YouTube TV is launching a sports plan priced at $65/month; new MLB.TV subscriptions will be purchased through the ESPN App; and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell discusses potential international expansion. Plus news on NBC, NBA expansion, Roger Maltbie and Buck Martinez.
YouTube TV to launch sports plan at $65/month price point
YouTube TV said Monday that its sports-focused bundle, which was first announced in December, will launch at a price point of $65/month — a 22% discount compared to its $83/month base plan. The news was first reported by Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg on Sunday night. The streaming service, which reportedly surpassed 10 million subscribers last year, is slated to offer over 10 plans — including a combined package with sports and news for $72/month.
The sports-focused bundle includes the ESPN networks — eventually including access to ESPN Unlimited through the YouTube TV app starting this fall as the two companies work to complete the necessary technical work for content integration. The sports plan also grants users access to ESPN-owned NFL Network, NBCSN, FS1, and the TNT Sports networks TNT, TBS and truTV.
While the standard price will be $65/mo, YouTube TV will offer new users a discounted rate of $55/month for the first year. New users will be also able to save on the bundled sports and news plan, which is priced at $57/month for the first three months.
Aside from the sports options, YouTube TV revealed a comprehensive news, entertainment and family plan bundle priced at $70/month and standalone entertainment plan for $55/month. Both selections have new-user discounts attached as well. Subscribers can opt to purchase add-on subscriptions to complement these plans as well, including to services such as NFL Sunday Ticket + RedZone, 4K Plus and HBO Max.
New MLB.TV subscriptions to be purchased through ESPN App
With ESPN having acquired distribution rights to the MLB.TV out-of-market subscription service in the offseason, new MLB.TV subscriptions will be handled through the ESPN App rather than through the league itself, per sources. Users will automatically receive a one-month free trial of ESPN Unlimited, and it will be possible to cancel during the trial period and still continue to receive MLB.TV.
Consumers looking to purchase MLB.TV who already subscribe to ESPN Unlimited can do so through the ESPN user interface. Users who already subscribe to MLB.TV will be renewed automatically without any necessary involvement from ESPN products. MLB.TV will remain accessible on the league’s in-house streaming platform for the 2026 season, but it can also be viewed using the ESPN App.
The MLB.TV subscription is separate from the league’s production and distribution of local broadcasts, which will not be available on the ESPN App for the upcoming season. MLB’s local media division is handling the telecasts for 14 teams this season, having added the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals in the offseason. The addition of the Tigers was officially announced Monday afternoon, and it also includes the NHL Red Wings, with whom they share an ownership group.
Eight of the nine new MLB teams come from the Main Street Sports Group portfolio, which, at the moment, only includes NBA and NHL teams. Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported that the Angels and Braves are considering launching their own RSNs.
Goodell not ruling out NFL international expansion
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday that he is not ruling out expansion overseas, as the league continues to grow its international presence with a record nine such games next season. Goodell, who sat for an interview with Scott Graham of Westwood One Sports prior to Super Bowl LX, said that he does not “take international expansion off the table” and thinks that it is a prospect that is “very possible someday.” Goodell also said that there are cities capable of supporting an NFL team, although he did not specify.
“Well, you can think of expansion as the number of teams, or you can think of expansion as us playing in international markets and reaching in different areas and expansion spanning our international series,” Goodell said. “I think as far as teams are concerned, I think at some point, if our international growth continues the way it is, I can see international growth on an international basis.”
Goodell has signaled his desire for the league to play 16 games internationally per year with all teams taking part, something that could necessitate an 18-game schedule. The NFL last added a game to the regular-season docket in 2021 as part of its new collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA. Earlier in the season, Goodell told Alex Sherman of CNBC that “markets outside the U.S. are very, very attractive” and mentioned it remains “possible” to add a team based in London.
NFL EVP/media distribution Hans Schroeder told Sherman that a potential media rights package of international games is something the league may “look at in the next six months.” It should be noted that international games for next season are not guaranteed to be on ESPN-owned NFL Network, which will televise seven regular-season games. YouTube VP of product management Christian Oestlien, speaking generally about the potential of the NFL opening its media rights this year, told Bloomberg‘s Shaw in an interview that the company is “very excited about the idea that it could be doing more with the [NFL]. YouTube presented its first NFL game last season from São Paulo, Brazil and is the only streamer that exclusively aired an international contest last season.
Plus: NBC, NBA expansion, Roger Maltbie, Buck Martinez
- Mike Tirico will host Monday night’s edition of “Primetime in Milan” from Italy at 8 PM ET on NBC, arriving on site less than a day after calling Super Bowl LX from Santa Clara, Calif. Savannah Guthrie had been scheduled to host Monday’s prime time broadcast, but she did not make the trip to Milan.
- The NBA Board of Governors is likely going to vote on expansion by two teams over the summer, according to a post on social media by Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Townsend wrote that Las Vegas and Seattle seem to be the frontrunners, which NBA commissioner Adam Silver called “two incredible cities” during media availability in December.
- Roger Maltbie is returning to Golf Channel as an on-course reporter for select events next year, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship and Memorial Tournament, according to a report by Cameron Jourdan of Golfweek. Maltbie has been back on the air on occasion since being let go from his full-time role in 2023, and he will also be working with the CBS Sports team for two of the weeks, one of which is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, per Jourdan.
- Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez officially announced his retirement on Friday after calling more than 4,000 games, explaining that it was time to “pass the torch” ahead of the team’s 50th anniversary season. Martinez had worked alongside Dan Shulman in separate stints with the team, concluding their partnership on Sportsnet with Game 7 of the 2025 World Series from Rogers Centre.
