MLB announced Tuesday that the league itself will produce and broadcast local games for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins next season, after Diamond Sports Group opted not to renew their contracts with each of those teams.
In a press release, MLB says the household reach of Guardians games will increase by 235% to 4.86 million households by 2025. Twins games will now reach 4.40 million households, an increase of 307%. The increased reach is due to the elimination of blackouts: MLB produces and broadcasts the games in place of regional sports networks and makes them available via direct-to-consumer streaming, meaning they are not subject to regional blackouts .
The Brewers already had a direct-to-consumer streaming option available to fans, which MLB will continue to offer. The league will develop direct-to-consumer streaming options for the Guardians and Twins.
MLB did not expect Diamond Sports Group, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, to drop teams, let alone so many at once. But DSG announced on October 2 that they would not renew the contracts of the Twins, Brewers, Guardians and Texas Rangers, all of which expired at the end of the 2024 season. DSG rejected the contracts of two other teams, the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays, and suggested that the contracts of another five teams, all of which expire in 2025, should be renegotiated.
While MLB may not plan to produce and broadcast local games for the Brewers, Twins and Guardians next year, it is not a new arrangement for them. MLB arranged cable and satellite deals that broadcast local games for the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. They also developed direct-to-consumer streaming options for each team.
The Rangers will not have their games produced or broadcast by MLB next year, but they also no longer want to work with Diamond Sports Group. They are “expanding their local media options for the 2025 season,” according to MLB’s press release.
