Disney's (NYSE:DIS) ESPN and Major League Baseball (MLB) will part ways after the 2025 season, ending a decades-long broadcasting partnership. The decision comes as the league expressed dissatisfaction with ESPN scaling back its baseball coverage and seeking a reduced rights fee.
ESPN has aired MLB games since 1990, with its current seven-year deal averaging $550 million per season. A March 1 deadline allowed either side to opt out of the final three years of the contract. While ESPN remains open to a new agreement with lower feesciting deals Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) secured for streaming rightsMLB deemed the network's demands "simply unacceptable."
The league noted that interest from traditional media and streaming services remains high, with negotiations for new rights beginning ahead of the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, MLB's 2024 season saw record engagement, drawing 71.3 million fansthe highest live attendance in seven yearsand marking ESPN's most-watched Sunday Night Baseball season in five years.
Stock Movement: Disney shares closed at $110.55 on Thursday, down 0.72%, and edged up 0.05% to $110.60 in premarket trading Friday at 5:56 a.m. ET.
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