Major League Baseball has signed new three-year national media rights deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix for the 2026–2028 seasons, replacing ESPN’s previous standalone agreement and bringing in Netflix as its first live-sports partner, the league announced on November 19, 2025.
The deals will pay MLB roughly $750 million per year — a 55% drop from the $1.65 billion ESPN alone was scheduled to pay annually before opting out — but the shortfall is offset by ESPN taking full control of MLB.TV out-of-market streaming and the addition of new partners.
Key rights breakdown (2026–2028):
- ESPN: 30 exclusive weeknight games, first-round playoffs on ESPN/ABC, and now owns all MLB.TV out-of-market and select in-market streaming rights (annual value ~$550M).
- Fans with an MLB.TV subscription also have access to MLB Network and its 24/7 programming; ESPN’s MLB studio rights for Baseball Tonight will continue; Existing audio package continues as ESPN Radio remains the national audio home of the World Series, the full MLB Postseason, the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, weekly Saturday games and Sunday Night Baseball
- NBCUniversal (NBC, Peacock, USA Network): Returns to MLB with Sunday Night Baseball (25 games), the Sunday morning “Leadoff” package (18 games), a Wild Card Series, Opening Day/Labor Day primetime games, and the July 5 full-slate broadcast (annual value ~$200M with ratings bonuses).
- Netflix: Enters live baseball with one Opening Night game per year, the Home Run Derby, one annual special event (e.g., 2026 Field of Dreams game), and exclusive global rights to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (47 games) — its first live MLB streams (annual value ~$50M).
All current national partners — including Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery — will now expire together after the 2028 season, setting up a blockbuster rights negotiation in 2029.The new structure emphasizes streaming: Peacock regains a Sunday package previously held by Roku, ESPN absorbs MLB.TV (19.4 billion minutes streamed in 2025), and Netflix begins its push into live sports after years of sports documentaries.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called the synchronized expiration “a strategic reset” that positions the league to capitalize on the next wave of streaming competition.