Major League Baseball has reached new 3-year media rights deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix.
The agreement, which covers the 2026-2028 baseball seasons, will see the league’s longstanding relationship with ESPN reach 39 consecutive seasons, while NBC returns to regularly airing games on its broadcast network for the first time in 26 years. Netflix will also expand its engagement with the MLB from documentaries to live baseball event coverage for the first time.
“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,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “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.”
Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
In addition to ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix, the MLB will continue to partner with Fox/FS1, which will continue to be the home of the World Series, League Championship and Division Series, All-Star Game, regular season games primarily on Saturdays, World Baseball Classic and special event games.
TBS will continue to be the home of League Championship and Division Series telecasts, plus regular season games on Tuesday nights. Apple TV will continue to stream “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders throughout the regular season. MLB Network will continue to air live games, including its “Showcase” package and its Emmy Award-winning studio shows.
Below is a roundup of what’s included in the ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix packages.
ESPN
Under the terms of the new deal, ESPN will receive a national-game package throughout the season available exclusively on its linear networks as well as the ESPN app.
Disney-owned sports network will have rights to Memorial Day game coverage and televise the second half opener coming out of the All-Star break when two-time MVP Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies host Juan Soto and the New York Mets on July 16. ESPN also will continue to carry the Little League Classic, which will feature Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Atlanta Braves facing Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 23.
In addition, ESPN will stream over 150 out-of-market games, one per day, via the ESPN app. In 2025, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game coverage recorded its best season in 12 years with an average viewing audience of 1.8 million viewers, a 21% increase over last year’s total.
ESPN has also secured the rights to sell the league’s out of market streaming service MLB.TV through its digital and streaming platforms. In 2025, MLB.TV set a record with 19.4 billion minutes-watched breaking last year’s full-season record of 14.5 billion by more than 34%. For the 2026 season, the local in-market streaming products will continue to be available through MLB’s platforms.
“This fan-friendly agreement allows us to showcase the great sport of baseball on both a local and national level, while prioritizing our streaming future,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “MLB.TV is a coveted, must-have companion for passionate MLB fans all over the country, and it will be strongly complemented by our national game package and in-market team rights – all within the ESPN App.”
ESPN has partnered with the MLB since 1990.
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal has secured a package of rights that includes Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Leadoff and all four Wild Card Series of the postseason. The deal will also bring regular season and post-season games to NBC’s broadcast channel, Peacock and NBC Sports’ new cable network.
Sunday Night Baseball on NBC, NBCSN, and Peacock will continue to be the only MLB game scheduled on Sunday nights, with some games set to stream on Peacock and be simulcast on NBCSN during weeks there is overlap with previously negotiated media rights deals on NBC. NBC and Peacock also will air select special event games including primetime matchups on Opening Day and Labor Day.
In 2026, NBC Sports’ first game of the season will air in primetime on NBC and stream on Peacock on Opening Day (March 26), with the Arizona Diamondbacks visiting the Los Angeles Dodgers, when four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the two-time defending champions begin their attempt to win a third straight World Series title.
NBCU will also gain a presence during All-Star Week, with the MLB Draft moving to Saturday where NBC and Peacock will present the first hour of the event, while Peacock/NBCSN and MLB Network will carry the remainder of the first round. NBC and Peacock also will present the Futures Game, featuring baseball’s future stars who are the top players in Minor League Baseball on All-Star Sunday, followed by a new event that will feature former players and celebrities which will be streamed on Peacock.
Peacock will also regain the rights to MLB’s Sunday Leadoff with a package of 18 games that will be simulstreamed on NBCSN. Sunday Leadoff will be followed by MLB Network-produced studio coverage of the full day of games which will lead into Sunday Night Baseball on NBC and Peacock, or NBCSN and Peacock. Peacock will also regularly feature a game of the day, which will be available to fans outside of the markets of the Clubs competing.
NBC first aired MLB games in 1947, including Jackie Robinson’s first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. From 1947 to 1989 and then from 1994 to 2000, NBC was the home of numerous World Series, All-Star Games and NBC Games of the Week. Meanwhile, Peacock carried MLB’s Sunday Leadoff for the 2022-23 seasons.
“We are excited to welcome Major League Baseball back to the NBC Sports family,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a statement. “We can’t wait for the first pitch in primetime on March 26…and what a way to start with the champion Los Angeles Dodgers’ opener following their thrilling World Series victory!”
Netflix
Netflix will air live events and games for both MLB globally and the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan.It will open the MLB season for the next three years with a singular game on Opening Night, the evening prior to a full slate of traditional Opening Day games.
In 2026, Netflix will open the season with the New York Yankees and seven-time All-Star, three-time A.L. MVP and Northern California native Aaron Judge visiting Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants on March 25. Netflix will also air the T-Mobile Home Run Derby the day before the MLB All-Star Game and MLB at Field of Dreams live from Dyersville, Iowa on Aug. 13. MLB’s return to the iconic movie set for the first time in four years will feature the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning production team will produce Opening Night, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, and MLB at Field of Dreams in partnership with Netflix’s production team. Netflix will stream an MLB special event game each year.
Netflix will also exclusively deliver all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic to its audience in Japan live and on-demand. Their agreement follows collaborations on 2024’s “The Turnaround” and “The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox” and 2025’s “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox.”
“We are incredibly thankful for our partnership with Major League Baseball,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said. “We started with critically-acclaimed documentaries, deepening the existing global passion for baseball. Now, we are seizing that moment by bringing massive cultural spectacles—from Opening Night to the Home Run Derby—directly to our members, reinforcing Netflix as the ultimate home for both the story and the sport.”
