On sports media: Twins' finances will be adversely impacted by ESPN's decision to end relationship with MLB
The Twins' local TV revenue already is guaranteed to decline in 2025, and now it appears as if the amount they get from MLB's national TV agreement also will take a substantial hit starting in 2026.
It has been well documented that the Twins will face a sharp reduction in television rights fees this season as their games shift from FanDuel Sports Network to Major League Baseball-produced Twins.TV. The decrease started last season as the team’s television partner went from paying $54 million in 2023 to a lesser and unreleased figure that caused ownership to cut the payroll by about $30 million.
That revenue will dip again as the Twins and MLB now will have to rely on subscribers to Twins.TV for revenue. How much will that yield? MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said last summer that the San Diego Padres were approaching 40,000 digital subscribers, meaning about $4 million in income.
Let’s say the Twins made $40 million from having their games on FanDuel Sports Network last season. That’s a loss of $36 million from last year and $50 million from 2023. So while Twins fans might be happy that local blackouts will be a thing of the past, a primary source of revenue is largely gone.
Why point this out? Because it’s about to get worse.
The latest blow came in February when ESPN opted out of the final three years of its national TV deal with MLB. The end between the longtime partners will come after this season. The contract was set to pay an average of $550 million per season from 2026-28, or $18.3 million annually to each team. That income isn’t necessarily gone — Manfred will look to replace ESPN or get them back on board — but it’s not going to be as much.
If you’re the Yankees, Dodgers or Braves, this is an annoyance. For teams like the Twins, it’s another story.
MLB’s television partners beyond 2025 include FOX at $729 million per season ($24.3 million per team), and Turner Sports at $470 million ($15.7 million per). Those deals are up after 2028. MLB’s other agreements are with Apple at $85 million per season, or $2.8 million annually for each team, for a Friday night package, and Roku, which has a Sunday afternoon package that pays $10 million per year.
ESPN will be launching a direct-to-consumer product, so it makes sense to continue partnering with MLB, but at what price? Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and wild card playoff games have been the network’s marquee events.
As the sports media landscape and viewership habits continues to change, it’s not surprising that MLB is finding its product no longer carries the value it once did. At least not with what we now consider traditional television networks. It’s likely MLB will have to turn to more streaming services and that isn’t a bad thing. Amazon will pay the NBA $1.8 billion per season for an 11-year agreement that begins in 2025-26 and is paying $1 billion a year for 11 years to the NFL for just the Thursday night package.