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Draft:MLB Local Media

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MLB Local Media is a division of Major League Baseball that produces and distributes regional television broadcasts for various MLB teams. Established prior to the 2023 season, the division has primarily served teams who no longer had a broadcaster due to business issues affecting their regional sports network rightsholders, including the ongoing bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group—owner of Bally Sports, and the closure of AT&T SportsNet in 2023. MLB Local Media broadcasts are distributed via ad-hoc agreements with television providers in each team's home market, as well as over-the-top (OTT) subscription packages hosted by MLB.tv (branded under names such as Padres.tv and DBacks.tv). [1]

The division began operations in earnest on May 31, 2023, when it took over broadcast rights to the San Diego Padres after Diamond Sports Group missed a payment to the team. It would also take over rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks later in the season, after Diamond opted out of its contract with the team. The Colorado Rockies were added in the 2024 season, after the closure of AT&T SportsNet. In October 2024, it was announced that MLB Local Media had acquired rights to the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins beginning in the 2025 season.

Overview

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Background

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On February 24, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery, owners of the AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks, announced that it would leave the RSN business. At the time, AT&T SportsNet held the rights to three MLB teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros. The company sent messages to those teams, notifying them they had until March 31 to reach an agreement to take their rights back or acquire the networks. If no deal was made before the deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery stated that the channels would go into Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. Root Sports Northwest, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery and the Seattle Mariners, was not affected by the announcement.[2][3][4] Despite the March deadline, Major League Baseball negotiated a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to keep the networks operational through the 2023 Major League Baseball season.[5]

On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports Group, owners of the Bally Sports regional sports networks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[6] The filing came 30 days after the company failed to make a $140M interest payment.[7] At the time, Diamond Sports held the rights to 14 MLB teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.

History

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In January 2024, MLB hired Billy Chambers—a former executive of Bally Sports' predecessor Fox Sports Networks—as its executive vice president of local media; Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred stated that Chambers would "play an integral role in how we navigate the rapidly evolving local media landscape in the future".[8] In March 2023, MLB Local Media was formally established, with the hiring of former SportsNet Pittsburgh executive Doug Johnson, and former Bally Sports executives Greg Pennell and Kendall Burgess; all three would report to Chambers. It was anticipated that the group could take over broadcasts of teams under AT&T SportsNet or Bally Sports on short notice if they are unable to continue their relationships with the teams;[9][10] MLB Local Media had been working with MLB Network staff to prepare for such a scenario, including adapting an existing MLB Network graphics package so that it could be readily customized for individual teams.[11]

In May 2023, Diamond Sports was on the verge of missing a second straight rights payment to the San Diego Padres, with a grace period expiring on the 31st; the rights to the team would revert to Major League Baseball on this date if this were to occur. Chambers and the MLB Local Media team were on standby for the Padres' series at the Miami Marlins, and began preparing its production on May 30, with only 24 hours' notice .[11][12] The new broadcasting arrangements would involve ad-hoc agreements between MLB and individual television providers in the San Diego Padres' market, including Cox Cable (where games would air on YurView California; coincidentally, the channel was the former home of the Padres prior to their agreement with Fox/Bally), as well as an over-the-top, in-market subscription package branded as Padres.tv, which is hosted on the MLB.tv platform. The service is a separate subscription from MLB.tv's out-of-market service.[13][14][15]

The MLB-produced telecasts inherited the Padres' existing broadcast team and other team-contracted staff. Once the team returned to San Diego, MLB Local Media inherited the mobile production units and freelance employees that had been used by Bally. MLB Local Media aimed for the broadcasts' technological aspects to be at parity with those of the previous RSN productions, while also increasing use of new technology such as shallow depth-of-field cameras. The inaugural broadcast featured a special introduction narrated by sportscaster and MLB Network contributor Bob Costas.[11]

On June 22, 2023, Diamond announced its intention to reject its contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 30, 2023.[16] Diamond and the Arizona Diamondbacks later released a joint statement pushing back the hearing and agreeing to continue Diamond's broadcast of Diamondbacks' games. The contract was officially rejected on July 18. As for the Padres, MLB Local Media took over production.[17][18] Over the season, MLB Local Media began to deploy additional cameras, including gimbal cameras, wirecams, and umpire cams, and also began to focus on increasing access to players in-game via microphones.[19]

For the 2024 season, MLB Local Media announced they would also produce and distribute games for the Colorado Rockies, who formerly aired games on the now-defunct AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.[20] In addition, the broadcasts began to receive access to programming such as Minor League Baseball games and the MLB Big Inning whiparound show in the event of weather delays, and the three teams received updates to their graphics to add additional team-specific elements.[19] On October 8, 2024, MLB Local Media announced that it would add the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins in the 2025 season; all three teams' contracts with Bally had expired at the end of the 2024 season.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ Bresaola, Riccardo (2024-03-28). "MLB to produce and distribute Diamondbacks, Rockies and Padres games". Sportcal. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  2. ^ "Warner Bros. Discovery tells teams it is leaving RSN business". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  3. ^ Weprin, Alex (2023-02-24). "Warner Bros. Discovery Seeks to Exit Regional Sports Networks Business". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  4. ^ "ROOT Sports Northwest says it's not impacted by Warner Bros. Discovery exiting local sports business". The Seattle Times. 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  5. ^ Lucia, Joe (April 10, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery, MLB nearing deal to keep RSNs running through 2023 season". Awful Announcing. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Diamond Sports Group Commences Voluntary Chapter 11 Proceedings to Strengthen Balance Sheet". Business Wire (Press release). March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Ourand, John (February 15, 2023). "Diamond Sports Group not making $140M interest payment". Sports Business Journal. Leaders Group. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "MLB Hires Billy Chambers as Executive Vice President, Local Media; Kenny Gersh Promoted to Executive Vice President, Media and Business Development". Sports Video Group. January 17, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Ourand, John (March 1, 2023). "MLB establishes Local Media Department". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "MLB sets up local media group, could broadcast 17 teams". Associated Press. March 1, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Dachman, Jason (June 14, 2023). "Inside MLB Local Media's Launch of San Diego Padres Productions and What It Means for the Future". Sports Video Group. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Weprin, Alex (June 15, 2023). "How MLB Took Over a Regional Sports Network in 24 Hours". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Gonzalez, Alden (May 30, 2023). "Diamond Sports Group fails to pay Padres, loses broadcast rights". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  14. ^ Dachman, Jason (May 31, 2023). "MLB To Produce, Distribute All San Diego Padres Games Starting Tonight Following Diamond's Missed Rights-Fee Payment". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Sanders, Jeff (May 30, 2023). "Here's where you can watch the Padres starting on Wednesday". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  16. ^ Frankel, Daniel (June 22, 2023). "Bankrupt Diamond Moves To Cut the MLB's Diamondbacks Loose From Bally Sports Arizona". Next TV. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Mackie, Theo (July 18, 2023). "Diamondbacks games no longer to be carried on Bally Sports; MLB moving them to new outlets". AzCentral. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  18. ^ Dachman, Jason (July 18, 2023). "MLB Officially Takes Over Production, Distribution of D-backs Games After DSG Walks Away From Rights Deal". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Dachman, Jason (April 2, 2024). "MLB Local Media Hits Its Stride in Year 2 With Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies Broadcasts". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Frankel, Daneil (February 15, 2024). "MLB Launches Local DTC Streaming Option for the Colorado Rockies". NextTV. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "MLB to produce, distribute local games for Guardians, Brewers and Twins in 2025". MLB.com. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  22. ^ Crupi, Anthony (2024-10-08). "Guardians, Brewers, Twins Head to MLB Media as RSN Era Ends". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
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