MLB Agree $5 Billion 7-Year Extension With Fox, Approve $300M DAZN Deal

Major League Baseball (MLB) green-lighted three deals this week as they extended the contracts of Commissioner Rob Manfred and their broadcast partner Fox while agreeing to a new deal with John Skipper’s online platform DAZN.

Manfred, who started his first five-year term as the commissioner in 2015 was handed a new contract, which will see him be at the helm at least until the end of the 2024 regular season. The new deal was approved after two days of meetings at a hotel next to the Atlanta Braves’ Sun Trust Park.

"It seems like about 15 minutes ago I was spending a really dreadful day in a not-very-nice hotel suite in Baltimore waiting to see if I could get vote number — what was I looking for, 23 right?" Manfred said after signing the extension, as per the Kansan City Star. "It seems almost impossible that four years have gone by."

The MLB chiefs also green-lighted a new deal with broadcast partners Fox, who still have three years remaining on their current contract that pays baseball an average $525 million per season. The new deal sees them handed a seven-year extension through to the end of the 2028 season.

According to the Kansas City Star, the new deal is said to be worth just over $5 billion, which is almost a 36 percent increase on the current deal and will see baseball earn around $715 million per season. The new deal was confirmed Thursday by MLB commissioner Manfred and 21st Century Fox executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch.

The new deal will see Fox Sports and Fox Deportes maintain the rights to MLB’s key events, which includes serving as the exclusive broadcast partner of the World Series, one League Championship Series, two division series and the All-Star game.

In addition to the above, Fox has also expanded their streaming, social media and highlight rights. Manfred admitted they were pleased to extend their over a two-decade partnership with the broadcaster.

"FOX Sports has been our national television partner for over 20 years and I could not be more pleased to announce the extension of our relationship through the 2028 season," Commissioner Manfred said, as per MLB.com. "We value FOX Sports' commitment to baseball and are excited to continue our partnership with this new agreement. Their innovative presentation of Major League Baseball through game telecasts and special programming across all their platforms has helped strengthen and elevate our sports' popularity."

"Since we began our historic partnership with Major League Baseball more than 20 years ago, MLB games on FOX have provided some of the most iconic moments in American sports," 21st Century Fox executive chairman Murdoch added. "This significant multi-year agreement not only cements FOX's role as Major League Baseball's number one broadcast partner, it ensures that FOX will remain America's leader in live sports well into the future."

The third deal the MLB approved was a $300 million three-year deal with John Skipper’s DAZN, a subscription video streaming surface. Manfred is said to have green-lighted the deal in order for the sport to reach a new generation of fans.

Skipper, who is the former president of ESPN, is expected to produce a nightly highlight show that will showcase all the key moments of the race. It will be done Monday to Friday in order to keep the fans engaged.

"The owners have shown courage because we are new," Skipper said. "We will make sure that young fans have a whip-around show (similar to NFL's Red Zone) that shows every home run, every highlight. We will get them interested in the game."

According to NBC Sports, Fox Sports’ live broadcast contracts are ballooning after their deals with MLB, NFL and the WWE. They signed a five-year deal with the NFL worth $3 billion to broadcast Thursday Night Football, while their deal with WWE is worth $1 billion from 2019-2023.