Next home run for SPORT1: Long-term partnership concluded with Major League Baseball – live on SPORT1+, SPORT1 Extra and free-TV until 2026

Press Release of 11. November 2021

Sport1 GmbH

Next home run for SPORT1: Long-term partnership concluded with Major League Baseball - live on SPORT1+, SPORT1 Extra and free-TV until 2026

• As many as 500 MLB games per season will be broadcast live on pay-TV on SPORT1+ and on the new multisports streaming platform SPORT1 Extra from 2022 to 2026, with selected matches also broadcast live on free-TV on SPORT1
• Dominick Balsamo, Senior Vice President, Global Media for Major League Baseball: "This multi-media relationship with SPORT1 will cover every aspect of our season, from Opening Day through the World Series, and give us a strong presence to build on in Germany and its surrounding markets."
• Germany's MLB star Max Kepler wants to get back into the playoffs with the Minnesota Twins - and is looking forward to the broadcasts on SPORT1: "That's great! We want to push our sport even more in Germany together with SPORT1 - that's why we're on the road here at home right now. If baseball is also presented even more in the media, that's very helpful in reaching a broader audience."
• Olaf Schroeder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: "Together with MLB, we want to further increase the popularity of the league through 360° staging on our platforms, also here in Europe. The starting point is very promising - because with Max Kepler, Germany has a great figurehead and a fantastic ambassador for this fascinating sport."

Ismaning | New York, November 11, 2021 - Take Me Out To The Ballgame!" - SPORT1 is the new "Home Base of Baseball" in German-speaking countries until 2026: Sport1 GmbH has acquired the platform-neutral exploitation rights from Major League Baseball (MLB) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the next five seasons from 2022 up to and including 2026 - with exclusive rights for linear broadcasting on pay-TV and free-TV in Germany. On pay-TV on SPORT1+ and on the multisports streaming platform SPORT1 Extra, which was launched in September, at least 150 matches of the regular season will be broadcast per season, and at least 15 matches on free-TV on SPORT1. Next year, the Regular Season will start with Opening Day on March 31 and run until October 2, 2022. The All-Star Game, which will take place next year on July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the Home Run Derby on July 18, also part of All-Star Week, will also be shown live on free-TV. In the Postseason starting in early October - with the Wild Card Round, Division Series, Championship Series and the World Series as the crowning finale - at least 30 games are scheduled on SPORT1+ and SPORT1 Extra. In the playoffs, selected matches will also be broadcast on free-TV, including at least two games of the World Series. In total, as many as 500 games per season will thus be broadcast live on SPORT1+, SPORT1 Extra and on free-TV on SPORT1. In addition to the live games, the weekly highlight magazine "MLB's Best" and current highlights in "SPORT1 News" will also be shown on TV. In addition, there will be comprehensive framework coverage with highlight clips on SPORT1's digital and social media channels.

Dominick Balsamo, Senior Vice President, Global Mediafor Major League Baseball, also commented on the partnership: "Showcasing Major League Baseball Clubs and players with respected and strategic media partners in international markets is a vital component to the growth of our game. This multi-media relationship with SPORT1 will cover every aspect of our season, from Opening Day through the World Series, and give us a strong presence to build on in Germany and its surrounding markets."

Olaf Schroeder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH:"Thanks to the pioneering and long-term partnership with Major League Baseball, we have one of the premium US sports rights in our portfolio for our pay offers, but also for our free-TV station and our digital and social media channels until 2026. We are the 'home base' of baseball in German-speaking countries: This is excellent news for all US sports fans in this country! Together with MLB, we want to further increase the popularity of the league through 360° staging on our platforms, also here in Europe. The starting point is very promising - because with Max Kepler, Germany has a great figurehead and a fantastic ambassador for this fascinating sport."

On the announcement of the new partnership: Germany's baseball superstar Max Kepler and Markus Solbach visiting SPORT1

In the coming season, the special focus from a German perspective will again be on Berlin-born Max Kepler from the Minnesota Twins. To announce the new partnership between Major League Baseball and SPORT1, the 28-year-old right fielder was also a guest at SPORT1 in Ismaning near Munich as part of his home visit, together with Markus Solbach - the Dormagen native is under contract as a pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the big SPORT1 interview in Ismaning, Max Kepler talked about the cooperation with Germany's leading 360° sports platform and gave a preview of the upcoming season: "That's great! We want to push our sport even more in Germany together with SPORT1 - that's why we're on the road here at home right now. If baseball is also presented even more in the media, that's very helpful in reaching a broader audience."

Newly crowned champions: The Atlanta Braves enter the new season as World Series champions - Max Kepler and the Minnesota Twins want to get back into the playoffs

This season, the Atlanta Braves won Major League Baseball's World Series again after 26 years. The Braves triumphed 4-2 last week in the best-of-seven final series against the Houston Astros, and knocked off the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. In addition to these teams, the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are also considered by experts to be among the extended group of favorites for the upcoming season. For Max Kepler and the Minnesota Twins, the goal is to qualify for the postseason again in 2022 after a mixed year. Just as they did in 2020 and 2019, when they advanced to the playoffs as American League Central champions. The 2019 season was especially historic, as the Twins set a new major league season record with 307 home runs - with Max Kepler as one of their big performers, who also set a personal best with 36 home runs.

Attached are photos of Max Kepler and Markus Solbach visiting SPORT1 in Ismaning together with SPORT1 baseball expert Matthias Ondracek and commentator Guenter Zapf (Copyright: SPORT1), of Max Kepler from the game of his Minnesota Twins against the Tampa Bay Rays (Copyright: Imago | ZUMA Wire) and Olaf Schroeder (Copyright: SPORT1) for free use in the context of editorial coverage.

For more information or any questions, please contact:

Michael Roehrig I Martin Roesch
Communications

Sport1 GmbH
Muenchener Straße 101g
85737 Ismaning

Tel. [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

www.sport1.de

About SPORT1

At the heart of the action with SPORT1: The leading 360° sports platform in the German-speaking region stands for premium live sport, proven sports expertise, and high-quality, entertaining reporting. Under the multimedia umbrella brand SPORT1, Sport1 GmbH, a company of Sport1 Medien AG, combines all its TV, online, mobile, audio, social media and print activities. The sports media company based in Ismaning, near Munich, Germany, has a portfolio that comprises the free-TV channel SPORT1, the pay-TV channels SPORT1+ and eSPORTS1, which are available on various platforms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the pan-European pay-TV channel eSportsONE launched in November 2020. Moreover, SPORT1.de, one of Germany's leading online sports platforms, provides up-to-the-minute multimedia content as well as comprehensive livestream and video offers. In September 2021, Sport1 GmbH also launched the new multisports streaming platform "SPORT1 Extra" (sport1extra.de) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland - with an extensive live stream and on-demand offering of sports and competitions. SPORT1's diverse offerings also include its own SPORT1 YouTube channel as well as gaming and esports output. In the mobile sector, the SPORT1 apps are among the most successful German sports apps. In the print sector, SPORT1 has been publishing Germany's highest-circulation sports magazine "FUSSBALL & FAMILIE" every month in cooperation with rtv media group since March 2021.

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