ESPN Now Bundling Baseball With MLB-TV

ESPN is reviving the traditional TV bundle model for baseball by taking over sales of MLB.tv and planning to expand into local games.

ESPN is now selling the out-of-market MLB.tv package for $149.99 per season (or $29.99 monthly), allowing fans to watch games not blacked out in their local area. New subscribers receive a one-month free trial of ESPN Unlimited (which auto-renews at $29.99/month unless canceled), while existing ESPN Unlimited subscribers can buy MLB.tv at a discounted $134.99 for 2026. 

The package is accessible via both ESPN and MLB apps/platforms.This move comes as part of ESPN's three-year deal with MLB (through 2028), which provides the network with more overall baseball content, thousands more hours, despite losing flagship events like Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and postseason games. ESPN now airs 30 midweek games exclusively.

Next year (2027), ESPN plans to sell in-market (local) telecasts for roughly half of MLB's 30 teams, potentially integrating them into ESPN Unlimited or as add-ons. MLB itself produces and distributes local streams for at least 14–20 teams this year, giving ESPN rights to those.

The strategy positions ESPN as a broader digital destination for baseball fans, leveraging its integration with Disney+ and Hulu to reach more viewers beyond traditional cable bundles.

John Lasker, ESPN's executive vice president for programming and acquisitions, emphasized this as a core opportunity rather than a test: "We think it’s not an experiment, it’s what we should be doing," he said, highlighting better service to fans through live local games and digital platforms.

According to The Athletic, Media consultant Patrick Crakes sees it as ESPN betting on super fans and bundling power to recapture value lost to cord-cutting and fragmented viewing, where local games once reached wider audiences via pay TV but now target core bases.

The deal follows tensions last year when ESPN exited the final years of a prior long-term contract over perceived declining value, before renegotiating terms that maintain MLB's annual payout around $550 million while granting ESPN expanded game access.

This doesn't fully solve baseball's fragmented media landscape—viewers still face blackouts, varying platforms, and multiple subscriptions—but ESPN aims to become the preeminent digital hub for the sport, starting with out-of-market access and expanding locally.

The out-of-market MLB.tv primarily benefits relocated fans (e.g., a Dodgers supporter in D.C.) or those wanting league-wide coverage beyond their home team. In-market fans (e.g., Mets supporters in Queens) need separate local packages due to territorial blackouts, a longstanding system now challenged by streaming shifts.