Overview

• Nielsen’s expanded out-of-home metrics have boosted credited viewership for Fox, ESPN and TBS to their highest midseason levels in years.
• Fox’s Saturday Baseball Night in America leads with an average of 2.14 million viewers per window, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and TBS’s Tuesday telecasts have recorded 11% and 17% year-over-year gains respectively.
• ESPN opted out of its $550 million-per-year contract in February, ending a 35-year partnership and opening up national rights for the 2026–28 seasons.
• MLB has received bids from Apple, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and other outlets for at least part of the former ESPN package, though reported offers currently trail ESPN’s fees.
• The league aims to finalize successor agreements by October so that all national broadcast contracts, including Fox and TBS deals through 2028, end concurrently for maximum future flexibility.