The end of ESPN’s relationship with Major League Baseball is not limited to television.
ESPN Radio will no longer carry national Major League Baseball after this season, ending its 27-year run as the exclusive national radio parter of MLB. The last national MLB game that was not carried by ESPN Radio was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, which was broadcast by CBS Radio.
While ESPN Radio does not attract as much attention as the flagship ESPN TV network, the radio contract has given the company a presence at every World Series and MLB All-Star Game dating back to 1998. Jon Sciambi has called the past two World Series for ESPN Radio, following a 12-year run by Dan Shulman and a 13-year run by Jon Miller.
It is unlikely that MLB will be able to bundle the ESPN’s radio rights with the rest of the network’s package, as few if any of the likely contenders have any relevant presence in radio. Westwood One, which carries the Super Bowl and NCAA men’s basketball national championship, or SiriusXM — which carries NASCAR Cup Series races — would seem like potential landing spots.
In addition, Sports Media Watch has learned that ESPN is immediately ending its agreement to stream an out-of-market “Game of the Day” on ESPN+, and it is unclear whether the streaming service will continue offering MLB.tv as an add-on for the coming season.
After ESPN opted out of its MLB contract on Thursday, league commissioner Rob Manfred informed team owners in a memo that criticized ESPN’s MLB coverage and the cable business more broadly. ESPN has televised MLB games since 1990 and currently carries a package of Opening Day, Sunday night games, the Home Run Derby and the entire Wild Card round.
