LONDON—Despite recent turmoil in traditional regional sports networks (RSNs), the value of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) regional broadcast rights at $1.6bn in 2026, accounts for 43% of the league’s total $3.7bn broadcast rights revenue, according to a new report from Ampere Analysis.
The contribution remains substantial despite the disruption to regional sports networks (RSNs), which traditionally broadcast teams’ games to local audiences outside national television packages, the researcher said.
Rooted in linear cable, regional sports networks (RSNs) have come under increasing pressure from cord-cutting, as US households move away from traditional pay TV towards streaming. Over the past four years, 13 of MLB’s 30 teams have lost their regional sports network partner, including 12 following the bankruptcies of Diamond Sports and Main Street Sports Group.
Ampere estimates that US pay TV households will fall from 96 million in 2016 to 65 million by the end of 2026, while streaming households will increase from 57 million to 112 million over the same period.
MLB.tv has taken on responsibility for broadcasting local games for affected teams which has contributed to the robustness of the regional rights income. In the 2026 season, it holds regional broadcast rights for 14 of the league’s 30 teams. Most of the remaining teams have more lucrative regional television arrangements with the ones in the larger, more populous markets having a bigger pool of fans and potential regional sports network customers.
Ampere estimates that the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees alone account for 23% of total MLB regional rights fees and that in total, the 14 teams partnered with MLB.tv currently account for roughly 30% of all regional non-advertising TV revenue. These teams previously had more lucrative agreements with their regional broadcast partners, with MLB.tv currently providing an interim solution.
With labor talks threatening an all-out "strike" for the 2027 MLB season, Ampere adds that greater revenue sharing between teams may be introduced following the expiry of the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association at the end of this year. This could reduce the television revenue gap between teams in smaller and larger markets.
In the upcoming negotiations, MLB wants to centralize local broadcast rights at its next media rights cycle in 2028. This could allow the rights to be sold collectively to a streaming platform, potentially on a national basis, Ampere said.
In terms of the overall U.S. market, Ampere expects US pay TV households to decline further to 58 million by 2031, while streaming households will reach 120 million. A consolidated package of local MLB rights would offer a substantial volume of games to broadcasters interested in one of the ‘big four’ US sports leagues.
