San Diego Padres fans could face a major change in how they watch their team's games, with a new report suggesting ESPN may take over local telecasts starting in the 2026 season.
According to sports media expert Andrew Marchand from The Athletic, a new three-year deal between Major League Baseball and ESPN could put the network in charge of Padres broadcasts.
"Padres fans, they're probably going to need to have ESPN to get their games," Marchand told ABC 10News.
The change would be part of ESPN's strategy to drive subscriptions to its new streaming app, which launched on Thursday with unlimited access to ESPN content for $29.99 per month. However, Marchand suggests accessing Padres games won't be as simple as tuning to ESPN during game time.
"Will it be an added upsell cost? Yeah, I think that's what it's going to be, which I think is going to be cheaper than what you're paying now, I would guess, but again, still not fully determined," Marchand said.
While the Padres haven't confirmed the deal, CEO Erik Greupner hinted at significant changes during a recent appearance on "Ben and Woods" radio show on 97.3 The Fan.
"There's a lot of hope on the horizon that things could get even better, significantly better for us when it comes to media revenue. It could make the Padres even more competitive than we have been historically, even over the last five years, relative to all other Major League Baseball teams," Greupner said.
The new deal isn't expected to be announced until at least next month. ESPN recently announced a major acquisition of the NFL Network and Red Zone Channel to attract potential app subscribers, including Padres fans.
The potential change comes as televisions across San Diego County are tuned into Padres baseball this weekend, with the team battling the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Padres fans have enjoyed watching their team on television from the early days on Channel 4 to the current broadcasts on Padres.TV with announcers Don Orsillo and Mark Grant.
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