[Mr KLC]

Major League Baseball announced today that it has reached a new seven-year, multiplatform agreement with FOX Sports spanning the 2022-28 seasons. Eric Fisher of Sports Business Journal reports (via Twitter) that the contract’s rough value is a staggering $5.1 billion — a near-50 percent increase over the total value of the existing agreement between MLB and FOX. Bloomberg’s Scott Soshnick tweets a similar total figure and notes that on an annual basis, the agreement represents a 36 percent increase over the prior contract.

Soshnick’s colleague, Eben Novy-Williams also tweets that Major League Baseball owners approved a three-year, $300MM streaming rights deal with DAZN, wherein DAZN will offer a weeknight show whose coverage bounces from game to game throughout the league — “similar to NFL RedZone.”

Under the terms of the television agreement, FOX Sports and FOX Deportes will retain exclusive rights to airing the World Series, one of the two annual League Championship Series and two of the four annual Division Series and the All-Star Game. FOX will also continue to air a pair of games each Saturday, with today’s release indicating that the number of regular season and postseason games aired on FOX will begin to increase in 2022. FOX also secures expanded streaming, social media and highlight rights, per the announcement.

[Mr KLC]

Has anyone watched this DAZN channel? I would think it would be cool to have an MLB show like RedZone. Would probably stop buying the Extra Innings package.

[VeggieDog]

Over $700 million a year for a sport that is losing viewers and attendance?

[Mr KLC]

Did you know -- Since the kickoff of the regular season, NFL games have accounted for 29 of the top 30 shows on TV.