Fox MLB Commitment Stands in Contrast to ESPN Pullback

While MLB’s relationship with one national rights holder is fracturing, perhaps beyond repair, another is showing arguably more strength than ever. 

Fox unveiled Tuesday the key elements of its 2025 MLB broadcast plans, its 30th season covering the league and showcasing a stacked schedule that looks to build on a banner 2024 season. Among the key highlights:

• U.S. national rights to the season-opening series in Tokyo between the defending-champion Dodgers and Cubs. The series is expected to be one of the league’s biggest international trips ever, thanks in part to the homecoming of Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. 
• A doubleheader for traditional Opening Day that will include regionalized primetime coverage of the high-spending Mets against the Astros.
• A Baseball Night in America schedule in the regular season focused on top rivalries and revivals of 2024 playoff matchups such as the Dodgers and Mets on May 24, a Dodgers-Yankees rematch of last year’s World Series on May 31, and three iterations of Red Sox–Yankees between early June and late August.
• The July 15 All-Star Game from the Braves’ Truist Park.
• The MLB Speedway Classic on Aug. 2, a special-event game between the Braves and Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
• Postseason coverage that will include the American League Division Series and Championship Series, and then the World Series. 

The efforts follow a resurgent season for Fox last year that included the best World Series viewership since 2017, as well as audience gains for the entire postseason, the World Series pregame show, a slight boost in the regular season, and even a rare head-to-head win over Monday Night Football. To that end, Fox executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch recently cited strong MLB viewership as among the key financial drivers of the company’s robust fourth quarter. 

Notably, Fox’s activity also contrasts heavily with that of ESPN, which last week said it is opting out of its rights deal with MLB after the 2025 season, failing to find sufficient value with its current, $550 million annual rights fee. Fox’s deal is even more expensive, coming in at about $729 million per year, but does include exclusive rights to key MLB events such as the All-Star Game and World Series.