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German sports network Sport1 is considering renewing its broadcast rights deal with MLB, capitalizing on the heightened interested in the ongoing World Series between Chicago and Cleveland. The network's current contract with the league will expire at the end of this season. "We are interested in renewing these attractive rights under the maxim of re-financeability," a Sport1 spokesperson told SBD Global. The network shows baseball on its dedicated U.S. sports pay-TV channel Sport1 US. The channel has held the rights since '14 and shows a minimum of 60 games per season. The 2016 World Series matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians could boost Sport1's desire to keep MLB in its program. "The overall media coverage in Germany is unusually high due to the historic storylines regarding the Cubs and Indians," the spokesperson said. The Cubs have not won the championship since 1908, while the Indians' last title dates back to 1948. German tabloid Bild ran a half-page story on the World Series, and had it as one of its featured articles online. Sport1 did not disclose ratings figures for Game 1 of the World Series, which aired early Wednesday morning in Germany. MLB declined to discuss or characterize negotiations with its global media rights partners, a league spokesperson said. Financial terms of the current deal between Sport1 and MLB were not available.
