The World Series is on a streaming service as part of the new MLB deal, and as a result it could soon truly be a 'World Series'. The MLB will use the NBA model to craft deals with a number of partners in terms of streaming which could incl
Rob Manfred, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner has been elated by the highly successful Tokyo Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs opened the 2025 season in Japan. This event is part of MLB's efforts to expand its international presence and engage a global audience. Manfred wisely initiated the series showcasing Dodgers superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom are revered as baseball royalty in their native Japan.
The success of the trip to Japan underscores the upcoming MLB TV rights packages that will be offered to the networks and most importantly the streaming services.
The big four streaming services, Apple TV+, Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube all have extensive worldwide reach. So, look for them to play a big role in any new MLB TV deal.
MANFRED DREAMS OF A BIGGER WORLD
Manfred is looking to cash in on MLB's international appeal by likely having a number of small packages to go with a robust list of partners. The commissioner has so many options it is likely we could see baseball with as many as five or six nationally and internationally broadcasts a week.
There is no sport in North America with more live content than baseball. With 30 teams playing 162 regular season games each, that amounts to a staggering 2,430 games to negotiate deals on. Meanwhile, MLB Local Media are still sorting out the teams and their local broadcast deals that were affected by the Diamond Sports bankruptcy.
MLB is looking to bring of many of those teams and their local rights to add them to the new TV deal. The league is also working on direct-to-consumer package that will include local broadcasts.
Manfred went to school on how NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who also represents 30 teams but only 1,230 regular season games came away with a 11-year $77 billion dollar deal. The NBA partners are ESPN/ABC, NBC and streamer Prime Video that begins in 2026.
WHAT THE MLB DEAL IS NOW
The current MLB deal with ESPN/ABC, FOX and TBS was 7 years at $10.5 billion dollars. So, with more programming and the concept of more than three partners Manfred will be aggressively seeking a massive upgrade in his new media deal come 2028.
Fox and Turner Sports are scheduled to expire after the 2028 season. At present, MLB receives an average of $729 million annually from Fox and $ 470 million annually from Turner Sports under these agreements.
Additionally, ESPN has opted out of its national broadcast deal, which was initially set to run through the 2028. Those rights are being shopped to streaming services right now and would begin in 2026.
MLB does have streaming deals with Apple TV+ and Roku that figure to get bigger and better in the next contract. The Apple TV+ began in 2022 and includes a seven-year deal worth $595 million, with an annual fee of $85 million. For the 2025 season, "Friday Night Baseball" will return on March 28, offering games in over 60 countries with no local broadcast restriction.
As for the Roku Channel package for early Sunday games starting at noon has two more years of the deal worth $30 million for 18 games per season ends in 2026. Roku is also an international service seen in North America, South America and Europe and is free.
Lastly, the FanDuel regional sports networks (RSNs) are now available on Amazon's Prime Video as an add-on $19.99 a month subscription. This is great news for cord-cutters and local team fans.
MLB Needs an Amazon Prime Video Type Deal
The MLB should focus on this part of the NBA deal and their big commitment on streaming Prime Video. Not only will they get the old TNT deal plus more. Exclusive global coverage of 66 regular-season NBA games, including an opening week doubleheader, a new Black Friday NBA game, and all games from the Knockout Rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup, including the in-season tournament's Semifinals and Finals. Prime Video also got the rights to exclusive coverage of every game of the postseason SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, first and second-round playoff games, and Conference Finals in six of the 11 years of the deal.
This expanded package includes a minimum of 20 additional primetime regular season games each year, a Conference Finals series each year, and the NBA Finals in six of the 11 years.
MLB FUTURE- MULTIPLE DEALS AND MULTIPLE PARTNERS
So, look for ESPN/ABC as they have indicated to be back on the rights deal, FOX, TBS parent company Warner Brothers-Discovery, Apple TV+, Netflix, Prime Video, Roku, and YouTube to seek deals. Also depending on how the market is going we could see CBS/Paramount, NBC/Peacock and even the CW all showing interest in playing ball with the MLB.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 4:28 PM.