Another Cable Channel Is Shutting Down at the End of 2025

ROOT Sports has come to an end. The Mariners announced that their regional sports network will cease to exist and that Major League Baseball, which has handled all the production for their game broadcasts this season, will also take over distribution of the Mariners telecasts through cable providers and streaming platforms.

“The end of an era,” a staffer noted at the time of the announcement, per Seattle Times. ROOT Sports has been instrumental in where fans watched games over the years. 

“We continue to focus on finding new ways to bring our games in 2026 and beyond to our fans and we’ve determined joining with Major League Baseball is the best path. Beginning in 2026 and moving forward, Major League Baseball will provide opportunities to bring new features and benefits to viewers of Mariners baseball,” the team said in a statement. They added: “We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and excellence demonstrated by the ROOT SPORTS staff over the (nearly) four decades they have televised our games.”

Fans who watched the Mariners games on ROOT Sports through cable providers like Comcast Xfinity or DirecTV, will still be able to watch games, but on which channel, it was unclear at the time of the announcement. New  broadcasts will now only include games and possibly a brief pregame and postgame show.

The Mariners debuted a direct-to-fan streaming option this season through the ROOT Sports app which allowed local fans to stream games via a subscription. Fans will still have that same opportunity to subscribe to Mariners games, but now under the MLB.TV streaming platform. Subscription fees will have to be paid.

Mariners chairman John Stanton was present at a staff meeting at ROOT’s office where plans for the station, which the team owned and oversaw since 2013, were made known. More than 25 staff members jobs will come an end on Nov. 3 or in the months following. ROOT previously had major staff layoffs.