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This postseason did not net MLB and their broadcast partners the ratings they were probably hoping for overall. Some series, like the Astros-Red Sox ALCS did well, but the World Series between eventual champion Boston and the Dodgers didn’t do gangbusters ratings either despite one big market and one decent sized market that loves baseball. Ratings for the five games played were down slightly in total viewers, rating, and share.
But on Thursday, during the second day of Owners Meetings, the league reportedly extended their deal with FOX to air both regular season and postseason games, as well as expanded streaming and social rights. According to Forbes’ Maury Brown and Sports Business Journal’s Eric Fisher, the new deal is reportedly for seven seasons from 2022-2028. Over those seven years, FOX will reportedly pay MLB $5.1 billion for the rights.
That’s so much money, even without context, but the context makes it even more shocking. That price tag breaks down to approximately $715 million a year — up from the $550 million a year figure in the current deal. That’s about a 30% increase. With this deal, FOX will also get more postseason games at one point — although whether those games will come out of Turner’s current allotment or MLB Network’s pair of games is unclear right now.
An extension between FOX and MLB was always going to happen, but with the handwringing over the down ratings this postseason there was concern that the money wouldn’t be there like before. But a 50% bump and more than five billion bucks should put that to rest.
Because 13 million people watching a baseball game isn’t 18 million people watching a baseball game, but it’s still 13 million people watching a live broadcast on one network. Appointment viewing that’s worth the money to secure. Who knows what the streaming or digital landscape will look like it five or six years but FOX making sure that they are the ones who will have to adapt to the changing landscape of live sports watching is the only move they could have made.
With all that guaranteed TV money continuing to flow in, owners should feel more than comfortable putting that money back into their organizations. Maybe in the form of paying top players? Nah, probably not. But the TV situation for baseball is now secure for the next decade, no matter what ratings look like.
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