major League Baseball Announces Landmark Rights โขDeals with โESPN, Netflix, and NBCUniversal
NEW YORK – Major League baseball today unveiled a new three-year media rights agreement encompassing ESPN,โ netflix, and NBCUniversal, reshaping how fans consume the sport and setting the stage for a perhaps contentious labor negotiation. The deals, finalized as MLB enjoys a strong position bolstered by recent fan โengagement – including surging TV ratings during theโข Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run -โค will bring baseball to a โwider audience acrossโฃ customaryโค broadcast, cable, and streamingโ platforms.
NBCUniversal will reclaim exclusive broadcast rights to Sunday Night Baseball for โคthe firstโข time in decades, positioning the โฃgames alongside its NBA and NFL coverage. The agreement spans NBC,โ NBCSN, and Peacock, and includes theโ entire Wild Card round of the postseason. “we are excited to reignite NBC Sports’ storied Major League baseball history through this extensive and innovative partnership that will honor the past and create new traditions,” said Rick โฃCordella, President, NBC Sports. The partnership will debut on march 26 with โa prime-time โgame between the Los Angeles dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, preceded by a ceremony celebrating the Dodgers‘ 2025 championship.
ESPN, a longtime partner, will continue to air regular MLB games but will relinquish its Sunday Night Baseball โfranchiseโ to NBC. The โฃnetwork is utilizing the new agreement to refine its sports โฃportfolio after initially signaling an intention to move โขaway from baseball entirely before reconsidering a scaled-down role.
In a groundbreaking move, Netflix will become the firstโฃ streamingโ service to carry live MLB games, including select contests on Openingโฃ Day. The streaming giant will also broadcast the Home Run Derby during the All-Star Game โขbreak in July and the annual Field of Dreams โGame from Iowa.”We are incredibly thankful for our partnership with Major League Baseball. We started with critically acclaimed documentaries, deepening the existing global passion for baseball,” says Netflix Chief Content Officer bela Bajaria. “Now, we are seizing that moment by โฃbringing โขmassive cultural spectaclesโฃ – from Opening Night to the home Run Derby – โdirectly to our members, reinforcing Netflix as the ultimate home โฃforโค both the story and theโฃ sport.”
The agreements arrive at a critical juncture for MLB, as the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union expiresโค after the 2026 โขseason.โ The players’ union is anticipated to strongly oppose any attempts by โowners to implement a salary cap,a measure that could โpotentially avert escalatingโฃ player salaries exemplified by recent contracts exceedingโฃ $700 โmillion for players โlike New York Mets slugger Juan Soto and Los Angelesโข Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Baseball observers suggest โฃthe entireโฃ 2027 season could beโ jeopardized if owners lockโ out players and โขa new CBA isn’t reached.