You could make the argument that the 2025 Colorado Rockies were unwatchable. Nevertheless, millions of eyeballs were trained on the team daily as they progressed toward what would very nearly become the worst season in Major League Baseball history.
Front office and player movement has been the focus of MLB followers since the end of the World Series four weeks ago. The Rockies brought in a new President of Baseball Operations, Paul DePodesta, as well as removing the interim tag and appointing Warren Schaffer as the team’s full time manager moving forward.
Rockies Bottom Line Needs a Boost
But a much less publicized move – a deal between MLB and ESPN – could have a positive impact on the Rockies (and two of their National League West competitors) bottom line.
Colorado fans aren’t sure whether or not to expect more of the same on the field or not in 2026, but they will still be able to watch, and the team could possibly see a greater financial benefit because of the new arrangement between MLB and ESPN.
The cable sports TV giant and it’s owner Disney Corp have acquired the local TV broadcast and distribution rights to the Rockies games, along with theSan Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks. A year ago, MLB stepped in when these clubs lost their local broadcast partners in order to assure the games could be seen via “MLB.tv.” That domain now belongs to ESPN.
It’s a well-known fact that the major income discrepancy throughout MLB centers on local media rights revenue. Large market clubs like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have local broadcast deals that earn them as much as 10 times more in revenue than what many mid and small market clubs bring in. Commissioner Rob Manfred has voiced concern about this income gap before, and has said he is confident that MLB will be able to consolidate local broadcast rights as soon as the 2028 season. This could perhaps be part of the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations between the clubs and the players one year from now.
In the meantime, getting ESPN involved in local broadcasts has the potential to increase the revenue that comes to these five clubs through greater distribution and sponsorship income for the upcoming season.
Streamlined Local TV Broadcasts Won’t Change
The moves that happened a year ago decreased the amount of ancillary programming that surrounded the local broadcasts. Pre and post-game programming was cut back, and over the air feature shows were cut. Most of that was still available on-line through the subscription service Rockies.tv for a monthly or yearly fee. Subscribers to DirecTV, Xfinity, Spectrum and Fubo still got the games on the same channels they had previously, minus the pre and post-game.
Now ESPN will have the ability to package these local broadcasts and streaming options at various price points which could generate more local income for the clubs. The Rockies payroll flexibility has been tied in large part to the previous season’s income, meaning it will probably decrease some this season, even with the departure of Ryan McMahon’s large contract. Rockies President Walker Monfort promised that DePodesta would have “resources” available, but it’s not expected that the Rockies will do much to increase payroll for the 2026 season.
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