The Brewers will be one of six teams that MLB will produce and distribute games for in 2025
Following the end of the 2024 regular season, the Brewers’ TV deal with Diamond Sports Group came to an end. One point of concern this offseason was going to be securing a new TV deal, but that has already been handled. Today, MLB published a statement that they will be taking over the TV broadcasts for the Brewers, in addition to the Guardians and Twins.
MLB is taking over the broadcasts of three more teams: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Minnesota. MLB last season handled broadcasts of Arizona, Colorado and San Diego. pic.twitter.com/jwwx7MI7pO
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) October 8, 2024
The Brewers, Guardians, and Twins will increase the count of MLB’s produced broadcasts to six teams. In the 2024 season, they produced the TV broadcasts for the Diamondbacks, Padres, and Rockies.
With MLB taking over the Brewers broadcasts, they will gain several advantages over Bally Sports Wisconsin. Even though Bally Sports did offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option last season, blackouts were still a concern. This will mostly eliminate the concern of blackouts when streaming now, though a specific package will be needed to view it. Looking at the Padres streaming costs for this season, here’s what we could expect to see for costs in 2025:
- Padres.TV: $19.99/month, $99.99/full season
- MLB.TV: $139.99/full season (in-market broadcasts not included)
- Padres.TV + MLB.TV: $39.99/month, $199.99/full season
The $19.99 per month is about in-line with what Bally sports was charging monthly for their streaming option. The advantage to switching to MLB, though, is better integration with MLB’s other offerings. Being able to watch it directly through MLB.TV, Gameday, or the mobile At Bat app will make viewing the games much easier.
This also eliminates concerns about the future of Bally Sports and Diamond Sports Group as a whole. Diamond Sports Group is still going through their bankruptcy protection process, but no end is in sight to that. The Brewers don’t have to enter 2025 wondering if their TV partner will even still be in business next season.
Not only that, but the cable and satellite disputes may also go away. Last season, the Padres also had TV viewing options through several cable and satellite providers. While there will still be negotiations needed for each provider, we can expect to see something similar take place with the Brewers in 2025.
One of the major concerns will be how much money the Brewers will make from this TV deal. While exact figures weren’t available for the teams that MLB produced, the expectation was that it was less than what they received in their previous deals. That could affect payroll going forward, but it was also arguable about whether those previous deals were sustainable anyway.
Overall, this is a good development for watching the Brewers next season. Any uncertainty about their situation is gone and they will be watchable through an established service.