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ESPN’s long-term future with MLB remains decidedly uncertain, but the Disney-owned network is leaving it all on the field, bringing one of its biggest stars to Atlanta next week to be part of Home Run Derby pre-event coverage.
The Pat McAfee Show will broadcast live from the Coca-Cola Roxy, adjacent to Truist Park, the afternoon of July 14—hours before ESPN shows MLB’s Home Run Derby which annually represents one of the network’s top pieces of primetime programming of the entire summer.
The presence of Pat McAfee in Atlanta will be joined by a series of other programming plans surrounding the Home Run Derby, including a Georgia stop in the SportsCenter “50 States in 50 Days” content initiative, a pre-Derby episode of Baseball Tonight, and a return of an alternate, Statcast-based production of the event.
The main Derby broadcast will again be led by Karl Ravech and Eduardo Pérez, along with former MLB star Todd Frazier, who won the event 10 years ago while playing for the Reds. That competition was the first Derby to feature a timed format, which helped reinvigorate the event and served as a forerunner of sorts for the pitch clock the league introduced two years ago.
McAfee has had a featured role in many other key ESPN productions, as he stands alongside Stephen A. Smith as one of the network’s top personalities, and his broadcasting from Atlanta further signifies the importance of the Derby to ESPN.
Last year’s Derby from Arlington, Texas, averaged 5.45 million viewers, down 11% from 2023’s event, as it competed with the 2024 Republican National Convention. The full, eight-player field for this year’s Derby has not been finalized, but confirmed competitors thus far include the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr., Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, Nationals outfielder James Wood, and Twins outfielder Byron Buxton.
ESPN, meanwhile, has re-engaged with MLB about a potentially restructured rights relationship after previously signaling its intent to walk away from the league after the 2025 season. The outcome of those talks remains uncertain, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he intends to have the rights situation determined by next week’s All-Star Game.
