Wed Jul 16 10:00:00 UTC 2025: **Here’s a summary of the text:**

The article discusses the challenges MLB faces in navigating its future media rights deals, particularly with contracts expiring after the 2028 season. The current landscape is described as a “mess,” with games scattered across various platforms, causing fan frustration. The author proposes a strategy centered around:

* **Reach and Simplicity:** A dedicated MLB-branded subscription service (Monday-Friday) on multiple platforms offering access to a fan’s favorite team’s games, no matter where they live, without blackouts.
* **Scarcity and Revenue:** Partnering with 2-3 broadcast entities for weekend games and high-value events.
* **Local Rights Solution:** A longer term solution would involve a nationalized local rights package.

The goal is to create a system that is both fan-friendly and maximizes revenue by balancing accessibility with exclusive content and national broadcasts. The author cautions MLB against simply chasing the biggest short-term payday and urges them to innovate and modernize their approach to presenting the game.

**News Article:**

**MLB Eyes Major Media Overhaul to Simplify Fan Experience and Boost Revenue**

**NEW YORK** – Major League Baseball is grappling with a complex media landscape, leading to frustration among fans struggling to find and afford their favorite team’s games. With national and international TV contracts expiring after the 2028 season, the league is exploring radical changes to its media strategy.

Currently, MLB games are scattered across multiple networks and streaming services, including regional sports networks (RSNs), Apple TV+, Roku, ESPN and others. This fragmented approach has left fans confused and paying for multiple subscriptions to follow their team.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic proposes a bold solution: a comprehensive MLB-branded streaming service available on numerous platforms, including YouTube, ESPN, Apple, Amazon, Roku, and Fubo, offering access to any team’s games, without blackouts, for a monthly subscription fee. Local RSNs would still carry weekday games, but the MLB service would ensure broader accessibility.

“The current media setup is a total mess,” said Marchand. “MLB needs to avoid the slicing and dicing that can see a team like the Yankees appear on up to seven networks over a seven-day week.”

This MLB subscription service would run Monday through Friday. For weekends, Marchand suggests creating scarcity and appointment viewing by partnering with two or three major broadcast networks such as Fox, ABC, NBC, or CBS, for exclusive national games featuring popular teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox. This strategy mimics the NFL’s successful model. These “national” games would be focused on broadcast TV exclusivity with the possibility of reserving one slot for a streamer.

The proposed overhaul would also include tentpole events like “Field of Dreams,” the Home Run Derby, and the World Series, all packaged within the national broadcast deals.

The article also highlights the looming challenges surrounding regional sports networks, which are struggling in the face of cord-cutting. MLB’s ambition to “nationalize” local rights, allowing fans to subscribe directly to their team, will require addressing disparities in team values and navigating potential revenue-sharing complexities.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to “reset the formula” for media distribution, and Marchand argues that the league must prioritize accessibility, simplicity, and scale to secure its future. “If it doesn’t chase the past and looks forward, it could innovate itself into a model that potentially could be worth more over time” wrote Marchand.

Read More