MLB Exec Outlines New TV Deal Priorities

Brosnan appears to hint at playoff games on MLB Network

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/21/2012 2:57:48 PM

MLB executive VP Tim Brosnan said his organization is happy with the current TV partners, but as they enter talks over their TV future this year, other factors will also affect the strategy.

"We are very comfortable with our incumbents," Brosnan said near Dana Point, Calif. Wednesday at the IMG World Congress of Sports, presented by the Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily.

However, Brosnan also noted that the sports TV landscape has never been more competitive, which will be part of the process of exploring the sport's new round of deals.

One of those competitors, however, is internal, in the form of the MLB Network.

Brosnan spoke of the need to build up the network's carriage from 68 million to 90 million homes, and said that while he doesn't expect the network to add more games, he expects to add more "important games."

But when asked by SBJ/SBD executive editor Abraham Madkour if that meant playoff games, Brosnan responded, "I didn't say that."

However, that is a natural move for the well-received network, which is a priority for MLB, and a hedge down the road.

"It's essential we have our own property just in case," he said.