Major League Baseball and NBCUniversal have announced a three-year media rights partnership that will bring baseball back to NBC and Peacock starting in 2026. The showcase begins with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers raising their banner on March 26, 2026, in a primetime Opening Day matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This will be the only primetime MLB game on Opening Day, marking a historic return for NBC Sports.
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Exclusive Packages Across NBC, NBCSN, and Peacock
The new agreement includes:
- Sunday Night Baseball: 25 primetime games per year featuring MLB’s biggest stars and rivalries.
- MLB Sunday Leadoff: 18 late-morning games, mostly Peacock/NBCSN exclusives, followed by a whip-around show.
- Wild Card Round: Entire postseason Wild Card round exclusively on NBC, NBCSN, and Peacock.
- Special Events: Exclusive Opening Day primetime game, Labor Day primetime tradition, and “Game 2,430” on the final day of the regular season in 2027 and 2028.
- Daily Streaming: Peacock will stream one out-of-market game every day of the season.
Year-Round Sunday Night Sports Programming
Sunday Night Baseball will join Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Basketball to create year-round primetime sports programming on NBC—a broadcast network first. Rick Cordella, President of NBC Sports, emphasized the network’s commitment to storytelling and production value, while MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred praised NBC’s enthusiasm for growing the sport.
Additional Coverage and Traditions
- MLB Draft (July 11, 2026) and All-Star Futures Game (July 12, 2026) on NBC and Peacock.
- Telemundo Deportes and Universo will provide Spanish-language broadcasts.
- Sky Sports will carry NBC/Peacock MLB games in the UK and Ireland.
- Peacock’s sports lineup will also include NFL, NBA, Big Ten, Notre Dame Football, Premier League, golf, WNBA (2026), and FIFA World Cup 2026.
NBC Sports’ Baseball Legacy
NBC Sports has a storied history with MLB, dating back to the first-ever televised game in 1939. The network has broadcast 39 World Series, more than any other, and was home to iconic programming like Game of the Week and Monday Night Baseball. With this new deal, NBC Sports reignites its baseball tradition while embracing modern streaming platforms.
MLB’s Continued Growth
MLB remains the best-attended sports league in the world, with three straight years of attendance gains. The 2025 World Series drew 51 million viewers, the most since 1991. MLB.TV set records with 19.4 billion minutes watched, while the MLB App saw traffic rise 18% year-over-year. With stars like Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, MLB continues to expand its younger fan base and global reach.
Netflix, Apple and ESPN are in the deal
ESPN remains vital to MLB’s future. Under this new deal, the network acquires rights to MLB.TV (the league’s out-of-market streaming service) and a national package of approximately 30 games per season on its linear networks plus daily streaming of over 150 out-of-market games via its app.
Streaming giant Netflix enters live baseball coverage. In the new deal, Netflix will carry a primetime opening day each year, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby and other special event games (e.g., the Field of Dreams game).
While much of the media-rights focus has ESPN getting of baseball. Major League Baseball confirmed that Apple TV will stay in the baseball business. “Friday Night Baseball” double-headers throughout the regular season, despite earlier speculation that the deal may be gone.
