ATLANTA—Turner Sports and Major League Baseball have agreed to a seven-year multimedia rights extension that will keep the MLB and Turner partnership going through 2028. The deal is worth a reported $3.7 billion.
MLB and Turner Sports have been broadcasting games together since 1973, and this new deal will maintain the relationship that has TBS as one of the homes of the MLB Postseason. With this agreement, TBS will actually have the most postseason games of any network, including one Wild Card game, two Division Series and one League Championship Series each year.
TBS will also launch a new studio show anchored by Ernie Johnson, with Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, World Series Champion Jimmy Rollins and three-time All-Star Curtis Granderson joining him. This broadcast team is set to debut during this year’s postseason.
The deal also includes digital rights, including TV Everywhere rights that will allow TBS to make its MLB games and related programming available to authenticated subscribers across Turner Sports platforms. There will also be increased footage and highlights for Turner Sports websites and apps, including Bleacher Report, and rights to create companion and ancillary products related to the TBS broadcast of regular and postseason games.
“We’re delighted to extend our long-standing relationship with Major League Baseball and all of the opportunities this agreement offers us as we broaden our coverage of the game across all of our platforms,” said Jeff Zucker, chairman, WarnerMedia & Sports. “We will continue to further evolve our multiplatform delivery of content with a focus on storytelling and innovation in all forms.”
The 2020 MLB Postseason is scheduled to begin on Sept. 29.
