Shohei Ohtani gambling series faces hurdles as execs fear jeopardizing MLB relationship

A scripted series based on the gambling scandal involving Japanese MLB star Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is reportedly facing hurdles as acquisition executives fear involvement in the project can jeopardize their respective companies’ relationship with MLB.

According to a report by Gary Baum in The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate Television, the movie studio owned by Starz, is having trouble selling the series to companies like Disney, Apple, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, and Comcast — all of whom have or will soon have media rights deals with MLB — as those companies fear damaging their relationships with the league. A previous report from July indicated that Lionsgate was nearing a deal to sell the series, but no such deal has been announced.

In response to Baum’s report, a Lionsgate spokesperson issued the following statement:

“We’re not going to discuss who we’re talking to and who we’re not, but we’ve never heard any concerns about offending Major League Baseball from anyone with whom we’ve spoken about the project.”

Of course, the subject matter of the project has become even more sensitive in recent days as the NBA finds itself at the center of multiple FBI probes into illegal gambling, with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier both having been arrested by federal authorities last week.

Earlier this year, Mizuhara was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud and another count of submitting a false tax return. He was also ordered to pay Ohtani $17 million in restitution.

While Mizuhara seemingly defrauded Ohtani, the pair’s close personal friendship has caused some to question whether the interpreter was simply taking the fall for Ohtani to protect the public image of MLB’s biggest star.

Regardless, the scandal is certainly something that MLB would rather put behind it. Thus, the Lionsgate series may be a tough sell to any company that plans to have business relations with the league now or in the future.