MLB to Produce Local Broadcasts for Guardians, Brewers, Twins \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Major League Baseball (MLB) will take over the production and distribution of local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins in 2024 after their contracts with Diamond Sports Group expired. This move expands MLB’s direct broadcast involvement to six teams, following similar arrangements with the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Rockies. With MLB in charge, these teams are expected to reach millions more households, with Cleveland and Minnesota seeing their TV market sizes triple.
‘MLB Expands Broadcast Reach for Guardians, Brewers, Twins: Quick Looks’
- MLB will produce and distribute local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins in 2024 after their deals with Diamond Sports Group expired.
- This move increases MLB’s broadcast management to six teams, adding to the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies.
- MLB’s takeover is expected to significantly boost market reach, with the Guardians’ availability jumping 235% and the Twins’ by 307%.
- Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally Sports regional networks, is undergoing bankruptcy and is expected to lose more teams, including the Tigers and Rays.
- MLB deputy commissioner Noah Garden emphasized the league’s commitment to removing blackouts and growing its reach through cable, satellite, and streaming options.
- Twins President Dave St. Peter acknowledged that local revenue may dip short-term, but expects long-term viewership and revenue to rise with MLB’s model.
- Diamond Sports Group could retain only the Atlanta Braves’ broadcasts by 2025 as it seeks to reorganize under bankruptcy.
Deep Look
Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that it will take over the production and distribution of local broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins starting in the 2024 season. This move comes after each team’s contracts with Diamond Sports Group expired at the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, signaling a shift in how the league manages its media reach in a rapidly changing sports broadcasting landscape.
These new additions bring the total number of teams under MLB’s direct broadcast management to six, with the league already handling broadcasts for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies. The Texas Rangers, whose contract with Diamond Sports Group also expired last month, announced that they will no longer partner with Diamond, exploring other broadcasting options for the 2024 season.
MLB’s decision to take over these broadcasts reflects the league’s evolving approach to media distribution. In recent years, regional sports networks (RSNs), particularly those operated by Diamond Sports Group under the Bally Sports brand, have faced significant financial challenges, driven largely by shifts in consumer behavior and cord-cutting trends. Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy earlier in 2023, casting uncertainty over the future of local sports broadcasting for numerous MLB, NBA, and NHL teams.
MLB’s strategy of taking over these broadcasts is designed to increase the teams’ market reach significantly. For example, the Cleveland Guardians, whose games were previously available to around 1.45 million households on a regional sports network, will now have their games accessible in approximately 4.86 million homes—a 235% increase. Similarly, the Minnesota Twins will see their market size rise from 1.08 million homes to 4.4 million, a 307% jump. These expansions will be facilitated through a combination of local cable systems, satellite broadcasts, and MLB’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.
The most significant increase in market reach, however, came earlier when MLB took over the Arizona Diamondbacks’ broadcasts. The Diamondbacks saw their potential audience grow from 930,000 households on a regional network to 5.6 million homes after MLB expanded their distribution through local cable providers and streaming platforms. According to MLB deputy commissioner for business and media Noah Garden, the league’s ultimate goal is to ensure that fans can watch their favorite teams without the traditional regional blackouts that have long frustrated viewers.
“With the media landscape continuing to evolve, Major League Baseball is committed to serving our fans by ensuring they can see their favorite Clubs, removing blackouts where we can, and ultimately growing the reach of our games,” Garden said in a statement, underscoring the league’s focus on expanding access to its games in the digital age.
For the Minnesota Twins, this move comes at a sensitive time. The team recently faced criticism after announcing cuts to their 2024 player payroll, despite coming off a successful season that included a division title and their first postseason series win in 22 years. The financial impact of their expiring contract with Diamond Sports Group contributed to the decision to reduce spending. With MLB now assuming the broadcast rights, the Twins will lose the rights fees they previously received from Diamond, further affecting local revenue. However, team president Dave St. Peter remains optimistic about the future, despite anticipating a short-term dip in local revenue for the 2025 season.
“We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time with Major League Baseball trying to better understand this marketplace, trying to better understand what a model like this will ultimately provide to the team,” St. Peter explained. He added that the Twins have closely monitored how MLB has handled broadcasts for other teams, such as the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Rockies, and have grown comfortable with the economics of the new model. “While maybe we’ll take a dip for ’25, over time the viewership and those economics related to that viewership will increase,” he said.
The ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of Diamond Sports Group may lead to more MLB teams shifting to MLB-produced broadcasts. The Bally Sports operator, which is responsible for the local broadcasts of numerous MLB, NBA, and NHL teams, presented its reorganization plan to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston last week. As part of the reorganization, Diamond Sports Group plans to void the contracts of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays while attempting to renegotiate deals with five other franchises that have ownership stakes in their regional sports networks: the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals.
If Diamond Sports Group’s reorganization goes as expected, the company could be left broadcasting only Atlanta Braves games by 2025, with MLB potentially stepping in to take over the production and distribution of other teams’ broadcasts. The next major development in Diamond’s restructuring is scheduled for a final hearing on November 14.
Diamond Sports Group, which was purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2019 for nearly $10 billion, initially acquired the RSNs from The Walt Disney Co. Disney was required to sell the networks as part of the Department of Justice’s approval of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets.
As MLB continues to adapt to the shifting landscape of sports broadcasting, more teams are expected to transition to the league’s direct-to-consumer model. St. Peter noted that the Twins’ ownership recognizes the short-term financial challenges but is excited about the long-term potential. “Starting to build that direct-to-consumer foundation, which clearly is the future of the way our games will be distributed—it’s time to get on with that, and we’re excited about that,” he said.
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