Sport1 agrees long-term partnership to broadcast Major League Baseball in DACH countries

Max Kepler celebrates his triple in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Target Field Credit: Imago | ZUMA Wire

Sport1 has acquired the platform-neutral exploitation rights from Major League Baseball (MLB) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the next five seasons from 2022 up to and including 2026 – with exclusive rights for linear broadcasting on pay-TV and free-TV in Germany.

At least 150 matches of the regular season will be broadcast per season on pay-TV on Sport1+ and on the multisports streaming platform Sport1 Extra, which was launched in September, and at least 15 matches will be on free-TV on Sport1. Next year, the regular season will start on 31 March and run until 2 October 2022.

The All-Star Game, which will take place next year on 19 July at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the Home Run Derby on 18 July, also part of All-Star Week, will be shown live on free-TV.

In the post season starting in early October – with the Wild Card Round, Division Series, Championship Series and the World Series as the crowning finale – at least 30 games are scheduled on Sport1+ and Sport1 Extra. In the playoffs, selected matches will also be broadcast on free-TV, including at least two games of the World Series.

In total, as many as 500 games per season will be broadcast live on Sport1+, Sport1 Extra and on free-TV on Sport1. In addition to the live games, the weekly highlight magazine show MLB’s Best and current highlights in Sport1 News will also be shown on TV. There will also be comprehensive framework coverage with highlight clips on Sport1’s digital and social media channels.

Dominick Balsamo, senior vice president, global media for Major League Baseball, commented: “Showcasing Major League Baseball clubs and players with respected and strategic media partners in international markets is a vital component to the growth of our game. This multi-media relationship with Sport1 will cover every aspect of our season, from Opening Day through the World Series, and give us a strong presence to build on in Germany and its surrounding markets.”

Olaf Schroeder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and chairman of the management board of Sport1 GmbH, said: “Thanks to the pioneering and long-term partnership with Major League Baseball, we have one of the premium US sports rights in our portfolio for our pay offers, but also for our free-TV station and our digital and social media channels until 2026. We are the ’home base’ of baseball in German-speaking countries: This is excellent news for all US sports fans in this country!

“Together with MLB, we want to further increase the popularity of the league through 360° staging on our platforms, also here in Europe. The starting point is very promising – because with Max Kepler, Germany has a great figurehead and a fantastic ambassador for this fascinating sport.”

In the coming season, the special focus from a German perspective will again be on Berlin-born Kepler from the Minnesota Twins. The team’s goal will be to qualify for the post season again in 2022, just as they did in 2020 and 2019, when they advanced to the playoffs as American League Central champions. The 2019 season was especially historic as the Twins set a new major league season record with 307 home runs – Kepler also set a personal best with 36 home runs.