ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said he was “caught by surprise” when Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred described the network as a “shrinking” platform after ESPN opted out of the final three seasons of its $550 million per year television contract with the league.
Even so, Pitaro is interested in returning to the negotiating table to hammer out a new deal with baseball.
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After the February opt-outs, in a memo obtained by The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, Manfred wrote, “We do not think it’s beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform.”
ESPN has felt the effects of cable cord-cutting, which is in 65.3 million homes, according to Nielsen’s numbers last November. This fall, ESPN will offer its television services without a cable subscription, which The Athletic previously reported is expected to be priced in the $25-30 per month range.
ESPN is the home to future Super Bowls, NBA Finals, the College Football Championship and Stanley Cup Final, and is the host of NCAA title games, including Women’s NCAA Basketball Final Four. ESPN’s MLB agreement has no championship-level games and scant postseason offering.
ESPN will still televise games this year. The package includes Opening Day, Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and eight-to-12 first-round playoff games.
“We love the sport,” Pitaro told The Athletic on Tuesday. “We love the league. If they are interested in re-engaging with us when the time is right, we’ll be ready to have that conversation. We do have this entire season. So there is time.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know where they stand. They made some statements once we opted out that were not flattering. We’re grown-ups. We’re unemotional. You kind of grin and bear it and you move on from that.
“I was caught a bit by surprise by some of those comments, but, at the same time, I’ve got to keep emotion out of it,” he said. “I have to do what’s best for the business. If folks on that side are interested in re-engaging, we’re always going to listen.”
There is a growing expectation that MLB could sell the ESPN package in three parts. Fox Sports has emerged as a potential favorite for the Home Run Derby that, according to sources briefed on the conversations, it has wanted to pair with the All-Star Game for years.
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NBC is a contender for Sunday nights. It could use it as a regular-season bridge between its NFL and NBA packages, though it would likely be limited to May through August. In 2028, it would have the added complication of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in July. However, NBC could put games on its streamer, Peacock.
The first-round playoff games have some attractiveness but often have not gone to a decisive third game. Streamers, such as Netflix and Amazon, have been mentioned as possibilities, though, there has yet to be any real movement. MLB will have a wider range of bidders in 2028 when Fox’s World Series, TNT Sports’ playoffs and the international rights come due. Manfred said this week that he could sell the rights globally. Netflix could have a stronger interest by then due to its desire to further infiltrate the Japanese market.
Pitaro also addressed a Bloomberg report that he is taking himself out of the running to one day succeed Bob Iger as the CEO of Disney.
“I’ve been pretty consistent on this,” Pitaro said. “I’m passionate about sports. I’m in my dream job. This is the job that, as I said before, I never thought I could have. The fact that I have it right now, I wake up every single day and I say to myself, ‘I have to earn this.’ I’m surrounded by the best executives in the industry and the best employees in the industry.
“I love the brand. I love our road map. I love what we’re doing right now. And so that is what I’ve said publicly, and I will continue to say publicly. Some folks have interpreted those words in a certain way, and that’s their prerogative. But all I can say, as I sit here right now, I love my job.”
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
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