ESPN officially took control of Major League Baseball’s out-of-market streaming service, MLB.tv, on Tuesday in a key component of the two sides’ reworked media rights deal.

Additionally, the league made in-market streaming subscriptions available Tuesday for 20 of its 30 clubs via the MLB App.

In November, MLB finalized a short-term agreement for national media rights after ESPN opted out of its hefty package for “Sunday Night Baseball” and other baseball properties last summer. The new agreement introduced NBCUniversal and Netflix, but also struck a new agreement with ESPN which, among other things, gave the company rights to sell and distribute MLB.tv.

MLB.tv will be available for $149.99 for the season for those who don’t have ESPN Unlimited, the company’s new direct-to-consumer service, or $134.99 for ESPN Unlimited subscribers. For those who already had MLB.tv before the new agreements went into effect, their subscription will auto-renew at the previous price and ESPN Unlimited isn’t required.

Meanwhile, the precipitous decline of RSNs (regional sports networks) in recent years, most notably the upcoming closure of the company formerly known as Diamond Sports Group, left many clubs around the league without a long-term home for their in-market TV carriage.

Major League Baseball confirmed Tuesday it will produce local broadcasts for 14 clubs in 2026. Another six clubs still have an RSN with which MLB has formed distribution deals. The total will reach 21 in the near future, as MLB said Detroit Tigers games will have an in-market streaming subscription “available at a later date.”

Arizona Diamondbacks — Dbacks.TV

Athletics — Athletics.TV

Baltimore Orioles — MASN+

Cincinnati Reds — Reds.TV

Cleveland Guardians — CleGuardians.TV

Colorado Rockies — Rockies.TV

Kansas City Royals — Royals.TV

Los Angeles Angels — Angels.TV

Los Angeles Dodgers — SNLA+

Miami Marlins — Marlins.TV

Milwaukee Brewers — Brewers.TV

Minnesota Twins — Twins.TV

New York Mets — SNY

Philadelphia Phillies — Phillies.TV

St. Louis Cardinals — Cardinals.TV

San Diego Padres — Padres.TV

San Francisco Giants — Giants.TV

Seattle Mariners — Mariners.TV

Tampa Bay Rays — Rays.TV

Washington Nationals — Nationals.TV

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets might be in need of some time off, and they’ll get just that after they meet Wednesday night in Charlotte.

It will be the final game for both teams prior to the eight-day All-Star break, but there’s plenty to digest before tip-off.

The Hornets had a nine-game winning streak end in Monday’s fight-marred loss to the visiting Detroit Pistons. Two players from each team were ejected, including Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges from the Hornets.

“I think overall our guys responded to every run that they went on,” said Charlotte coach Charles Lee, who was later ejected for arguing a call from a different situation. “I just love everything they brought from a competitive spirit.”

Now the Hornets likely will have to deal with roster availability issues if suspensions are levied as a result of the fight. Bridges provided a team-high 26 points in the 126-119 win on Saturday night at Atlanta.

The Hawks have lost their last two games — to the Hornets and then 138-116 at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. A bit of a new-look roster is offering challenges for Atlanta.

“We’re not used to those lineups yet,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We’re still trying to figure out some of those guys and those combinations.”

Lee said the Hornets, who have gone more than a month without back-to-back losses, responded well in standing up to the Detroit’s physicality.

Charlotte split two games with Atlanta earlier in the season, with the home teams winning each time on Nov. 23 and Dec. 18. Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel led his side in scoring in both games. Diabate has been the team’s top rebounder in all three meetings with Atlanta.

Lost in the aftermath from Monday night, Knueppel became the first rookie this season to reach 1,000 points, doing so in his 53rd game. In the last 25 years, only three players have done so in fewer games.

Knueppel’s role Monday night included trying to restrain Diabate during the fracas.

“I just tried to de-escalate (him) because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me,” he said.

Suddenly, the stakes seem higher for Charlotte.

“We’re going to have to play through some physicality some games,” Hornets swingman Brandon Miller said.

Atlanta has given up more than 130 points four times since the beginning of January, continuing a trend of troubling defensive performances. The Hawks surrendered 81 points in the first half to the Timberwolves.

“I just thought they got clean open looks,” Snyder said. “They shot the ball well, but we didn’t make them uncomfortable enough. … A lot of the shots, they were contested, but they just had too much space.”

A zone defense worked better in the second half. Some of the earlier defensive woes negated opportunities for transition offense, further hampering the Hawks, Snyder said.

Atlanta’s CJ McCollum had 38 points in the Minnesota game, marking the veteran guard’s highest total in 15 games since he was acquired from the Washington Wizards. His previous high with the Hawks was 26 points.

McCollum had 12 points in 28 minutes in last week’s matchup with Charlotte.

Among the newcomers in the mix is Gabe Vincent, who made his debut with the Hawks on Monday after a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. He had two points, four assists, three steals and one rebound in 19 minutes.

“Gabe, in particular, gave us some very good minutes,” Snyder said.

–Field Level Media

Two very motivated teams will take the floor on Wednesday when Alabama travels to Oxford, Miss. to take on Ole Miss in a Southeastern Conference match-up.

For the Crimson Tide (16-7, 6-4 SEC) and coach Nate Oaks, it’s about moving forward with the roster they started the season with and not the one that included big man Charles Bediako, who was shelved by Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet on Monday.

Pruet denied Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction to allow the former G League player to continue his season at Alabama. Bediako, who averaged 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in five outings with the Tide, was playing via a restraining order issued by judge James H. Roberts, after the NCAA denied his request to return to college basketball.

“Super disappointed,” Oats said on his Monday night radio show. He referenced many former professionals being eligible to play at the college level.

“I thought it was kind of a no-brainer with the NCAA. Then I didn’t think it would be that big of an issue.”

Bediako originally played two seasons at Alabama before declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft. He didn’t withdraw from the draft — a move that typically means a player has forfeited his remaining college eligibility — and went undrafted.

But the cupboard is hardly bare for the Tide, which have won five of seven. On Saturday, Alabama rallied to defeat Auburn, 96-92, led by Labaron Philon Jr.’s 25-point effort.

Philon averages 21.5 points per game to lead the SEC and rank 10th nationally entering play on Tuesday. He has hit 21 of his last 48 3-point attempts (43.8%).

“For our whole team, we’ve got to turn our focus back to the guys who are going to be on the floor,” Oats said. “We’ve got some very capable players (who) won some big games before Charles got here.”

For the Rebels (11-12, 3-7), the season has been a major letdown after a run to the Sweet 16 last year. They have dropped five straight, their longest losing streak since the 2022-23 season. But coach Chris Beard is confident the team turned a corner in their 79-68 loss at Texas on Saturday.

The Rebels rallied from an 18-point first half deficit to take a 68-65 lead with 3:35 remaining, but Texas finished the game on a 14-0 run.

Eduardo Klafke scored a career-high 16 points, his second consecutive game in double figures.

“We fought like we never fought before,” Klafke said. “We’re just trying to win this for Coach, but unfortunately, we ran out of time.”

Beard noted that the Rebels had just completed a weather-related four-game SEC road swing.

“We’re looking forward to getting back to the best college town in the country, Oxford, Miss.,” said Beard. “We’ve got a lot of basketball left. We’ve got some home games coming up and I still believe in this team, period.”

Ole Miss stunned then-No. 4 Alabama, 74-64, in Tuscaloosa last season, snapping a seven-game slide to the Tide. Malik Dia scored 23 points and added 19 rebounds for the Rebels.

–Field Level Media