But DirecTV isn’t stopping there. Shortly before MLB gets its full season underway, it unveiled MyHome Team, a mini-pack add-on that’s available exclusively to MySports subscribers for $19.99/month in select markets. MyHome Team sticks to its moniker, featuring an initial portfolio of 20 RSNs or team-specific channels for fans to watch their respective favorite MLB, NBA and NHL teams. That’s comprised of 37 teams total (12 MLB, 15 NBA and 10 NHL), and more are expected to be added soon. DirecTV was able to pull this off because it acquired the rights to networks including Altitude Sports and Entertainment, Chicago Sports Network, Marquee Sports Network, the new Rangers Sports Network and all of the FanDuel Sports Networks.

This offseason could very well serve as one of the more transformative ones in MLB’s recent history. In the past three months, 14 teams have introduced a direct-to-consumer option, leaving 27 teams with a digital destination while the Nationals, Orioles and Astros still lack one. However, it’s still clear MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wants the league to control all or most of its rights upon the conclusion of the 2028 season. In an intentional effort, MLB’s domestic national TV deals with Fox and TNT Sports expire in 2028 (ESPN’s was supposed to expire then before their “mutual” opt-out), as do the league’s deals with international media companies.

Peacock added to baseball’s new offerings this offseason, launching in-market streaming of four NBC Sports RSNs as add-on subscriptions. NBC Sports Bay Area will be available for $17.95/month and carry the Giants, Warriors and extensive 49ers programming. NBC Sports Boston will air Celtics games and Patriots content for $14.95/month. NBC Sports California will also run at $17.95/month with the A’s, Kings and Sharks under its portfolio, and NBC Sports Philadelphia will be the most expensive of the bunch with a price tag of $24.95/month. The crown jewel of the NBC Sports RSNs, which may be in part because of where Comcast is headquartered, carries the Phillies, 76ers, Flyers and Eagles-related programming.

Fox Sports rang in the MLB season with coverage of the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs. The reigning World Series champions took both games, with Game 1 averaging 838,000 viewers and peaking with 1.04 million viewers from 8:45-50am ET. Game 2 on FS1 came in at 361,000 viewers. The combined average audience for the Tokyo Series (590,000) finished up 59% compared to last year’s average for the Korea Series which featured the Dodgers and Padres.

“It’s time to take back youth sports from a system that has prioritized profit over well-being,” said Kevin Martinez, VP, Corporate Citizenship at ESPN. “Travel leagues have overtaken recreational leagues, specialization has replaced multisport play, and winning has come at the expense of fun. We need to shift the focus back to what matters — making sports accessible, enjoyable and rewarding for all kids.”

“The unique structure of this transaction accelerates our revenue and cash flow profile and will be immediately accretive to our margins. The addition of these strategic rights will unlock new growth opportunities, enabling us to deliver exceptional value to our partners, clients and shareholders,” Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl said. The transaction is expected to close in 4Q25, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

Mecum Auctions and ESPN reached the finish line of a multiyear deal to stream Mecum events on ESPN+. Mecum made its ESPN+ debut March 20 with the Mecum Glendale auction in Arizona. All 11 Mecum events will be streamed live, totaling more than 180 hours of programming.

New interactive features arrived for Pelicans fans watching on Pelicans+ thanks to Kiswe. For the Pelicans vs Timberwolves game on March 21, fans streaming the game were able to use live chat, cheer reactions, fan-submitted videos and interactive polls. Verified on-air personalities and special guests even joined the live chat to interact with fans during the broadcast.

FanUp, a platform designed for Gen Z, women and casual sports enthusiasts to engage in sports and pop culture giveaways and contests, unveiled an exclusive strategic financing round with TrueSkye Ventures and 9.58 Ventures. TrueSkye is a $100 million sports tech fund co-founded by former NBA champion Metta World Peace and former Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols, while 9.58 Ventures boasts a collective of investors seeking to drive technological innovation in different areas of society. The strategic financing round will go toward facilitating FanUp’s growth through elevated marketing, broader competitions and one-of-a-kind prizing such as exclusive merchandise, VIP watch parties and more. Since being founded in 2021, FanUp has had 41 brand collaborations and 105 college partnerships, also garnering 2.1 billion views across social media content throughout 2024.

In a battle of Man vs. AI, a sports bettor is going toe to toe with an AI bracket predictor for a $1 million March Madness Challenge. Sean Perry went with Duke to win the men’s tournament and UConn for the women’s March Madness, but he has his hands full going against 4C AI’s Mega Model that’s fueled by more than five AI prediction analysts, a track record of 1 million+ games successfully predicted and an accuracy rate of more than 78%. For what it’s worth: the AI predictor thinks Houston will win the men’s side and South Carolina will take the women’s crown for a second straight year.

“Creating opportunities to grow girls’ participation in sport is a key priority for the Jets, both at home and in our international markets,” said Jets VP, Community Relations Jesse Linder. “Spending time in Dublin this week, we can see and feel the excitement around our sport and hope the league can play a part in engaging a new generation of girls with the Jets and the NFL.”

Across the Irish Sea, the Jets brought back its NFL Girls Flag league in London for a third time. This year’s edition included 280 girls as well as six new schools joining the competition.

With MLB getting fully underway this week, FanDuel Sports Network is hoping to accelerate signups and awareness for its direct-to-consumer options this season. FDSN is collaborating with SB Nation and Yahoo Sports to target fans on digital platforms and drive viewership toward live events. SB Nation’s team-oriented editorial content will add affiliate links and tune-in messaging from FDSN. With Yahoo Sports, FDSN is launching an effort tied to Yahoo Fantasy Plus that’ll promote reciprocal extended free trial offers to their respective customer bases. Yahoo Fantasy Plus is a subscription service that offers fantasy sports data and research.

IC360 partnered with the World Surf League for the WSL to use its integrity monitoring technology. IC360 will provide real-time global alerting of suspicious wagering activity during WSL events, with the ability to monitor across multiple jurisdictions and time zones.

On the men’s side, ESPN platforms finished the 2024-25 campaign up 8% YOY. Games in February and March put up 1.2 million viewers on average, and the overall Saturday slate finished up 16% YOY. ESPN itself averaged 968,000 viewers throughout the season—the most in six years—while ESPN2 improved by 6% YOY.

The Big Ten men’s basketball championship between Michigan and Wisconsin averaged 4.53 million viewers. That’s up 24% compared to last year’s title game (Wisconsin vs Illinois) and was the most-watched Big Ten title game since 2014 (Michigan State vs Michigan). This year’s game peaked with 5.82 million viewers, helping it also become the most-streamed regular-season college basketball game ever on Paramount+. CBS Sports had the top two most-watched college basketball games this regular season on any network, led by Illinois vs Arkansas gaining 5.17 million viewers on Thanksgiving and the aforementioned Big Ten championship.

ESPN Social became the first sports media brand to eclipse 1 billion actions in a single month, according to Comscore. ESPN averaged more than 35 million interactions per day in February.

Fox Sports had its most-watched Big East men’s basketball tournament in its history thanks to averaging 1.03 million viewers across FOX and FS1. The championship game between St. Johns and Creighton was also a record-setter, becoming the most-watched Big East men’s hoops tournament final in Fox Sports history with 1.69 million viewers. It didn’t stop there though as Fox Sports enjoyed its most-watched Big East women’s basketball tournament in network history. It averaged 269,000 viewers across FOX, FS1 and FS2, fueling a few notable marks in the semifinal and final rounds. UConn vs Villanova had 748,000 viewers while Creighton vs Seton Hall came in at 394,000, before the UConn-Creighton title bout brought in 492,000 viewers on FS1.

Stephanie McMahon is the star of ESPN’s original series “Stephanie’s Places.” Set to premiere March 26 and produced by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions alongside ESPN and WWE, it’s a 10-episode series that follows the WWE icon as she looks at the parts of America that helped shape famous WWE figures throughout history such as CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Triple H and more. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays and be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ for Disney Bundle subscribers.

Roku acquired the exclusive distribution rights to a documentary about the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. “Just a Bit Outside” looks at the tumultuous near-World Series-winning Brewers that boasted a lively group of players who won the franchise’s first and only American League pennant (the team switched to the National League in 1998 but has yet to win the NL Pennant). It’ll be available to stream for free on The Roku Channel from April 11 through June 30. The doc was named “Best Sports Film” at the Louisville International Film Festival in October.

Roku enhanced its NWSL coverage by getting in the zone—the NWSL Zone, that is. Roku introduced a destination within the Roku Sports experience to showcase live and upcoming NWSL games in addition to popular programming and other content. Fans can find where to watch live games for free or purchase across NWSL’s media domestic partners CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video, ION and NWSL+. It’s Roku’s first women’s league-branded zone, and NWSL games will be featured in other sports-focused zones including the Sports Zone, Soccer Zone and Women’s Sports Zone.

Matt Barrie also signed a multiyear deal to stay at ESPN. He’ll continue to host “SportsCenter” in addition to his studio and game-calling roles in college football and TGL. Barrie, who first joined ESPN in 2013, currently co-anchors the 2pm weekday edition of SportsCenter and helms “SportsCenter on the Road” from major events.

“Around the Horn has had a remarkable run of more than two decades. That kind of longevity in media is incredibly rare, and we look forward to celebrating the show’s many accomplishments before the final sign-off in May,” David Roberts, ESPN’s EVP, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment, said. “Beyond Tony and the ensemble of on-air contributors, we are particularly grateful to the production team led by Erik Rydholm and Aaron Solomon, who have been instrumental in ATH’s consistent success since the very beginning.”

Reali has been rumored to be on the shortlist of candidates to take the “NFL RedZone” reins from Scott Hanson should Hanson make a move elsewhere (reports point to him pondering a switch to NBC Sports after the success of “Gold Zone” during the Paris Olympics). Otherwise, ESPN will temporarily replace ATH with a 30-minute edition of “SportsCenter.” More updates on ESPN’s new weekday afternoon slate will come at a later time.

1947: The Holy Cross Crusaders won their first and only NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship. Coached by Doggie Julian, Holy Cross defeated the Oklahoma Sooners by a score of 58-47. It was the Crusaders’ first of two Final Four appearances, with the second coming a year later in 1948.

1971: The Boston Patriots switched to the New England Patriots after relocating to Foxborough, Massachusetts.

1982: Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to notch 200 points in a single season. To this day, he holds a litany of NHL records such as most points (2,857), most seasons with 100+ points (15) and most goals (894), though that last one stands in jeopardy with Alex Ovechkin inching his way toward breaking the milestone. The Capitals’ star currently stands at 888 career goals.