NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has abandoned plans to play two games in London next season due to scheduling issues with West Ham’s Olympic Stadium and sports television partners.
MLB hoped the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays would take place in London on June 13th and 14th, but West Ham will be home to the Premier League finale, which will face Leeds on May 24th. I had too little time to convert the field to baseball.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday at the event that London games are definitely off after a session of questions and answers in front office sports.
MLB first played in London in 2019 when the New York Yankees swept two games from the Boston Red Sox. The planned two-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs in 2020 was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the series was split in 2023 by the Cardinals and the Cubs and in 2024 by the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB’s labor contract included a 2025 game in Paris, but They were cancelled Because MLB and the Players Association were unable to find a promoter.
“We’re still interested in Europe. I think London is an important starting point for us,” Manfred said in a Q&A session. “There’s a facility that’s come a long way from the first Yankee Red Sox game. Now it’s a ballpark that’s far better than willing to invest in it. There’s an opportunity there and I continue to believe that I can reach the developed European countries through London appetizers.”
Manfred said MLB is working on India’s grassroots initiative because of its country’s affinity for cricket.
“We really start from the bottom up,” he said.
Mexico is also a priority. MLB played regular season games at Monterrey in 1996, 1999, 2018 and 2019, and in Mexico City in 2023 and 2024. Arizona and San Diego could play in Mexico City on April 25th and 26th next year.
“We’ve worked hard to build a better relationship with the Mexican professional league,” Manfred said. “I think we can ultimately build those relationships into something that looks like Japan or Korea.
MLB is acquired in the Asian market. Especially because Shohei Ohtani has been supporting it in recent years. MLB held its seasons in Tokyo in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2019, and this year it opened in Seoul and Seoul in 2024.
“Our approach to international is because we’ve always found places that are interested in being at different stages of development,” Manfred said. “In regards to Japan and South Korea, we invested there. We began doing so in terms of sweaty sweat fairness and traveling to Tokyo to open the season, and then going to Seoul to open the season.
“I think the opportunity to monetize the big fans in Japan and South Korea will emerge from a purely international revenue perspective, but that will also be visible in our national media. My prediction is that there are some of the more media companies. Economy.”
US national broadcasting contract
Manfred confirmed media reports That MLB is approaching contracts with NBCuniversal from the Wildcard series and Sunday Night regular season game Comcast, Netflix from the All-Star Home Run Derby, and ESPN from Walt Disney Co., along with regular season packages from Arizona, Cleveland, Minnesota, San Diego, Colorado and Cleveland.
“In principle, there are agreements. There are still issues that need to be resolved. Those are publicly reported agreements and we want to push them beyond the finish line,” Manfred said.
ESPN had opted out of that transaction Sunday night and Home Run Derby rights on 2026-28. The contract with Apple is something that exists as is.
“If they’re an agreement that goes through everything and ends,” Manfred said. “We feel that we’ve really made progress. We feel that Sunday night baseball on broadcast television is important. We’ve worked really hard to keep ESPN as a partner.
Manfred said meetings with ESPN President James Pitaro resumed at the Allen and Son Valley Conference in July.
“There was an interest in relation to partners’ stays and it took us a little time to think creatively about how we do it.
Manfred predicts different models when negotiating baseball with rights packages that begin in 2029.
“There will be more games available in the National Package, but I could be wrong about it. We have three years,” he said. “If you have 2,430 games, locals won’t disappear. You’ll need a local solution for games that aren’t available on nationwide packages.”
He said he hopes that MLB wants each team’s games on fewer channels, adding clubs to “understand that in order to maximize your revenue in today’s media environment, you have to be more national.”
“Getting more nationals and more games on a national basis must be your number one priority,” Manfred said. “It seems like everyone will buy it. I think I’m a little more worried about what will happen with games that aren’t included in those countries’ packages.”
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