CINCINNATI — Major League Baseball will produce and distribute local games for the Cincinnati Reds next season, the league announced after the Reds ended their venture with the owner of the Bally Sports regional networks.
In a release, the MLB said the deal will ensure fans in the Tri-State can watch their games on television or through a streaming app with no blackouts. The Reds join the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins in having games produced by the MLB this season.
Last year, the league did a similar service for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. The deal included cable and satellite distribution agreements and had streaming options through Dbacks.TV, Padres.TV and Rockies.TV.
The MLB said its local games also include features typically seen only on nationally television games, with the use of their Ump Cam and Wire Cam as well as look-ins to the Replay Operations Center and the ability to have in-game interviews with players.
"Major League Baseball is proud to serve fans of the historic Cincinnati Reds franchise by expanding the reach of their games and removing blackouts for fans in an expansive territory," Noah Garden, MLB's deputy commissioner of business and media, said in a release. "Reds fans will enjoy high-quality production, improved picture quality and greater access to the game and their favorite team's players."
The league said the Reds had an average reach of 1.1 million households on Bally Sports during the 2024 season. They expect Cincinnati's games to reach around 13.5 million homes across seven states in 2025.
