The end of an era is upon us with ESPN officially getting out of Major League Baseball coverage.
The mutual opt-out had been a source of growing tension for months.
To be honest, it’s not the most surprising story of all time.
ESPN mostly cares about the NFL and NBA.
The weekly game spots for MLB games have all but vanished over the years.
Baseball Tonight completely diminished as well.
They don’t care.
Calling ESPN a “shrinking platform” had to feel good now that this is all done.
It’s pretty sad though in general.
The old days of Sunday Night Baseball with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were awesome.
Those games would feel special when your team was playing.
Baseball Tonight leading into the game felt important as well.
I guess TBS/TNT could expand their coverage.
You’ll probably see some more streaming giants have a go at get in the mix and join Apple/Roku.
As we know, baseball’s bread and butter lies heavily on regional coverage, not national.
That doesn’t mean if done right there isn’t a spot for a big game of the week.
I’d wake up on Saturdays and involuntarily turn on ESPN.
(Sports Business Journal) Boras also sounded off on streaming.
At the time that deal was lauded for delivering each MLB team owner $50 million.
We invented streaming, which is a huge component to the NBA contract, said Boras.
And what did we do with it?
We didnt license it, we sold it.
We gave it away.
And then we entered into cable contracts knowing that streaming was the cancer of cable.
Other leagues didnt do that, he continued.
Therefore, Boras believes, MLB needs better representation at the bargaining table.
He did not mention exactly who should take the job.
The solution is a negotiator.
This is about appropriate representation.
And a rights structure.
I think thats why players hire me.
We have double the content and higher ratings, and were getting half of what the NBA gets?
Does that not tell you that its not the product, its the representation.
