MLB viewing figures are up across all broadcasters in 2025.
Millions have tuned in to watch major league baseball this season ahead of the media rights shakeup.
MLB viewing figures are up across all broadcasters[/caption]
National and regional networks have seen an uptick in viewership, with ESPN enjoying the second biggest hike.
The broadcaster’s Sunday Night Baseball package averaged 1.83million viewers per game, a 21 per cent rise from the previous year.
FOX Sports also saw a year-over-year increase, averaging 2.04m viewers for their games.
The same was true on FS1, which enjoyed its best viewing figures since 2019.
TBS/truTV boasts the biggest hike with a 29 per cent increase seeing 462,000 people tune in – FS1 had 324,000 – a ten per cent boost.
According to Mazzeo, league-wide local viewership increased by 3% over the previous year.
Additionally, MLB.tv, the league’s out-of-market subscription service, earned record consumption, clocking 19.39billion minutes watched and a 232,000 viewers per game, a 21 per cent increase.
ESPN will not air the Sunday Night Baseball package next season.
But MLB will maintain its TV coverage following its new deal with NBC, who will take over Sunday Night Baseball.
ESPN opted out of its deal to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and the wild-card round of the playoffs after this season.
NBC has had plenty of success with Sunday Night Football and will have NBA games in place for that slot after each NFL season ends.
MLB could then cover the summer months before the NFL returns.
It’s not known what the price tag would look like to take on the broadcasting change.
ESPN was set to pay $550m per year through 2028.
But The Wall Street Journal reported that they were only willing to pay “no more than 200m a year.”
ESPN is believed to have pointed out that the league has cheaper deals with other companies, as Apple pays $85 million a year and Roku $10m.
The MLB said no and that the comparisons weren’t fair.
