MLB: Apple & NBC bid for ESPN's US TV rights after 2025

Apple Group and NBCUniversal are candidates to take over MLB's domestic TV rights currently held by ESPN from 2026, according to Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball commissioner, who spoke to the US financial news channel CNBC on 17/07/2025.

MLB and ESPN announced the termination of their broadcast contract at the end of the 2025 season on 20/02/2025. "Unfortunately in recent years, we have seen ESPN scale back their baseball coverage and investment in a way that is not consistent with the sport's appeal or performance on their platform. Given that MLB provides strong viewership, valuable demographics, and the exclusive right to cover unique events, ESPN's demand to reduce rights fees is simply unacceptable. As a result, we have mutually agreed to terminate our agreement," explained MLB at the time.

ESPN's contract with MLB originally ran until 2028, after The Walt Disney Company subsidiary extended its TV rights for a further seven seasons on 13/05/2021. The group has been broadcasting MLB since 1990 and is paying $550m (€473m) a year over the 2022-2028 cycle for these rights (i.e…