ESPN and MLB mutually decided to part ways at the conclusion of the 2025 season, which will conclude the latest media right contract between the two sides. In a letter to the league's owners obtained by The Athletic, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred laid out the league's reasons to end the partnership.
According to Manfred, ESPN had approached the MLB to reduce the $550 million it spends annually on the deal, citing the $85 million that Apple and $10 million that Roku pay for their packages. ESPN's family of networks has broadcast the primetime Sunday Night Baseball since 1990. Manfred cited 2024's improved Sunday Night Baseball ratings, up 6% from the prior year he said, as reason against reducing the fee.
