Inside MLB's New Media Rights Deals With NBC, Netflix, And ESPN

Major League Baseball is coming off one of the most exciting World Series of the century (and perhaps ever). The Los Angeles Dodgers, led by World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in a wild seven-game series, capped off by a come-from-behind, 11-inning victory in the deciding seventh game. Now, with the buzz high, MLB is gearing up for the next few seasons with new media deals that will put the league on even more platforms.

The most notable shift is that NBC and Peacock will be the exclusive home of "Sunday Night Baseball" and the "MLB Sunday Leadoff" packages. NBC/NBCSN/Peacock will also host the entire Wild Card round of the playoffs and has airing rights to the MLB Draft, MLB Futures Game, and primetime games on Opening Day and Labor Day. The Opening Day game will be the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks, so NBC is getting the reigning World Series champions right away. NBC is paying $200 million annually for its broadcast rights.

Netflix is also getting into the mix. The streaming service is paying $50 million a year for the honor of hosting the Opening Night game each season; this year, Netflix will broadcast the New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants. Additionally, it will broadcast the Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams Game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. And Netflix will also provide all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic to users in Japan.

The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating their World Series win. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, ESPN restructured its deal with MLB for the next three years. The network opted out of "Sunday Night Baseball," allowing NBC to swoop in. ESPN had been paying MLB $550 million per year, or $1.65 billion over the remaining three years on the deal. ESPN will still be paying that amount, but the new deal gives them the rights to MLB.TV, which lets users watch out of market games. ESPN also gets a 30-game midweek package of live games on the network and its app.

On top of that, ESPN will offer games from MLB Network and select markets through the ESPN app. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres will all be available through the app; MLB had been producing those teams' games after regional sports networks in the area shut down. And you can watch the Little League Classic Game on ESPN, as well.

The league will still air postseason games and the World Series on Fox, as well as the "Baseball Night in America" broadcast package on Saturday nights. MLB and TBS will also maintain their deal, with TBS hosting the "MLB Tuesday" package and half of the MLB postseason. All TBS games will be streamable via HBO Max. MLB Network and Apple TV will continue airing games, too.

If your head is spinning from all of these options, you're not alone. There's a lot to wade through. In total, MLB will make about $800 million per year from these three new deals, some of which will trickle down to the players.

Technically, the MLB is losing about $300 million on its "Sunday Night Baseball" package. Those games averaged 1.8 million viewers over the past season on ESPN, which was paying $550 million largely for that package. Now, ESPN gets a new package of games and the valuable MLB.TV service, while NBC and Netflix are paying $250 million in place of ESPN. So, the league is gaining revenue overall while one of its flagship programs is getting less money.

For fans, it splinters the viewing experience even more, particularly if they're cord cutters. With new platforms hosting games, viewers have to decide between paying for additional streaming services or missing the action. Meanwhile, MLB is hoping it brings new fans to the sport. We'll see how both sides play ball when the new season starts in the spring.