DirecTV Sports Networks, a division of US pay-television provider DirecTV, has agreed a deal to sell a majority stake in its regional sports channel, Root Sports Northwest, to Major League Baseball franchise the Seattle Mariners.
The Forbes news website said that the deal is worth about $2 billion (€1.54 billion) over 17 years, from 2014 to 2030, but the stake acquired by the Mariners has not been disclosed.
As part of the agreement, Root Sports Northwest will show Mariners games through to the end of the 2030 MLB season. The channel will also show other collegiate and high school sports programming.
DirecTV Sports Networks, a long-term local rights-holder of Mariners games, will continue to oversee the day-to-day management of the channel.
Mariners executive vice-president of business operations Bob Aylward said: “We are investing to own a majority share of the new venture, and committing our rights well into the future, confident that this will maximise the value of our television rights and, more importantly, provide the resources to remain competitive on the field for many years to come.”
Since its original incarnation as Prime Sports Northwest in 1994, Root Sports Northwest has increased the number of Mariners games it broadcasts each season to a peak of 159 games during the current 2013 campaign.