The big picture: Major League Baseball has signed new media rights agreements with Netflix, ESPN, and NBCUniversal for the next three seasons. While ESPN and NBCUniversal will continue to broadcast the bulk of MLB games, Netflix will livestream the Home Run Derby, the MLB at Field of Dreams Game, and the sole matchup on Opening Night – the day before the traditional Opening Day – over the next three years.
The deal, covering the 2026 – 2028 MLB seasons, marks the first time Netflix will provide live coverage of Major League Baseball games. The platform will also stream all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic in the Japanese market, marking its debut in live-streaming baseball's premier international tournament.
Netflix has previously produced acclaimed baseball documentaries, including The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox and The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox. The former won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Series earlier this year.
MLB has formed new three-year media rights agreements with Netflix, NBCUniversal, and ESPN.
– MLB (@MLB) November 19, 2025
The agreements, which cover rights for the 2026-2028 MLB seasons, mark the return of NBC to regularly airing MLB games on its broadcast network for the first time in 26 years, will expand… pic.twitter.com/uqMXYpbQFP
Opening Day on March 25, 2026, will see the New York Yankees travel to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Giants. The MLB at Field of Dreams game between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies will stream live from Dyersville, Iowa, on August 13, while the T-Mobile Home Run Derby will take place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13.
With the MLB deal, Netflix has further cemented its association with top-tier sports events, following its broadcast agreement with the NFL last year. According to CNBC, the Netflix-MLB agreement is worth roughly $50 million per year, while ESPN and NBCUniversal's annual payouts to Major League Baseball are estimated at $550 million and $200 million, respectively.
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The deal with ESPN extends MLB's long-term relationship with the cable sports network to 39 consecutive seasons, while the agreement with NBCUniversal marks the return of regular-season MLB games to the NBC network for the first time in 26 years.
Under the agreements, ESPN will telecast a national midweek game throughout the season and has acquired global rights to MLB.TV, which set a viewership record this year. NBC, NBCSN, and Peacock will broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Leadoff, Opening Day games, Labor Day primetime games, and the entire postseason Wild Card round.
Additionally, NBC and Peacock will cover out-of-market games daily throughout the season, including all 15 games on Sunday, July 5. Peacock-exclusive games will also be available on the newly rebranded NBCSN Sports cable network.