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Exiles on Main Street

As ESPN’s relationship with MLB continues to fray, Bristol executives are cozying up to Main Street Sports on a deal that will help the network stay close to the game that it has carried for the past 35 years. But the deal isn’t quite the “end around” that some have suggested.

Jimmy Pitaro
Pitaro has often spoken about the potential of turning ESPN’s digital platforms into a sports hub that can direct viewers to games on other platforms—described in Bristol as the “Where to Watch” strategy—and this is where talks with Main Street were initially focused. Photo: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty Images
John Ourand
March 7, 2025

The sky is not falling on Major League Baseball—at least not yet. Yes, ESPN is about to start the fourth and apparently final year of a seven-year deal with the league that carries an annual average payment of $550 million. And yes, ESPN told MLB that it wanted to drop that payment down to $200 million a season, per the WSJ. And, since we’re on the topic, MLB and ESPN executives have not had any meaningful negotiations about the media deal since then—and none are planned despite the fact that Opening Day is three weeks away.