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NBCU Among Companies In Talks With MLB for ESPN Package


NBCUniversal has been holding exploratory talks with Major League Baseball about a large chunk of game rights currently held by ESPN

NBCUniversal is among the parties taking an early swing at a large package of Major League Baseball rights that ESPN has chosen to let go. ESPN in February announced it would “opt out” of its seven-year deal, which was supposed to last through 2028, with executives at the Disney sports giant miffed about smaller deals MLB has struck with Apple and Roku that give those outlets exclusive games for smaller annual fees, undermining the economics of ESPN’s terms. NBCU and MLB have explored the parameters of a potential deal in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter, noting that neither side felt the conversations were anything more than formative.

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