New Details Emerge on Roku’s Potential Deal for MLB Games; Viewership Data Shows League is in a Bind
MLB games could be headed to The Roku Channel in the streamer’s first deal for live games with a top-four sports league in the United States.
As linear TV continues to see declines in viewership, Major League Baseball knows it has to expand its streaming presence. The league has a national streaming-exclusive deal with Apple TV+, and while a handful of teams stream their in-market games via MLB.TV, only five of the league’s teams stream on Bally Sports+, leaving many fans without an option to stream their favorite team’s games. Thus far, baseball has been against other teams selling their streaming rights to Bally Sports operator Diamond Sports Group, as the league has publicly discussed its desire to create an in-market streamer of its own. For two years, MLB offered a package of nationally available games every Sunday morning on Peacock, but the NBCUniversal streamer decided to let its MLB rights go when it could not agree on a price with the league. Now, after initial reports last month, new details have emerged on Roku’s pursuit of the early-Sunday package for its free streaming service The Roku Channel.
Key Details:
- The potential deal between Roku and MLB would see one game stream on The Roku Channel before 1:30 p.m. each Sunday.
- Peacock wanted to reduce its payout from $30 million per season for the package to just $10 million.
- Viewership data shows the challenges MLB faces in trying to reach a younger audience when so many of its current fans are older.
Roku’s interest in acquiring the “Sunday Leadoff” package of MLB games was first reported in late April. Now, The Athletic is reporting new details about Roku’s pursuit of the package, and says that the two sides have entered into “advanced talks.”
Peacock spent around $30 million per season for the Sunday morning bundle of games but reportedly was only willing to renew the deal in 2024 for around one-third of that price. The 2023 season saw Peacock offer 19 games in the “Sunday Leadoff” slot, but the inability of MLB to find a partner for the package before the start of the 2024 season likely means that there will be fewer this year if it does agree to a deal with Roku.
Talks are still ongoing between Roku and MLB, and it’s still possible that no deal materializes. But if the two sides do agree, it will be the first time that Roku has agreed to a live broadcasting deal with any of the four major sports leagues in the United States. Roku did strike a deal to stream a selection of Formula E auto races in summer of 2023.
Does MLB Have a Generational Problem on its Hands?
MLB’s efforts to expand its footprint on streaming services don’t stop with Roku. In February, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred shared details on his dream of launching an in-market streaming platform that offers around 15 MLB teams with no local blackouts outside of games offered on national TV.
The league knows full well that streaming audiences tend to be much younger than linear TV viewers, and a large group of youthful fans is necessary for the sport’s long-term survival. The trouble for MLB is that its current TV audience is less likely to follow their favorite team to streaming if the league decides to deliver their games primarily via that medium.
A recent survey from PCH Insights found that viewers 55+ were more likely to watch MLB on TV than they were any other sport via any method, outside of watching NFL football on linear TV. Fifteen percent of viewers aged 55+ told PCH they watched MLB on TV, but the number plummets to just 5% among audiences 18-24. Recent data from Nielsen shows this is the age group that streams video the most, getting over 60% of its total video from streaming sources. Conversely, viewers in the 50-64 age bracket get just 31.6% of their video from streamers.
MLB knows it has to make more games available on streaming services if it has any hope of appealing to younger audiences. But the data makes plain that its current audience is not terribly enthused about streaming as a medium, putting the league in a bind as it tries to navigate a 21st-century media landscape.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free live TV streaming service that provides 350+ live linear streaming channels and more than 80,000 free movies and TV shows. The library contains entertainment from several different decades, including some major hits.