The news: Sports rights continue to fragment in the digital-first era with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) new media rights deals across Netflix, NBC, and ESPN.
- Netflix will air the annual T-Mobile Home Run Derby, the 2026 MLB Opening Night game, and a selection of MLB special-event matchups, including the 2026 Field of Dreams Game. Netflix will also hold the Japanese broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
- NBCUniversal will now air Sunday Night Baseball from 2026 to 2028, which previously aired on ESPN. NBCU will also hold rights to MLB’s Wild Card round. Games will air on Peacock and NBCU’s new cable sports network.
- ESPN’s new deal allows it to sell subscriptions to live streaming service MLB.TV and stream thousands of out-of-market games on demand through the ESPN app. MLB.TV will continue to be available on MLB’s own platforms.
- Over 150 regular season games will also be available as “game of the day” offerings for ESPN Unlimited subscribers.