Roku Channel to offer Major League Baseball games for free

Shohei Ohtani (Source: Mark Edward Harris/ZUMA Press Wire)

The Roku Channel is bolstering its sports offering after picking up rights to 18 Major League Baseball (MLB) games, which will be available to viewers for free.

Roku has secured worldwide rights to the Sunday Leadoff live games that will run weekly 19 May – 15 September, with one game each week set to be streamed via the FAST channel operator and manufacturer’s channel.

Financial details haven’t been revealed but the multi-year rights deal was previously owned by NBC’s Peacock.

Roku is also offering a new “MLB Zone” to help baseball fans discover live and upcoming games, with nightly recaps and highlights offered alongside “a fully programmed MLB FAST channel”.

The deal means that on most Sundays throughout the season, Roku will be the home for the first games of the day, with an exclusivity window during airtime as well.

Subscribers of MLB.TV will be able to continue watch all 18 matches blackout free from anywhere in the world.

Charlie Collier, the former Fox boss who joined as president at Roku Media in 2022, said the deal would strengthen his company’s aggregator position.

“As television programming, live sports, and the leagues have fragmented across networks, apps, and multiple packages, Roku – home to all of them – plays an increasingly crucial role for viewers and advertisers.

“With this deal, Roku delivers free, live, weekly Sunday baseball and 24/7 baseball curation, destinations, and channels across our platform. The lead-in to all of television is now the lead-off for Sunday baseball as well. It’s a terrific partnership.”

Noah Garden, MLB deputy commissioner for business & media, added that the deal “offers a valuable new promotional and distribution platform for MLB games and content.”

The Roku Channel already offers Formula E motorsport coverage, following a deal struck last year. The channel is available to stream for free, with no subscription or sign-up required, and claims to reach US households with an estimated 120 million people.