Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT — Little League International is receiving more than $17 million annually for the broadcast rights for its seven baseball and softball world series, along with regional tournament games in the United States. That was revealed in the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for the year 2023, the most recent available. The $17 million is an increase of approximately $6 million from the contract with the ESPN family of networks that ended after 2022. Little League received $17,427,089 in 2023 under a new contract that extends until 2030 and includes more than 325 games annually. The payment escalates slightly each year, spokesperson Brian McClintock said. Little League’s partnership with ESPN/ABC began in 1963 and is the second-longest in sports behind the relationship between CBS and the Masters golf tournament. The broadcast fees Little League receives help finance the operation of the world’s largest youth sports organization, including support for local leagues and training for managers and other volunteers, McClintock explained. Little League in July revealed it costs more than $12.5 million to run its regional tournaments and its seven baseball and softball world series. That includes approximately $7.5 million for the Little League World Series in South Williamsport each August. The organization pays for housing, travel, meals and accommodations for all teams that compete in the seven world series. The average cost to run a baseball or softball regional tournament is $450,000, it says. The relationship with ESPN and ABC enables Little League to have visibility that sets it apart from other youth sports, McClintock said. “It showcases what Little League is,” he said. “We kind of own the airwaves” from late July until the baseball world series champion is determined near the end of August, he said. He attributes that in part to Karl Ravech, a former weekend sports anchor and reporter for WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, being the lead broadcaster for the baseball world series since 2011. Ravech has become well-versed on Little League and can talk about its various programs, McClintock said. Quoting Nielsen data, ESPN said the baseball world series this August averaged one million viewers, an increase of two percent over 2024. The world championship game between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Taiwan averaged 2.4 million viewers. The U.S. championship game the day before, between Las Vegas and Fairfield, Connecticut, averaged 2.8 million viewers. The softball world series championship game, won by the Pennsylvania team from the Johnstown team, averaged 1.4 million viewers. It was the most ever for that event and a 139 percent increase over 2024. Viewership for the entire softball world series in Greenville, North Carolina, averaged 347,000, up 66 percent over 2024. As it noted in its tax filing, Little League strives to make its program as affordable and accessible as possible by having low affiliation fees, providing free background checks for volunteers, and operating a custom insurance program. The organization seeks to use the power of youth baseball and softball to teach life lessons that build stronger individuals and communities around the globe. Helping keep costs to a minimum while providing resources to local leagues is the partnership with major corporations on a national level, McClintock said. Little League Baseball Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that Congress granted a federal charter of incorporation on June 17, 1964. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2023, Little League reported revenue of nearly $38.7 million and expenses of $40 million. The $1.3 million difference was a decrease from $4.8 million the year before. Little League took a financial hit in 2020 when it did not receive any television revenue because the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of all baseball and softball world series and regional tournaments. Total assets in 2023 were nearly $106 million, with liabilities listed at $27.6 million. The top salary paid that year was $477,405 to president and CEO Steven D. Keener, who has since retired. Patrick W. Wilson, who replaced Keener but then was chief operating officer, was paid $334,750. Chief marketing officer Elizabeth D. Brown and chief legal counsel Joy Reynolds McCoy each received $289,688.
