MLB announced today that it will take over the distribution of local broadcasts for the Reds in 2025. Fans of the club will still be able to watch on television as they have in the past but there will also be a direct-to-consumer streaming option with no blackouts.
Largely due to cord cutting, the regional sports network (RSN) model has been collapsing in recent years. Several clubs have seen their TV deals dropped or expire without being renewed. In some of those cases, Major League Baseball has stepped in to keep things running more or less as before, keeping those teams on TV while also adding the streaming option.
In 2024, MLB handled the broadcasts of the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies. Fans of those clubs who watched them on cable could continue to do so, but it was also possible for people without cable subscriptions to simply pay for the ability to stream the games directly without blackouts for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the year.
Two of those clubs (San Diego and Arizona) were previously with Diamond Sports Group, the owners of the FanDuel Sports networks, which were previously under the Bally Sports brand. DSG filed for bankruptcy in March of 2023 and it was reported earlier today that they will be able to emerge from the bankruptcy process, though with their portfolio reduced to just six teams.
In early October, it was reported that DSG planned to cut ties with all but one club, the Atlanta Braves. They were open to new deals with other clubs, but with the fees renegotiated down to lower levels. MLB announced shortly thereafter that it would be taking over the broadcasts of the Twins, Guardians and Brewers, bringing them up to six clubs for whom they were handling the broadcasting.
The Cardinals, Marlins, Angels, Tigers, and Rays subsequently agreed to new deals with DSG, giving them the rights for six clubs going into 2025. But it was reported earlier this week that the Reds could not come to terms with DSG on a new deal. Today’s announcement revealed that they will go with MLB, so the league is now handling the broadcasts of seven clubs.
For fans, the biggest change is the streaming option. The league has been streaming games for years through MLB.TV, but fans were blacked out from watching clubs in their area as part of those RSN deals. Watching the club on cable was previously the only legal option but streaming is now on the table as well. Details and pricing of the streaming option will surely be forthcoming in the coming weeks and months.
For the club, it’s probably not good news in the short term. The RSN model was a solid source of revenue for a long time, as many people signed up for cable packages even if they didn’t watch baseball. The Reds reportedly got about $60MM annually as part of their deal with DSG. The direct-to-consumer streaming option cuts out the middleman but also requires fans to actively sign up, cutting out the passive part of the cable money.
Perhaps the streaming model will gain momentum over time but the short-term impact has clearly been negative for clubs. The Padres and Twins have already scaled back payroll while the Cardinals and Rangers are planning to do so for the coming season. How the Reds proceed will remain to be seen. RosterResource projects them for a $79MM payroll next year, $21MM below last year’s $100MM figure.
Can they take over A’s too?
The A’s are on comacast nbc Bay Area. The broadcast are fine it’s the operation of the team that is the issue.
Did that get renegotiated? It was in jeopardy if they left the bay area.
yes they did, for an undlisclosed amount less than the original $70mm
The A’s had one of the most ridiculously overpriced cable deals in the sport. It was the primary thing keeping them afloat. I suspect part of the reason Doctor Evil decided to move them from Oakland is their financial model was simply no longer feasible give their next bay area RSN deal was going to be a fraction of what they had.
This should be a universal movement
MLB has big shoes to fill after “there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos, it will be a home run”
“…as there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos, it will be a home run. And so that will make it a 4–0 ballgame.”
“Folks I don’t know if I’m gonna be putting on this headset again”
No blackouts sounds real nice. For the price of MLB.TV there really shouldn’t be any.
When you think about it, MLB.TV is actually very affordable. I get the entire season for around $150. That covers 3 + hours of entertainment per night for a little less than $1 per night. A lot less if I decide to watch a second game that day.
“”Actually very affordable”…You beat me to the almost exact same comment. For me, MLB.TV is the best value in television.
A few bucks a months for hundreds of hours of daily entertainment. I’m even OK with blackouts, because blackouts have been the norm for my whole lifetime.
You can’t really miss what you’ve never had. My only real complaint is the constant siphoning of games from MLB.TV to Apple, Peacock and even TBS.
I agree that overall it’s not that bad. I like being able to watch almost any game. But there should at least be an option to pay say $25-$50 more to be able to get around blackouts. As a mariners fan the only way to see them on ROOT sports is to pay for the most expensive packages possible from comcast or direct tv.
If you have T-Mobile you get it for free. At least I have the last two years.
But it’s not for “free.” How much do you have to pay to have TMobile in order to get it?
Now, if only MLB will take Barry Larkin off the home telecasts 🙂
I keep hoping they replace him with Joey Votto.
That Sadak guy is even worse. He makes my ears bleed.
Never understood why they passed over Jim Day for him. He and Chris Welsh always seemed a good combo when he filled in after Thom B. was finally booted.
Firing Thom Brennaman was the best thing that happened during Covid. And then they replace him with Sadak, an even more annoying, unctuous knob. Worse, Sadak has no sense of the ebbs and flows of a game, constantly dialed up to 11 with his sycophantic babble. Thankfully I live out of market and can sync up Brantley on the radio. If not for that small blessing, the Reds would be dead to me.
I feel Barry has gotten a bad rap. I by no means am saying he is great, but he’s not horrible either. We have had way worst options over the years such as George Grande, Steve Stewart, probably the worst being Paul Keels, Jim Ketch, and that famous Thom. Bronson Arroyo previously mentioned he may be interested in getting into TV. I think him and Votto would be amazing together.
As the beaver would say…hot dam!
They should just do this for all teams and tell the gamblers to get iced.
I feel like the yankees and red sox will hold on to their networks with a death grip. I would welcome paying $150/yr to get all the MLB games. As it is, I need to pay $30/mo if I want to watch the red sox (or much more through a cable bundle).
Dodgers too, as their local TV money alone pays their payroll.
I can’t see the Jays giving up theirs either considering they are owned by the broadcasting company.
Good for the Reds!
I miss the Big Red Machine.
This is how it starts. Big Broadcasting getting involved in our lives, and telling us what to do and how to live our lives.
@Bart Harley Jarvis
Exactly. Telling me which team I should be cheering for!
Anybody know who produces these games for mlb that they have “taken over the distro for? “ (Trucks, cameras, slo mo, audio, graphics, on-air talent) I doubt mlb has that infrastructure, particularly for that many teams
I’d assume that, as much as possible, they hire the existing employees who RSN’s had doing that work. And then either buy or lease assets, again taking over as much of what RSN’s had as possible.
There should be an almost perfect 1 to 1 relationship of needed employees and assets freeing up from the RSN’s who previously did these broadcasts.
Except that the RSNs had other things for them to do beyond baseball, like NBA and NHL games. Hard to see these folks making a living wage on just the baseball part.
That was certainly the case for the Rockies last year. It was the same on-air “talent,” same camera locations and quality. It’s just that there were very few ads, so instead we got the same Rockies or MLB promotional material in almost every break. And VERY little in the way of pre or post game stuff.
I would be surprised if they aren’t contracting that work
Of the renegotiated DSG contracts, the only one for which I’ve seen a reported term is the Angels deal. And it’s only for 3 years.
That’s a big contrast with the 15+ year rights deals that were commonly announced when the RSN model was going strong.
So it looks like even the teams re-upping with DSG are likely positioned to merge into an overall MLB streaming option that combines in-market and out of market rights, if MLB makes progress in that direction over the next few years.
The gap I see is the haves with their own networks, the almost haves that re-signed with Diamond, and the have nots that are with MLB. Seriously, other than TX falling below and the Rays and Marlins going up it almost perfectly matches the old revenue ranks.
Yep. The financial disparity top to bottom is going to double at least. At some point ratings and attendance might suffer as the have nots grow in number. Hard ball with the teams that own their own networks (or in the Blue Jays case, vice-versa) will commence. The unholy alliance between the MLBPA and the wealthy teams has to be broken, and it will if the ranks of the non-wealthy grow much more.
lol damn the whole nl west relegated
As a Reds fan living just outside Nashville I’m almost always blacked out from watching them. I think I saw 4 live games last year I’d be. happy if the archaic blackout rules went bye bye.
Yeah I live in Louisville and they are blacked out. Then no major radio station in louisville picks up the games either. SMH. It’s a relief there’s new media !
Also I don’t think the reds lured Francona out of retirement by promising with a 70 mil payroll. Reds can and will still spend.
I am a Rockies fan that lives within the Reds geographic bubble. Does this mean I won’t be forced to listen to the Reds announcers when the Rockies play them? Or just skip the Cincinnati games like I did last season?
That 100M figure is misleading as they dumped some of those contracts by the end of July.
If they are winning, they could have just as easily added to that 100 mil
This will just be another excuse for Castellini not to spend. This team already reportedly only spends 39% of revenue on payroll, 4th lowest in league. Which is pitiful. thescore.com/mlb/news/3107553
The Padres didn’t lose any TV revenue in 2024. Just that one payment in 2023.
Padres are increasing payroll back up to and likely over the CBT in 2025. Obviously they just wanted to dip under the CBT for a season to lower fines, draft pick losses, and IFA pool money lost.
There’s red flags everywhere with this deal