MLB drop plan for London games in 2026, says Neaing Deals TV with NBC, ESPN, Netflix, Apple

NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has dropped the plans to play two games in London next season due to scheduling problems with the West Ham Olympic Stadium and the television partner of the sport. MLB hoped to have the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays gather in London on June 13 and 14, but West Ham is home for his Premier League final against Leeds on May 24. It left too little time to convert the field to baseball, and MLB could not be available later in June, as Fox did not have available broadcasting slots. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Tuesday after his question-and-answer session on the front-office sport “Tuned in” event that the London matches were definitely off. MLB played for the first time in 2019 when the New York Yankees swept two games from the Boston Red Sox. and series was divided by the cardinals and cubs in 2023 and the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in 2024. MLB’s labor contract included in Paris, Paris, but they were turned off because MLB and the Players’ Association could not find a promoter. We think London is an important starting point for us, “Manfred said during his Q&A session.” We have a facility that has progressed far since the first Yankee-Red Sox match. It is now a much better ball park than due to their willingness to invest in it. We still believe that there is an opportunity and that we can get through the London starter with the developed economies in Europe. “Manfred said MLB is working on Grassroots initiatives in India because of the affinity of the country.” We really start from below, “he said.” We worked very hard to develop better relationships with the Mexican professional leagues, “said Manfred. In Tokyo in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2019 and this year, and in Seoul, South. “Our approach to international has always been a country by country, largely because we find the places we are interested in being in different developmental stages,” Manfred said. We in Japan and Korea have to earn in terms of pure international income, but it will also appear in our national media. 2026-28 with Comcast’s NBCUNIVERSAL for the Wild Card series and Sunday evening regular seasonal matches, with Netflix for the All-Star Home Run Derby, with Apple TV for regular seasons and the Walt Disney Co. EPN for a regular package plus in the market rights for Arizona, Cleveland, Colitade, Copperade, Minnesota and San Diedo. “We have similarities in principle. We still have problems that need to be solved. These are the agreements reported in public, and we hope to push it over the finish line,” Manfred said. ESPN chose its agreement for the Sunday night and Home Run Derby rights for 2026-28. Manfred said, “If it is the similarities that go through and finish all the time,” we said that we made really progress. We feel like Sunday night bowling has been broadcast on television. We worked very hard to keep ESPN as a partner, and we think we are a very exciting opportunity to start with Netflix. ‘Manfred said talks with ESPN President James Pitaro in July at the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference resumed. “There was a mutual interest in terms of residence partners, and it took the parties a while to think creatively about how we could do it and reach goals that were not exactly in line,” Manfred said. Manfred expects another model when baseball negotiates the right packages that will start in 2029. ‘There will be more games available in national packages, my bet, but I can be wrong about it. We have three years to go, ‘he said. ‘Locally not going away if you have 2430 games. We will need a local solution for the games that are not available in national packages. ‘ He said MLB wants every team’s games to be on less channels and added clubs “to understand that you need to be more nationally to maximize your revenue in the media environment of today.” Manfred said: “To get more nationally and get more games on a national basis, your priority must be.” It seems that everyone is buying in it. I think there is a little more grief about what will happen to games that are not included in the national packages. ” ___