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ESPN is officially killing Sunday Night Baseball, the cornerstone of American sports television for over three decades, and replacing it with a new primetime block called “Women’s Sports Sundays.” For generations, Sunday night has been reserved for Major League Baseball’s biggest matchups, the moments that made baseball America’s pastime on television. Now, ESPN is abandoning that legacy in the name of a new “woke” rebrand.
Starting in 2026, instead of watching baseball under the lights on Sunday nights, viewers will be treated to live games from professional women’s leagues like the WNBA and NWSL. ESPN says the goal is to give women’s sports a national platform, but the move has sparked outrage among fans who feel their beloved baseball tradition is being sacrificed for a social experiment.
Critics argue that Sunday Night Baseball has been one of ESPN’s most profitable and prestigious broadcasts, and replacing it with something entirely new risks alienating decades of loyal viewers. Others defend the change, seeing it as an overdue opportunity to elevate women’s sports on a major network, but the backlash online has been immediate and fierce.
The decision comes as ESPN’s broadcast rights for MLB evolve, giving the network room to experiment with Sunday primetime. But for millions of baseball fans, this is more than just a programming change, it’s a betrayal of a ritual that has defined summer weekends for generations. Whether you see this as a bold move or a misstep, one thing is clear: Sunday nights on ESPN will never feel the same again.
