Breakdown of MLB's Media Rights Agreements with Netflix, ESPN, & NBCUniversal
Major League Baseball announced a three-year media rights agreement with Netflix, ESPN, and NBCUniversal.
LOS ANGELES, CA—Yesterday, Major League Baseball announced three new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix that will span over the next three seasons (2026-2028).
“Our new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix provide us with a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment, and marquee events,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
“Following our last World Series game that averaged more than 51 million viewers globally, these partnerships build on MLB’s growing momentum that includes generational stars setting new standards for excellence, new rules that have improved the game on the field, and increases in important fan engagement metrics like viewership, attendance, participation, and social media consumption.
“We’re looking forward to tapping into the unique areas of expertise that ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix each bring to the sport for the benefit of our fans.”
As Part of the new agreement, ESPN will receive a national midweek game package each season while also acquiring the rights to sell MLB.TV, the leagues' out-of-market streaming services, that is also free for eligible T-Mobile customers.
However, under the new agreement, ESPN is no longer the home of Sunday Night Baseball or the Wild Card Series, as those games will go to NBCUniversal, which also reacquires the rights to the MLB Sunday Leadoff Games, which Peacock previously carried for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
ESPN will also lose out on the annual Home Run Derby, with Netflix picking up the rights to the tournament, along with an Opening Night exclusive and other special event games, such as the Field of Dreams Game, which is returning this upcoming season.
Although MLB has partnered with several new broadcasters, some of their national TV rights stay the same. Fox networks will still air certain games throughout the regular season, as well as the All-Star Game, the Division Series, the League Championship Series, and the World Series.
Turner Networks will keep televising regular-season games on Tuesday nights, as well as the Division Series and League Championship Series. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ remains the platform for Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders throughout the regular season.
MLB Media Rights Deals Broken Down
NBCUniversal
MLB and NBCUniversal are reuniting after their previous broadcasting partnerships from 1947 to 1989 and from 1994 to 2000. The latest media rights agreement will enable MLB games to be broadcast on NBC and NBCSN (NBC Sports’ new cable channel), and streamed online via Peacock.
Certain Sunday Night Baseball games will be broadcast exclusively on NBCSN and Peacock during weeks when they overlap with existing media rights agreements on NBC.
The network will broadcast special-event games, including primetime matchups on Opening Day and Labor Day. NBC’s first broadcast in 2026 is scheduled for Thursday, March 26th, featuring an Opening Day game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The network will also have a presence during All-Star week, as the MLB Draft and Futures Game will be carried on NBC platforms.
ESPN
With a new media rights agreement in place, MLB and ESPN continue their partnership, dating back to the 1990 season.
The network’s national midweek game package features Memorial Day coverage and the second half opener between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets after the All-Star break. ESPN will also keep broadcasting the Little League Classic and will stream over 150 out-of-market games through its new app.
Netflix
Over the last few years, Netflix has thrown its hat into the ring for live sporting events, and we are the heavy favorites to secure an agreement with Major League Baseball after the ESPN debacle.
Following their previous collaborations on various documentaries, Netflix will now support MLB in launching the 2026 season with a single Opening Night game, held the night before the full Opening Day schedule.
The 2026 Opening Night game features a matchup between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. Additionally, Netflix will be the exclusive provider of all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic for viewers in Japan.