Major League Baseball heads into Hot Stove season at the crossroads of sports media, with upcoming moves potentially shaping the game’s finances for years to come.
Let’s review.
1️⃣ We want to make it clear as a first point: this is not a “the sky is falling” look at baseball. Sport is far from dying. We would say that significant progress has been made this season with the new throwing time rules and, if anything, they are making progress.
2️⃣ However, the evolution of the media landscape will have an impact on the game. I expose the scenarios, but as a legendary philosopher of Yankees broadcasting repeatedly said, “You can’t predict baseball, Suzyn. » The media is no different. No one really knows how everything is going to turn out because there is a lot going on.
3️⃣ The first issue that will arise over the next year is that of regional sports networks. Diamond Sports, which already owns local television rights to just under half of MLB teams started the bankruptcy process. Commissioner Rob Manfred has contempt for Sinclair/Diamond, who he recently expressed still on the podcast Jean Ourand and I host. This saga is likely to come to a head before or during the 2024 season. Last year, MLB took over distribution and production of Diamondbacks and Padres games after Diamond Sports, a subsidiary of Sinclair, failed to make its payments. MLB charged $19.99 per month to broadcast these teams’ games and was distributed on cable and satellite.
4️⃣ Before the World Series, Manfred said“We will be able to manage up to 16 teams next year,” Manfred said. MLB is prepared to take over other Diamond Sports teams, if necessary.
Here is the list of remaining Diamond clubs: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles Angels, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, St. Louis, Texas and Tampa Bay. A few other small-market non-Diamond teams could also become available, which could bring the total to 16.
You’ll notice that these are all smaller markets – I’d even include the Angels, who are actually in Anaheim and are way behind the Dodgers in the Los Angeles market, and the Rangers in Arlington/Dallas, who I would consider more of a small market. baseball market.
5️⃣ Manfred said MLB sold 18,000 digital subscriptions for the Padres after taking over during the season. Let’s assume each customer paid the one-time payment of $74.99 over a full year, which would represent $1.35 million in revenue. MLB likely expects subscriber numbers to grow, saying the new digital distribution structure allows it to reach more than 3 million people in the San Diego area, or nearly 2 million more households than Diamond. The Padres also received undisclosed cable, satellite and advertising revenue after MLB took over distribution. The Padres were supposed to receive $60 million per year from Diamond on a contract that was to last through 2032. MLB said it would cover 80% of the deficit when teams did not receive payments from their RSNs.
Sportico Barry Bloom said the Padres received $52 million of the $60 million expected this year. Athleticism Evan Drellich, Dennis Lin And Ken Rosenthal reported last week that the Padres took out a $50 million loan in September to help them cover their enormous payroll. I’m told the loan and the TV situation have nothing to do with each other, but it doesn’t help that the Padres can’t count on the money Diamond was obligated to pay to the future.
6️⃣ Large market teams like the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox are still well positioned in the RSN world. If you don’t know, cable and satellite subscriptions are down, but these teams and their networks can still demand top dollar. Even if it’s less than before, they still earn a lot. The Yankees and Red Sox have added their own direct-to-consumer products, and it looks like the Mets and SNY should be around the corner. However, overall, RSN audiences for all clubs increased 7 percent on the season, despite the fact that approximately 7 to 13 percent of subscribers were lost to regional sports networks, according to MLB.
7️⃣ In addition to the question of regional sports networks, MLB will have to think about national baseball coverage. Again, we think the sport is in a good place, but in a world where almost every game is accessible to almost everyone (except those in banned regions), it’s difficult to make regular season games special. That’s why, as we reported a few weeks ago, ESPN will likely consider opting out of its baseball deal in two years. Warner Bros. Would Discovery prefer investing in college football in the future, as opposed to baseball? He has significant rights to the MLB playoffs, including an LCS each year, so his package is attractive.
8️⃣ Meanwhile, MLB got involved in national streaming as Apple (Friday nights) and Peacock (Sunday nights) dipped their toes in the water. They haven’t released any audience figures, which in my experience means they’re not great. I’ve also heard that the numbers aren’t great, but nothing definitive enough to fully report. Common sense says that these unique games are not that popular. The same game is played either the next two days or the two previous days.
9️⃣ The dilemma this creates is: if Apple’s goal, for example, is to one day apply its MLS strategy to bigger leagues, how does that work? Apple owns the rights to all MLS regular season and playoff matches. Fox Sports simulcast some games. The problem for the big leagues, if they ever did something equivalent, is that there would be no other deals to make. If you separated some national games, the Apple model doesn’t work.
1️⃣0️⃣ That brings us to the World Series standings. Oh, dear SportsClicker, how could you wait until now to post the lowest ratings ever? Because news is overrated.
Fox had two non-national teams, the Diamondbacks and Rangers, and then only got five games. The final tally was an average audience of 9.11 million viewers. However, if I’m MLB, I like that Game 5 cost 11.48 million. If there had been six or seven games, the ratings would have been good. It happens. The World Series has also outperformed every entertainment program it has ever been a part of. against for the eighth consecutive yearaccording to Fox Sports president of insight and analysis Mike Mulvihill. Additionally, before the World Series, even though the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets failed to qualify and the Dodgers lost early, playoff ratings were up 3%.
But the reason the sky isn’t falling is because we always focus on what baseball doesn’t do well rather than what it does well. He has a huge audience and absorbs a lot of time of his viewers. This is why it is well positioned for the future.
However, change is in the air as the media is fragmenting. Ultimately there will be winners and losers. The decisions Manfred and the television and digital executives make will determine who they are and how successful they will be.
1️⃣1️⃣ If you ask me how well positioned you are, I’ll give you a baseball analogy. Manfred and company are at the plate with a 2-1 count. This is a favorable position, but there are no guarantees.
Quick clicks
On NFL Network’s Chiefs-Dolphins game, I would have liked to hear what Dan Orlovsky And Jason McCourty could have been satisfied with a game per player other than Rich Eisen. Eisen is a studio guy and doesn’t have the pace to shut down games due to his lack of experience. That said, it’s difficult in such a flagship game to bring three people together and make them sing. …ESPN signed play-by-player Mike Monaco to a new three-year deal, according to sources. Monaco rose through the ranks of ESPN, calling hockey, college football and basketball. ESPN has allowed the best young play-by-players to escape, notably at Fox with Adam Amine, Jason Benetti And Joe Davis. Monaco, 30, is part of ESPN’s immediate future.
… YES’ Ian Eagle and MSG Mike Breen shared the New York Sports Emmy for play-by-play. Eagle has won it eight times in a row and nine in 11 years, which is the most ever. The New York baseball philosopher I mentioned earlier, John Sterling, presented the prize. The presentation is classic sterling silver. …I reported last week that Breen has a new four-year contract extension, meaning if ESPN keeps the finals, it is contracted to call them for the next six years. He would then have 24 finals to his credit. Slam! … that of the Fox Lachlan Murdoch said during the company’s earnings call this week, it has no plans for its free streaming service, Tubi, to offer live sports.
Clicker Book Club
Kenny-Albert“A Mic For All Seasons (My Three Decades Announcing the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Olympics)” takes the reader into the world of broadcasting, highlighting his duties and challenges since his childhood as a son of Marv until his current show. roles, including being the host of the Warner Bros. Stanley Cup game. Discovery. Papa Clicker gives Albert’s tome a rating of 4.25 out of 5 clickers.
