While Major League Baseball has several new broadcasting agreements and partners for the 2026 season, a portion of their national TV rights remain unchanged.
Fox networks will continue to air select contests during the regular season, along with the All-Star Game, Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series.
Turner networks will also continue to televise regular season games on Tuesday nights, as well as the Division Series and League Championship Series.
Apple TV+ additionally remains the home to “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders throughout the regular season, continuing a partnership that began in 2022 when the sides reached a seven-year agreement.
There was some belief that Apple would opt out of their contract amid MLB’s media rights shakeup, but the company will continue to be part of the league’s identity going forward. Another possibility was Apple TV+ taking over MLB’s “Sunday Night Baseball” package and Wild Card Series matchups.
“Friday Night Baseball” is produced by MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning production team in partnership with Apple’s live sports production team.
The games incorporate drone cameras for aerial stadium shots, as well as player mics and field-level mics to immerse fans in the gameplay and stadium atmosphere.
Since 2023, a paid subscription to Apple TV+ has been required in order to access the “Friday Night Baseball” games. However, Apple routinely offers free trials to new and qualified returning customers.
Details of MLB’s new media rights deals
MLB recently announced new three-year media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix that will cover the 2026-2028 seasons.
As part of the new agreements, ESPN receives a national midweek game package each season while also acquiring the rights to sell MLB.TV, the league’s out-of-market streaming service.
ESPN is no longer the home of “Sunday Night Baseball” or the Wild Card Series, which go to NBCUniversal. NBC also re-acquired the rights to MLB Sunday Leadoff games, which it previously carried for the 2022-2023 seasons on Peacock.
Netflix will now air the Home Run Derby, an Opening Night exclusive and other special events such as the Field of Dreams game.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
