MLB has to choose its next steps very carefully. The league has taken the plunge and opted out of its longstanding broadcast deal with ESPN, a move which will see MLB games disappear from that network following the 2025 season. As it hunts for a new partner for that package of games, MLB executives face the question of whether or not they want to sell it all as one parcel, or if it will break it up into smaller parts in the hopes of potentially attracting streaming services like Netflix.

Key Details:

• ESPN’s current MLB package includes 30 regular season games, a wild card series, and the Home Run Derby.
• MLB may be able to sell Netflix more easily on baseball content it can turn into events.
• ESPN may still be the best outlet for the regular season games.

The current parcel of games held by ESPN includes 30 regular season games, the vast majority of which are “Sunday Night Baseball” contests. It also incorporates the Home Run Derby — a staple of All Star Weekend proceedings — and a wild card playoff series.

Alex Sherman of CNBC speculates that MLB may decide to split up this package into its itinerant parts and try to sell them separately, in hopes of attracting a streaming service like Netflix to the bidding.

Netflix has been reluctant to shell out hundreds of millions for season-long sports deals, preferring to spend that kind of money on content it can profit off of for years to come. But one-off events, like November’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match and the NFL’s Christmas Day package are more attractive to Netflix; would it consider making a bid on the playoff series in ESPN’s package, or the Home Run Derby if they were sold separately?

Perhaps, but that would leave MLB with the question of what to do with the 30 regular season games in the bundle. Perhaps NBC would take a run at them to pair “Sunday Night Baseball” with “Sunday Night Football” during NFL season, but it seems to me that ESPN is a logical choice to keep those games for itself. The channel is reportedly still open to doing another deal with MLB, though it doesn’t want to pay $550 million per season when Roku pays just $10 million for the 18 games in its Sunday Leadoff package.

Splitting up games packages could be advantageous to MLB in the short term, even if it has to take less revenue in the short term than the $550 million ESPN is paying. Having the exposure that a streamer like Netflix can provide could grow MLB’s audience, and give it more leverage when its other national games packages become available in 2028.

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Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”

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The platform constantly updates its catalog, introducing fresh content alongside timeless classics and international hits. Netflix’s commitment to storytelling has also earned critical acclaim, with award-winning exclusives such as “Roma,” “Marriage Story,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Mank,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” In 2023, their animated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, further solidifying Netflix’s reputation for high-quality content.

Recently, Netflix has expanded beyond standard movies and TV titles with the addition of video podcasts, and is also exploring a digital store that would offer third-party streamers within the app.

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