Major League Baseball games have been distributed across several networks and streaming services in recent years, but a big change is on the horizon with ESPN’s TV rights contract set to expire at the end of the 2025 season.
The self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports” and MLB mutually agreed to opt out of their deal, marking the end of a relationship that began more than three decades ago.
It was reported earlier this year that multiple networks and streaming services were interested in picking up some of ESPN’s TV rights that includes “Sunday Night Baseball” games, the Wild Card Series and Home Run Derby.
According to Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal, NBC has emerged as a possibility to take over the package that ESPN is giving up after this season:
NBCUniversal has made an offer to Major League Baseball to take over the package of regular-season and postseason games that ESPN is walking away from, offering much less than its rival currently pays, according to people familiar with the matter.
If NBC wins the bidding, the aforementioned events will also be streamed on Peacock beginning with the 2026 season:
If the bid is successful, NBC would air games on Sunday night, the slot ESPN has occupied since 1990. Games would also appear on NBC’s sister streaming service, Peacock. NBC is also interested in ESPN’s rights to the first round of the postseason and the annual Home Run Derby.
MLB games first aired on NBC from 1947-1989 before returning to the network in 1994. More than two decades passed before regular season baseball returned to NBC in 2022 as part of the short-lived “MLB Sunday Leadoff” games on Peacock.
Roku replaced Peacock as the home for MLB Sunday streams last season. The Roku Channel is widely available to stream for free without a subscription or sign-up required.
Fox Sports interested in ESPN’s MLB TV rights
Fox president and chief operating officer John Nallen said earlier this year that his network was looking into acquiring ESPN’s expiring package, but it’s unclear if they are still in the running.
Previous reports suggested that Amazon and Netflix were possibilities to pick up some of ESPN’s rights as well.
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