The Melbourne Aces are continuing to push the boundaries when it comes to getting Australian baseball in front of more fans.

The club has announced a new partnership involving SEGS, Rainmaker, Kayo Sports and Foxtel to help bring Melbourne Aces home games to a much wider audience.

And for Australian baseball, this should be more than just another club announcement.

It should be a wake up call for the Australian Baseball League (ABL).

Because if Australian baseball wants to grow, it needs to be where Australian sports fans already are.

One of the biggest challenges facing the ABL isn’t necessarily the quality of baseball.

There is plenty of talent.

There are Australian players trying to make it to MLB. There are international players coming to Australia to develop their careers. There are former professional players, future prospects and some genuinely exciting baseball being played.

The problem is getting people to see it.

At the moment, the ABL’s primary Australian viewing option is Baseball+, with every game available through the league’s streaming platform. That’s useful for existing baseball fans, but it also puts the responsibility on the fan to actively go looking for the ABL.

And that’s where I believe the league needs to think differently.

Look at the Australian Ice Hockey League

The Australian Ice Hockey League provides an interesting comparison.

In 2026, the AIHL secured a deal with ESPN to broadcast one live game per week for the remainder of the regular season, with the entire Finals Series also being broadcast live.

The games are available through ESPN, Foxtel Go, Fetch TV, Kayo Sports and Disney+.

That is significant.

Ice hockey is a niche sport in Australia. It doesn’t have the participation numbers or mainstream profile of AFL, NRL or cricket.

Yet the AIHL has managed to get its product onto major sports platforms.

And that means potential fans don’t necessarily have to go searching for Australian ice hockey.

It comes to them.

That is exactly what the ABL should be looking at.

In my opinion, the ABL needs to be far more aggressive when negotiating its media rights.

I’m not saying every ABL game needs to suddenly appear on ESPN or Kayo. But the league should be asking:

What can we do to get the ABL in front of people who aren’t already baseball fans?

Even one nationally televised game each week could make a difference.

Imagine a regular ABL Game of the Week on ESPN or Kayo.

One marquee matchup.

Pre-game coverage.

Player interviews.

Highlights.

Then put the remaining games on Baseball+.

That would give the ABL the best of both worlds maintaining its own streaming platform while using mainstream sports media to attract new fans.

The Melbourne Aces are showing what is possible

The Melbourne Aces have already demonstrated the potential of thinking outside the traditional ABL model.

Their 2025/26 season included an ambitious international program featuring opponents from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and South Korea.

The club also produced and distributed its own broadcast feed internationally, with games reaching audiences in South Korea and elsewhere around the world.

The Aces reported an estimated international audience of more than 1.7 million viewers during that campaign.

That demonstrates something important:

There is an audience for Australian baseball when the product is presented properly and put in front of people.

The Aces have shown that Australian baseball doesn’t necessarily have to wait for somebody else to create the opportunity.

Sometimes you have to create it yourself.

The ABL needs to sell the story, not just the games

This is another area where I think baseball can improve.

Don’t just sell an ABL game.

Sell the story around it.

Tell people about the 18 year old Australian prospect facing an international star.

Tell the story of Travis Bazzana.

Tell the story of the player trying to earn an MLB contract.

Tell the story of the former MLB player coming to Australia.

Tell the story of the Australian player who has returned home after playing overseas.

Tell people why they should care.

The ABL has a product that is actually quite unique.

Where else can you potentially watch an Australian teenager share a field with players who have experience in Major League Baseball, Japanese baseball, Korean baseball or other professional leagues around the world?

That’s a story.

And stories attract viewers.

Imagine an ABL season where:

• One game every week is on ESPN/Kayo.
• The Finals are broadcast nationally.
• Every game remains available through Baseball+.
• Highlights are aggressively distributed across YouTube and social media.
• Players are regularly featured across ESPN and sports media.
• MLB connections are promoted.
• Australian prospects become part of the marketing.
• Clubs actively promote their local communities.
• Sponsors are integrated into the broadcast product.

Suddenly, the ABL isn’t just a baseball competition.

It’s a media product.

Baseball needs to be easier to discover

This is probably my biggest concern with the current model.

Baseball+ is valuable for the hardcore fan. I enjoyed most of the games on Baseball + last season personally.

But if someone doesn’t know the ABL exists, they’re unlikely to wake up one morning and decide to subscribe to Baseball+.

That’s where mainstream platforms matter.

Put baseball on Kayo.

Put baseball on ESPN.

Put baseball in front of people who are already watching sport.

Let the casual sports fan stumble across an ABL game.

Maybe they watch for 10 minutes.

Maybe they see an incredible catch.

Maybe they see a home run.

Maybe they discover an Australian player they didn’t know existed.

That’s how new fans are created.

The ABL has an opportunity right now

The ABL is entering a new era.

Baseball Australia has announced plans for a new centrally owned and operated league model, with the competition expected to expand from four teams back to six in 2027.

That makes the next media rights strategy incredibly important.

The league has an opportunity to reset how Australian baseball is presented to the public.

And I believe broadcast exposure has to be one of the biggest priorities.

The AIHL has shown that a niche Australian sport can get onto ESPN and Kayo.

The Melbourne Aces have shown what can happen when a club thinks internationally and takes control of its media strategy.

Now the ABL needs to take those lessons and apply them at league level.

My view

Australian baseball doesn’t have an exposure problem because the sport isn’t good enough.

It has an exposure problem because not enough people are seeing it.

The ABL needs to fight for every available eyeball.

If that means putting one game a week on ESPN, do it.

If that means partnering with Kayo, do it.

If that means offering selected games to free-to-air television, do it.

If that means creating a better digital product around Baseball+, do it.

But don’t hide the product behind a paywall and expect the casual sports fan to find it.

Put Australian baseball where Australian sports fans already are.

The AIHL is doing it.

The Aces are doing it.

Now, in my opinion, it’s time for the Australian Baseball League to do it at a national level.

Because the talent is here.

The stories are here.

The fans are here.

Now Australian baseball needs to make sure everyone can see it.