Rob Manfred Wants to Make Baseball National and Blackout-Free

Most of the headlines surrounding Major League Baseball have been about changes on the field in recent years, but changes off the diamond could be about to take center stage. MLB’s broadcasting arrangements are in a state of flux nowadays, as local rights to more than half a dozen teams could soon be up for grabs. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to veteran sports writer John Ourand on an episode of “The Varsity” podcast posted on Sunday, and once again discussed his vision of a league which makes games available to fans without blackouts, creating a more national and popular product.

Key Details:

• Manfred wants to “convert” local games into nationally-available ones so fans can watch anywhere.
• The commissioner has long hated the idea of blackouts, which he thinks are holding the sport back from a bigger audience.
• MLB recently retained the rights to the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins.

MLB has been forced to rethink its local strategy in the wake of the collapse of regional sports networks (RSNs). As Manfred admitted on the podcast with Ourand, RSNs that forced cable subscribers to pay to receive them whether they watched them or not brought in massive amounts of revenue, and the system was mutually beneficial to broadcasters and clubs alike.

Times have certainly changed, however. With cable losing more subscribers every day and RSN providers like Diamond Sports Group struggling desperately to stay afloat, MLB teams are suddenly finding they have more flexibility with their local rights. Diamond recently signaled its intention to drop all of its MLB contracts except that of the Atlanta Braves, and though some teams may wind up re-partnering with the RSN company, MLB now has an opportunity to start making changes with the way it distributes its teams.

Speaking to Ourand, Manfred said he wants to try and make MLB teams available to watch nationally so that fans can stream their games blackout-free without having to jump through a range of hoops. This will help the league grow its audience, ensuring viewers get to watch their chosen team at all times.

“What I’d like to see happen over time is, we do our national deals, that we convert some of that local inventory into national inventory,” Manfred said. “It increases our reach and at the same time, when you think about it, we own the out-of-market rights already, if we control local rights as well, we can sell anything anywhere. Right? You don’t have to just sell in your market. And I’d like to get into a mode, where if it’s not in a national package, the consumer has the ability to go in, buy what he wants to watch, wherever he is, and we get rid of that really questionable business concept of the blackout, meaning not letting people who want to watch, watch.”

How Will Manfred Realize This National Baseball Dream?

There are multiple options available to Manfred if he wants to follow his dream of creating a national product that will allow fans to watch their favorite team’s currently non-national games. The league could create its own streaming service; MLB recently got the rights to distribute games from the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins after they were dropped by Diamond Sports Group. In 2023, the league also produced and distributed Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres games.

A league-run streaming service presents definite advantages, though it would take years before such a platform was generating revenue to match what clubs made from RSN deals. Manfred has spoken about the future of the league being on streaming in the past, and it’s clear that he’d strongly consider this option if enough teams’ rights became available to place on such a service.

Other possibilities are available, as well. ESPN is hard at work on its new “Flagship” streaming service which is now on track to launch by summer 2025. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has made it clear that ESPN is open for business to leagues who are affected by the collapse of RSNs, and that Flagship’s geo-targeting capabilities will allow it to distribute local games in their respective markets. It’s likely ESPN would at least consider making those games available to a national audience instead, even if it had to charge extra to allow fans to access that package.

Buy-in from league owners is required to make games more nationally available to fans, and that unfortunately means it won’t happen right away. Teams with their own partner RSNs such as the New York Yankees make considerable revenue off those channels and aren’t likely to forego that money to help Manfred realize his dream, even if it would make the sport more popular to a national audience.

The evolution of MLB rights distribution will be a fascinating case study. NBA and NHL teams departing RSNs have thus far been willing to spin up in-market streaming services of their own while they wait for a more national solution, and MLB itself is distributing the Diamondbacks, Rockies, etc. with special in-market plans of MLB.TV. Who will take the next big step toward nationalizing as Manfred wants to do? Only time will tell.