ESPN and MLB have made it clear they are exploring other options, and right now any hopes of a reconciliation seem to be as far apart as the payrolls of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Earlier this year, the two sides opted out of their television rights deal with some clear discontent on both sides. ESPN was seeking better value for their package which contains the Home Run Derby, Sunday Night Baseball, and some playoff games. MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred aired frustrations publicly that the national pastime has had to play third fiddle behind football and basketball at the network.
With the opt-out threatening to end the decades long association between Major League Baseball and the Worldwide Leader in Sports, there has been some cautious optimism that the two sides might be able to reconvene and strike a deal after cooler heads prevail. But if that’s the hope that exists at either organization, they may have to wait a little bit longer.
According to sports media guru John Ourand at Puck, the two sides have not spoken to one another since the mutual opt-out back in February. Ourand quotes ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, who spoke to reporters before the Disney Upfront this week in saying that MLB was exploring the open market. “I’m assuming — I don’t know for sure — that they are out there testing the market, which is their right to do.”
To be clear, there is definite interest in MLB rights on the open market. NBC has openly expressed interest in potentially adding Sunday Night Baseball to NFL and NBA packages to own that evening for live sports. So has current incumbent Fox and multiple streamers. If MLB is able to find a deal that they like, their motivation might just be to stick it to ESPN and try to prove them wrong about their true value.
The ESPN-MLB breakup did not happen overnight so a lengthy cooling off period makes sense. But the longer it goes without any meaningful contact between the two sides, the less of a chance there is that we will see baseball in Bristol for the foreseeable future.