Sources: MLB Planning For Lower Rights Fee In New ESPN Deal

ESPN will retain "Sunday Night Baseball" and the Home Run DerbyESPN IMAGES

MLB is "bracing for a reduction" of approximately $150M per year in rights fees in a deal it is closing in on with ESPN, according to sources cited by Ken Rosenthal of THE ATHLETIC. MLB’s previous deal with ESPN was an eight-year, $5.6B contract worth $700M per year. Sources said that the agreement under discussion would be for seven years and approximately $3.85B, "reducing the average annual value" to about $550M per year. The lower payout will "stem in part from ESPN reducing the number of games it does not carry exclusively by more than half." MLB "might attempt to sell those games to other outlets." ESPN will retain "Sunday Night Baseball" and the Home Run Derby, and "continue to broadcast an undetermined number of postseason games." The smaller annual payout MLB will receive from ESPN is in "marked contrast to the growth it generated" in its recent renewals with Fox Sports and Turner Sports (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/8).