Roku Only Paying $10 Million a Season for MLB 'Sunday Leadoff' Rights, Report Claims

MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku
(Image credit: Roku)

After securing a groundbreaking deal that brings live major-league American sports to free ad-supported streaming, details regarding Roku's acquisition of Major League Baseball's Sunday Leadoff games package have begun to emerge.

According to The Athletic, Roku is only paying $10 million a season to stream the 18-game package on the Roku Channel.

Also read: Roku and MLB Make It Official, 'Sunday Leadoff' Is Coming to The Roku Channel

For its part, incumbent rights holder NBCUniversal reportedly paid around $30 million to stream Sunday Leadoff on Peacock the last two seasons. The Athletic also reported that NBCU offered the same $10 million to retain the package. 

Citing an unidentified source, The Athletic also said the deal has an "opt-out" clause, although it's not clear as to whether that belongs to Roku or MLB.

The agreement is also described as being somewhat backloaded, with Roku paying $10 million this season, $8 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026. 

Sunday Leadoff debuted on Roku Channel on Sunday, with the Boston Red Sox beating the St. Louis Cardinals 11-3. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!

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