ESPN and Major League Baseball will begin contract talks; another Bally Sports rebrand appears imminent; and Ray Ferraro has a big night on Tuesday.
ESPN, MLB to begin talks
Per a report by Puck News, ESPN and Major League Baseball are expected to begin contract extension talks prior to ESPN’s upcoming opt-out after the 2025 season. The current deal began in 2022 and runs through the 2028 season. ESPN, which has televised MLB games continuously since 1990, is said to be seeking local streaming rights for its “Flagship” streaming service in addition to a package of national games.
ESPN just completed televising its most-watched Wild Card Series ever (out of four in the current format), and its most-watched season of Sunday Night Baseball since 2019, but previous reporting had indicated ESPN intended to exercise its contractual opt-out in 2025.
A local rights package appears more possible after Diamond Sports indicated last week it intends to drop 11 of its 12 local MLB contracts, but would certainly not include every team, as large-market teams like the Yankees and Dodgers are already locked into lucrative long-term contracts with local RSNs.
Bally Sports RSNs nearing FanDuel rebrand
Diamond Sports Group is nearing a deal with FanDuel to rebrand its 17 Bally Sports regional sports networks, with FanDuel expected to purchase an equity stake in Diamond, per Front Office Sports. The move would be an attempt to solicit FanDuel users to increase Diamond’s subscriber base as it attempts to emerge from bankruptcy.
The FanDuel branding would almost certainly increase the amount of sports betting-related content on the networks during and surrounding MLB, NBA, and NHL games. FanDuel currently operates FanDuel TV, a cable network that airs sports betting-related programs as well as horse racing, and FanDuel TV Extra, a FAST channel with some of the same programming.
Most of the Bally Sports RSNs originated as Fox Sports Networks, which were purchased by Disney in 2019 and subsequently divested to Diamond Sports Group following intervention by the US Department of Justice. The networks were rebranded in March 2021 under a ten-year deal with the Bally’s Corporation, which operates casinos and online sports betting operations.
Court filings also confirmed that if Diamond does not emerge from bankruptcy by December 16, contracts with MLB and NHL teams will be nullified after the 2024-25 season, although Diamond sources insist this will not be the case.
Ferraro set for opening night double-duty
ESPN NHL analyst Ray Ferraro will call two games as part of ESPN’s opening-night tripleheader Tuesday night. Ferraro will call Blues-Kraken with Mike Monaco at 4:30 PM ET, and then travel to Salt Lake City to call the debut of the Utah Hockey Club against the Blackhawks at 10 PM with Bob Wischusen.
ESPN will also provide on-site studio coverage from Salt Lake City beginning at 4 PM and continuing through all three games. Steve Levy will host alongside Mark Messier and P.K. Subban. At 7 PM, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers host the Bruins with Sean McDonough and Ryan Callahan on the call.
