NBC’s Peacock May Stream MLB Sundays

NBCUniversal’s Peacock is finalizing a deal with Major League Baseball for exclusive rights to stream games in a new Sunday time slot, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the discussions, as the league looks to increase digital partnerships.

The deal with NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp., would involve a package of 18 games, some beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET and others just after noon, the people said. That would limit the conflict with Sunday games that typically start at 1 p.m., making the telecasts more valuable for Peacock. The games would primarily be played on the East Coast, given the early timing.

The games would be available exclusively for paying Peacock subscribers, meaning consumers wouldn’t have access through traditional cable-TV packages or other streaming services, such as MLB’s direct-to-consumer app, the people familiar with the discussions said.

Talks are continuing, and a deal could be announced in the coming days, the people said. The league is coming off a labor standoff with the players’ union that delayed the start of the 2022 season. The two parties on Thursday agreed to a new labor contract; opening day is now scheduled for April 7.

MLB is hard at work to maximize the value of its media rights and cash in on new demand from streaming services. That requires carving up its schedule in creative ways. Earlier this week, Apple Inc. announced it would broadcast MLB games on Apple TV+ on Friday nights, another exclusive set of games that will be available only on the streaming platform.

Streaming services are finding live sports to be a major draw in their push to sign up viewers and subscribers—just as they have long been in the traditional TV world. Streamers like Apple and Peacock “need more ammunition,” said Daniel Cohen, senior vice president of global media-rights consulting at Octagon. “And nothing is better when it comes to being an audience aggregator than live sports.”

Walt Disney Co. ’s ESPN broadcasts MLB games, mostly on Sunday nights, while WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports and Fox Sports also air national baseball games. MLB has also recently been seeking a buyer for a package of nonexclusive weeknight games, which used to be carried by ESPN. Amazon.com Inc., a minority owner in the YES Network, is expected to stream 21 New York Yankees games this season.