Major League Baseball and Sportradar on Friday announced a long-term extension and expansion of their decade-long partnership, beginning with the 2025 season.
As part of the agreement, MLB has acquired an equity stake in Sportradar, solidifying the partnership between the organizations and supporting future growth opportunities.
“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with MLB, and this agreement represents a new, exciting chapter in our journey together,” Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl said in a statement. “Our collaboration is not only about leveraging cutting edge technology and content but also working together to create innovative products that enhance fan engagement and bring fans closer to the game. By combining our strengths, we can unlock new opportunities and reach more sports fans around the globe to shape the future of sports entertainment. This deal, which is immediately accretive to our business, will drive value for our shareholders as we continue to expand margins and generate strong cash flow.”
Sportradar will exclusively distribute MLB’s official data and media content, including MLB Statcast Data, and audiovisual content across its global client network, which spans 800 sportsbook clients and 900 media companies.
Sportradar will continue to provide integrity services, including Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection System to monitor global betting activity, and offer investigative and educational support to MLB.
“Sportradar has been a great partner to MLB, particularly helping us navigate the legalization and continued evolution of the global sports betting landscape,” said MLB Executive Vice President, Media & Business Development Kenny Gersh. “Over the course of our partnership, Sportradar has consistently developed great products utilizing MLB’s best-in-class data. MLB is delighted to continue innovating with Sportradar to create engaging products and services for MLB fans globally.”
Sportradar and MLB also will collaborate on the creation of AI-driven products powered by player tracking data to create fan experiences.
Sportradar will pay the applicable annual license fees and MLB will be issued up to an aggregate of 1,855,724 Class A ordinary shares during the term, subject to customary terms, conditions and adjustments.
Sportradar has been an official partner of MLB since 2014. Recently, MLB selected Sportradar’s Synergy Sports Coaching & Scouting solution to provide sports performance analysis to the league and its 30 Clubs.
J. P. Morgan analyst Samuel Nelson wrote in a statement that “this partnership was largely expected.”
“While Sportradar has not provided guidance for 2025,” Nielsen wrote, “we see more upside than downside to our/Street 2025 EBITDA estimates of €270m/€268m, which implies margin expansion of ~160 basis points year-over-year in 2025, or well below Sportradar’s guided 4Q24 exit rate of ~300 basis points year-over-year.”
