<div class="bbWrapper">This 'record setting deal' will be paid for on the backs of cable and satellite viewers. I love sports but I'm not looking forward to this. <br />
&mdash;---------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<a href="http://m.mlb.com/news/article/2012082837476712/" target="_blank" class="link link--external link--favicon link--favicon--before" style="background-image:url('https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=m.mlb.com');" rel="nofollow ugc noopener">http://m.mlb.com/news/article/2012082837476712/</a><br />
MLB, ESPN agree on record eight-year deal<br />
<br />
New contract gives network one Wild Card game, increased coverage overall<br />
By Mark Newman / MLB.com<br />
8/28/2012 5:22 PM ET<br />
<br />
The largest broadcasting deal in Major League Baseball history was announced on Tuesday, as MLB and ESPN reached an eight-year, $5.6 billion agreement that keeps the national pastime on that network through 2021 and puts ESPN back in the postseason picture next season.<br />
<br />
The contract includes a record-setting increase in annual rights fees, as ESPN's $700 million per year marks an increase of 100 percent over its current deal, setting an all-time record for an MLB broadcasting deal. The pact grants ESPN, the Walt Disney Co.-owned network that began televising MLB games in 1990, a significant increase in studio and game content, including the right to broadcast up to 90 regular-season MLB games per year across the ESPN networks beginning in 2014 and running through the 2021 season.</div>
Last edited: