Major League Baseball announced today that it has signed new media rights agreements with Netflix, NBCUniversal, and ESPN, covering the next three seasons. The deal with Netflix marks a significant expansion for the streaming service into live sports, granting it the rights to stream a single game on Opening Night of each season, the annual Home Run Derby, and one “special event game” per year.
According to a report from Front Office Sports, the arrangement with Netflix is valued at approximately $50 million annually. The special event game for the 2026 season has already been confirmed as the “Field of Dreams” game, featuring the Minnesota Twins facing off against the Philadelphia Phillies in Dyersville, Iowa, on August 13, 2026.
The broader media package distributes rights that were previously held exclusively by ESPN. Under the new terms, NBCUniversal secures the rights to “Sunday Night Baseball,” along with draft coverage and other games across its networks. The league stated that some Sunday night games will stream on Peacock and simulcast on the newly relaunched NBC Sports Network, while Peacock will also carry “Sunday Leadoff” games starting around noon.
ESPN retains a significant portion of MLB broadcasts, including a 30-game package each season exclusive to its linear channels and app. The network will also stream 150 out-of-market games (one per day) through the ESPN app and maintain the ability to sell MLB Network and select in-market games via its platform.
