship with a focus on utilizing ESPN's extensive assets to shine a spotlight on key match-ups throughout the year. With reach across broadcast, cable, streaming, and social, ESPN is able to deliver MLB action to our broad fan base across multiple platforms. As the way in which fans consume baseball continues to change, this partnership provides expanded opportunities for fans to engage with our content and we are excited to present those new opportunities.
As a result of the agreement, ESPN will exclusively televise 30 regular-season games annually, including 25 editions of Sunday Night Baseball, the national MLB game of the week, and the MLB Little League Classic. ESPN will exclusively televise five additional games each season, including the national Opening Night telecast. ESPN will continue to exclusively carry the Home Run Derby as part of its cross-platform MLB All-Star coverage. For each of its live events, ESPN will receive the rights to produce alternate presentations across its platforms, as well as the opportunity to simulcast all ESPN and ABC game telecasts on ESPN .
ESPN's longstanding relationship with Major League Baseball has been a driver of innovation for three decades, says James Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. This agreement solidifies Baseball's ubiquitous presence across ESPN platforms, including ESPN . The impactful collection of exclusive content, including Sunday Night Baseball which has served as the signature MLB series for more than 30 years, will be amplified by the surrounding rights we have to make these live events even bigger. We thank Commissioner Manfred and the MLB ownership group for their partnership and commitment as we collectively uncover new ways to serve fans.
Wild Card
ESPN will exclusively televise the entire MLB Wild Card Series starting in 2022, if the event expands. ESPN carried seven of the eight MLB Wild Card Series in 2020. If the current Wild Card format remains consistent, ESPN will continue to exclusively televise one of the two MLB Wild Card Games, and will receive eight additional exclusive regular-season game telecasts each year.
MLB on ESPN
In addition to the new live event simulcast rights, ESPN has gained the rights to create new MLB content for ESPN , including studio and highlight-driven programming. The streaming service will also continue to televise a Major League Baseball game, subject to local blackout restrictions, nearly every day of the regular season, as well as select Spring Training coverage.
ESPN Radio and Spanish language
ESPN has kept its extensive audio and Spanish-language telecast rights per this new deal. ESPN Radio will continue to nationally broadcast the highest profile events in MLB, including the World Series and the full MLB Postseason, the All-Star Game, Opening Night, and Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN will also continue its robust Spanish-language telecast rights package for ESPN Deportes, including live events and studio coverage throughout the regular season and Postseason.
Increased highlight rights, studio content
This agreement will increase ESPN's wide-ranging collection of highlight rights for all of its news and information platforms and digital MLB shows such as BBTN Live. Furthermore, Baseball Tonight will continue to serve as ESPN's premier pre-event show for its season-long package of high-profile live events. Baseball Tonight will air prior to Opening Night, Sunday Night Baseball, Home Run Derby, MLB Little League Classic, Wild Card, and will deliver content for All-Star Game and the MLB Postseason.
In addition to ESPN's regular season and Postseason packages, it has the rights to nationally televise up to 10 Spring Training games each year. These telecasts will co-exist in the local markets.
The rights in this new agreement provide flexibility to maximize the current and potential future distribution of ESPN.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/06/2026
Tennis Channel has completed a transition from satellite-based distribution to a...
02/06/2026
Daktronics has announced the 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day educational event for high school educators and student production teams, taking place Jun...
02/06/2026
Fandango will bring Telemundo's live Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA W...
02/06/2026
All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) has announced the live television schedule...
02/06/2026
Spalk, a cloud-based multilingual commentary and production platform, has announced three new partnerships: Ligue 1 (English and Portuguese highlights), Eurolea...
02/06/2026
NHL Network's 2026 Stanley Cup Final coverage began June 1 with NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Media Day from the Carolina Hurricanes' Lenovo Center at ...
02/06/2026
Matrox Video has announced the Maevex MGX Series, a lineup of IPMX-ready video e...
02/06/2026
Marshall Electronics will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7521), showcasing a lineup of 4K and HD compact POV cameras for corporate, education, hospitality, wo...
02/06/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...
02/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C50...
02/06/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced the promotion of Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO. In his new role, Marchitto will oversee system design across ...
02/06/2026
The NHL has announced that Brothers Osborne will headline a free outdoor concert...
02/06/2026
CP Communications has announced the appointment of its first two female executives in the company's 40-year history. Tabitha Coleman has been named Vice Pre...
02/06/2026
The Lighting Design Group (LDG) has announced the completion of Studio C at Yahoo's headquarters at 770 Broadway in Manhattan. The studio launched April 24 ...
02/06/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Z) has announced a partnership with FIFA to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, FIFA Women's World Cup 2...
02/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
02/06/2026
The department is broadcasting NCAA Baseball Super Regionals at Plainsman Park this weekend
Broadcast and production crews at Division I institutions are busy ...
02/06/2026
The initiative is extends beyond the league's arenas to team training rinks,...
02/06/2026
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Pen lope Cruz, and Edward Norton appear in The Invite by Olivia Wilde, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Co...
02/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
02/06/2026
Powerful new vocal-production tool announced
Described as a vocal performance station , Klevgrand's latest plug-in combines pitch-correction with harmo...
02/06/2026
Launched alongside Go Green sale extension
McDSP have just released the latest addition to their APB line-up, DC-2 Dual Compressor, and have also announced ...
02/06/2026
Create custom tools for Ableton Live 12 Suite
Ableton have just introduced a new open JavaScript toolkit that allows anyone to create their own custom tools...
02/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
02/06/2026
Plus UAD Half Yearly Sale now live
The latest arrival to the Universal Audio range delivers a new native pitch-correction plug-in that's capable of deli...
02/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to present comprehensive performance, conformance and spectrum-m...
02/06/2026
BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification c...
02/06/2026
blueCORE standalone processors headline solutions designed to simplify the trans...
02/06/2026
If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...
02/06/2026
With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...
02/06/2026
The TV agency was one of the earliest adopters of Nielsen's local television...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Grass Valley today announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP to transform its newsroom produc...
02/06/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, announces its new Model 385 Mic/Intercom Beltpack. The Mode...
02/06/2026
The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 2...
02/06/2026
More signals, higher quality, and outstanding ingest and streaming flexibility deliver professional results in a small, all-in-one footprint...
02/06/2026
farmerswife will be featured on the Modena Media & Entertainment stand at this year's Mediatech Africa 2026, giving visitors an opportunity to explore the l...
02/06/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17 19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Wuppertal June 2, 2026
Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel N...
02/06/2026
Back to All News
Discover Your Next Book-to-Screen Obsession With Our New Dedicated Hub
Product
02 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Dear most vor...
02/06/2026
New LinkedIn Data: 90% of C-Suite Leaders are Continuously Building Skills to Lead in the AI Era Published on Jun 2, 2026 Categories: Data and insights
Lin...
02/06/2026
Trust has become a commercial issue With global advertising spend forecast to exceed US$1 trillion this year*, the commercial consequences of weak governance co...
ESPN, MLB Extend Rights Deal for Additional Seven Years; Network To Televise 30 Regular-Season Games, MLB Little League Classic, Home Run Derby By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
