Baseball eyes new $1 billion TV contract in off-season

[TMC1982]

Baseball eyes new $1 billion TV contract in off-season | Reuters

MLB's current deals with ESPN, Fox and TBS expire after the 2013 season, and sources said all three networks are likely to be involved in the next round of negotiations, which are expected to begin this off-season. These people said NBC Universal and CBS are also interested in joining the talks.

The dramatic climax to this season's World Series between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, coupled with the intense demand among networks for programing viewers watch live, should give MLB strong negotiating leverage in the next round of talks.

Ratings for this year's World Series, broadcast on Fox, were hardly blockbuster but still averaged 16.6 million viewers, up about 19 percent from last year, driven by a Game Six extra-inning comeback victory for the Cardinals that stoked interest in the team's Game 7 victory last week.

Analysts expect the price of a new deal to increase by 10 percent or more from the league's current contracts, which are estimated to be worth around $900 million annually.

The interest in baseball in not due to the World Series alone, however, as advertisers exhibited a strong appetite for commercial time throughout baseball's lengthy 182-game regular season and two rounds of league playoff series.

About NBC's fears in regards to the baseball postseason potentially interfering with Sunday Night Football, they could easily work it around by having games move over to the NBC Sports Network (currently Versus) just like TBS uses TNT as a backup for their baseball coverage. Also, Major League Baseball can easily work around the schedule for the World Series. In recent years, the World Series has started on I think a Tuesday or Wednesday rather than on the weekends. NBC really has nothing to lose in regards to their prime time schedule. It's not like back in 1997, when they covered the World Series and the then West Coast President complained that the World Series was messing up their then highly rated "Must See TV" line-up. I think I read somewhere that they're still struggling in the 18-49 demographic this season. Networks need to to understand that major sporting events could have a positive effect by providing a major promotional tool for said shows.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if CBS did something with Turner. TBS produced two specials (one for the All-Star Break and another for the late season pennant drive) this year that aired on the CBS Sports Spectacular. The last time that CBS had baseball back in the early '90s, they wound up losing about $500 million after paying $1 billion for exclusive broadcasting rights (over ABC and NBC). CBS doesn't really have a whole lot of major or note worthy sports programming from around the end of March-beginning of April (like right after the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the Masters) until September (when college football, the US Open tennis tournament, and the NFL starts).

I highly doubt that ABC will get MLB in the foreseeable future. It's in the past few years (at least, since 2006), become pretty apparent if not obvious that Disney and ESPN has tried to marginalize major sports programming on ABC. One of the big reasons (well, besides not being at the mercy of affiliates and being easier to make a profit on subcable fees than simply advertisers) why "ABC Sports" in the traditional sense was done away with was in order to not have to deal with union contracts anymore (which ESPN doesn't have to face). The powers that be at Disney (at least from what I read in that ESPN book from earlier this year) believe that since that have stuff like Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and what not, they really don't need NFL programming on ABC anymore.

 

[CK SatGuy]

To me , I think as long as the playoffs and the World Series are not on FOX anymore, I'll be satisfied. Mostly because the PQ on FOX always seems to be horrible when they're broadcasting baseball games. If the World Series was on CBS, NBC, or even TBS, I think the ratings would be a bit better just because of the better PQ on those channels.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Just remember,whoever gets the network contract for baseball(Fox,CBS,NBC),Tim McCarver is ALWAYS part of the package.

 

[Jimbo]

Just remember,whoever gets the network contract for baseball(Fox,CBS,NBC),Tim McCarver is ALWAYS part of the package.

Get rid of the two that are currently broadcasting, McCarver and whoever, and ratings would DOUBLE.

 

[Ramy]

Hopefully McCarver will retire.

 

[SamCdbs]

Just another thing baseball does wrong that no other sport could do. McCarver. There are well over two dozen available men who can do the sport so well, and McCarver has plagued us for so long, across three of the four networks.

As to the deals, barring changes outside the box, I would expect to see some interest from among other networks. The only smart thing Fay Vincent ever said was to point out that ESPN really needs baseball in the mid-summer. He is right. What else are they going to show? Getting the ESPN package would be a major pickup for CBSSN or NBCSC.

As to the playoffs, I would think NBC, with the worst ratings in primetime, would have interest. Affiliates matter in smaller markets, and affiliates are getting restless .

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

It would be interesting if they could get one network to carry AL games & another to carry NL games. Then they could rotate yearly carriage of the all-star game,& either rotate yearly coverage of the World Series,or each network could broadcast the portion of the World Series that is played in their respective AL/NL cities.

 

[TMC1982]

It makes you wonder a bit why MLB hasn't been able or tried to set up a TV package like the NFL's (i.e. one network gets an American League/American Football Conference package, one gets the National League/National Football Conference package, one broadcast network preferably, gets a prime time package, and at least one cable network gets another prime time package).

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has his sports media predictions for 2012.

MLB leaves Fox: MLB will consolidate its rights with one media company rather than continue with its current structure across three networks: ESPN, Fox and TBS. NBC will make a big push to win the rights. But my guess is that the league opts for ESPN in a deal that will finally include the same TV Everywhere components that other leagues have rolled out. Keeping Turner involved in some form can’t be counted out; think of the NBA’s deal with ESPN and Turner. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some playoff games land on MLB Network, but look for most of the playoffs to be on ESPN (with, maybe, some on TBS) and the World Series to air on ABC.​

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[TMC1982]

Our 2012 Sports Media Wish List: Part Two (Awful Announcing)

Our 2012 Sports Media Wish List: Part Two | December

The End Of The MLB Blackout Policy & MLB On Fox

John Ourand predicts Major League Baseball will ditch Fox and either go exclusively with ESPN or a combination of ESPN and Turner. He also thinks NBC will be in the mix as well. Baseball fans will largely embrace this possible move as Fox has long been teased for poor production and announcing talent covering America's pastime. In fact, during Fox's decade plus of broadcasting the World Series, the fall classic's ratings have actually been cut in half.MLB leaving Fox is definitely what's best for the sport. However, what we're most interested in is the MLB Blackout policy that has long been a MAJOR source of discontent for fans. If you're unfamiliar with the blackout, rule here is an excerpt from the ridiculously robust Wikpedia page for the policy.

"Broadcasters cannot show games of in-market teams, regardless of whether the game is home or away, if the game of the local team has a certain start time (usually there are no other games scheduled at these times). This, at least theoretically, is to make people watch the out-of-market game on ESPN or Fox. The reasoning is that since people will not be able to watch their favorite team, they may be willing to settle for some baseball, even if it involves teams they are not as excited about. This results in higher ratings for the national broadcaster by pulling baseball fans away from watching their own team."

The idea is kind of like Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football as you want to have a true national game that everyone will watch. The problem is that unlike those games, other baseball games are taking place during Fox's "national" game. Maybe I'll watch a random baseball game that's on but I am certainly not going to be happy missing the team I follow to watch two random teams play. Unlike football, baseball doesn't have that broad appeal at a national level for non-local teams.The policy is so stupid, we're unsure if this or MLB's video policy is more asinine. We're definitely wishing with the television rights up for grabs, MLB will retire this policy and give fans what they want.

 

[SamCdbs]

I really doubt very many people want to watch 162 games of their local team on TV and have no interest in baseball on a national basis.

In any event, in the last contract, MLB clearly wanted ESPN to pick up the second round. ESPN passed.

With the NFL dangling out a package, and ESPN doing quite well with college football, it is happy to pass on post-season baseball. It also has little interest in a national Saturday game, certainly not before June or after August. Its just not interested. It has its slots full. Over-full, in those time periods.

And the self-appointeds will go nuts should the World Series end up on "pay TV".