Major League Baseball has confirmed a three-year package of media rights deals with Netflix, ESPN and NBCUniversal.
The deals will reshape how regular season games, special events and out-of-market games are shown in the US starting in 2026.
Running from 2026 to 2028, the agreements give Netflix a headline special-events role.
Netflix gets exclusive coverage of Opening Night, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby and at least one MLB special event game per season.
This includes a 2026 return to the Field of Dreams game in Iowa.
The streaming service will also carry all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan.
ESPN will acquire the rights to sell and distribute MLB.TV, the league’s out-of-market streaming service, through its digital platforms starting in 2026.
ESPN also gets a new exclusive 30-game midweek package on its linear networks and app.
The reworked deal follows ESPN’s decision to opt out of the final three years of its previous long-term contract.
That earlier contract would have cost the network more than $1.5 billion over the 2026-28 period.
Comcast-owned NBCUniversal will bring Sunday night baseball back to NBC for the first time in more than 25 years.
NBC is taking over the Sunday Night Baseball package, the Sunday Leadoff early game window and the entire Wild Card round.
Games will air across NBC, the relaunched NBCSN cable channel and streaming service Peacock.
The new arrangements sit alongside existing national deals with Fox Sports retaining the World Series and other big games.
Apple TV+ will continue to stream the Friday Night Baseball double-header.
Combined, the fresh Netflix, ESPN and NBC agreements are estimated to be worth close to $800 million per year.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the lineup of partners would “expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment and marquee events.”
The announcement follows a World Series that MLB says averaged more than 51 million viewers globally.
ESPN will pay approximately $550 million annually under the new three-year deal.
This is similar to what they paid before but includes different content packages.
NBC’s deal is valued at around $200 million per year and brings baseball back to the network after a 26-year absence from regular season coverage.
Netflix’s agreement will cost approximately $50 million annually for its special event coverage.
The 2026 MLB season will begin with Netflix’s Opening Night exclusive game on March 25.
This game features Aaron Judge and the Yankees against Rafael Devers and the Giants.
NBC will open its coverage on March 26 with a primetime game between the Diamondbacks and defending World Series champion Dodgers.
The T-Mobile Home Run Derby moves from ESPN to Netflix in 2026.
It will continue to take place the day before the All-Star Game, which happens at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park in 2026.
Netflix will also stream the MLB at Field of Dreams game live from Dyersville, Iowa on August 13, 2026.
That special game will feature the Twins versus the Phillies at the iconic movie site.
ESPN subscribers will now be able to purchase MLB.TV through the ESPN app to watch their favorite teams outside their home territory.
ESPN saw a 34 percent viewership increase on its streaming platform in 2025.
During the term of the agreement, ESPN will offer fans in-market games for select MLB teams through the ESPN app.
Currently six teams will have their local games available through ESPN’s service.
NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage will air on the main NBC network as well as Peacock and NBCSN.
In 2025, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball recorded its best season since 2013 with an average of 1.8 million viewers.
That represented a 21 percent increase over the previous year’s total.
NBC will also broadcast the Wild Card Series, which previously aired on ESPN networks.
Fox and FS1 will continue to be the home of the All-Star Game and regular season games.
Fox retains the World Series, League Championship Series and Division Series coverage.
TBS will continue to show LCS and Division Series telecasts plus regular season games on Tuesday nights.
Apple TV+ will keep streaming two Friday night games throughout the regular season.
The deals come as MLB looks ahead to a major negotiation when all national rights expire after the 2028 season.
Commissioner Manfred has stated his desire for a national streaming package similar to the NBA’s 11-year, $77 billion deal.
Netflix has previously partnered with MLB on documentaries including the Emmy Award-winning “The Turnaround” and “The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox.”
The streaming giant has more than 90 million subscribers in the US and Canada and over 300 million globally.
MLB Network will continue to be available to fans purchasing an MLB.TV subscription.
It will also remain available through linear TV packages and as a standalone direct-to-consumer service.
The partnership between MLB and ESPN dates back to 1990 and will now reach 39 consecutive seasons.
NBC and MLB previously had broadcasting partnerships from 1947 to 1989 and from 1994 to 2000.
During those earlier partnerships, NBC broadcast numerous World Series, All-Star Games and Games of the Week.
The new media rights deals were announced during MLB’s Owner Meetings at league headquarters in Manhattan.
Manfred said the league was “able to capitalize on real momentum in the game” to complete the negotiations.
The 2025 MLB postseason saw large viewership increases, including the most-watched postseason in eight years.
Game 7 of the World Series was the most-watched MLB game in 34 years.
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