MLB commissioner Rob Manfred sent a letter to all 30 owners earlier this week explaining why the league decided to "mutually" part ways with ESPN and opt out of their national television contract.
In the letter, Manfred cited ESPN's lack of baseball coverage in its programming outside of the games as one of the reasons why he agreed to terminate the deal that was set to run through the 2028 season. However, CNN Sports' Kyle Feldscher reported that the breakup perhaps wasn't completely mutual.
"A source with knowledge of ESPN’s approach to the negotiations disputed the idea that the split was mutual," Feldscher reported. "The source told CNN that ESPN opted out of the contract and was surprised by commissioner Rob Manfred’s note to MLB owners that the league and network had mutually agreed to end their relationship.
"The source noted that ESPN had an opt-out clause in the contract and decided to exercise it on Thursday."
According to Manfred, ESPN approached MLB in an attempt to reduce its $550 million fee for broadcasting rights, which is far above Apple TV's $85 million annual deal and Roku's $10 million per year agreement.
ESPN and MLB have been partners for the last 35 seasons. The network will continue to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball as well as the wild-card round of the playoffs this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN Disputes Breakup With MLB Over National TV Deal Was 'Mutual'.