Major League Baseball's broadcast landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades heading into the 2026 season, driven by the collapse of traditional regional sports networks (RSNs), a shift toward league-controlled production and streaming, and new national media rights deals emphasizing digital platforms.
The decline of RSNs and rise of MLB-controlled local broadcasts represent the biggest trend. The fallout from Diamond Sports Group (now Main Street Sports/FanDuel Sports Network)'s bankruptcy and ongoing financial struggles has forced many teams to abandon traditional cable RSNs.
In 2026, MLB's in-house media unit now handles local broadcasts or distribution for about half the league—15 teams—including recent additions like the Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals, Angels, Tigers, and others (such as the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Rockies, Twins, Padres, Mariners, and Nationals from prior years).
This centralization allows MLB to offer direct-to-consumer in-market streaming subscriptions (often blackout-free) via the MLB App or ESPN App for many clubs, priced around $99.99/season or bundled with out-of-market MLB-TV.
National rights have been reshuffled with new three-year deals (2026-2028) involving ESPN, NBCUniversal/Peacock, and Netflix.
Key changes include:
- ESPN distributes the out-of-market MLB.TV package (which set a record 19.4 billion minutes watched in 2025, up 34%) and streams over 150 out-of-market games daily, plus about 30 regular-season games.
- NBC/Peacock takes over Sunday Night Baseball, MLB Sunday Leadoff, Opening Day/Labor Day primetime games, and the full Wild Card Round postseason.
- Netflix exclusively airs standalone events like Opening Night, the Home Run Derby, and the Field of Dreams Game.
These partnerships reflect a broader push toward streaming exclusivity and flexibility, with ESPN regaining a foothold after earlier tensions.