Major League Baseball (MLB) is closing in on a short-term media rights agreement, though Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged Tuesday there are still challenges before anything becomes official. Speaking at a Front Office Sports Tuned In summit, Manfred confirmed reports that deals with multiple media partners are in place but not finalized.
“We kind of have agreements in principle. We still have issues that need to be resolved,” Manfred said. “They are the agreements that have been reported publicly, and we hope to push them across the finish line.”
The reported agreements would span from 2026 through 2028. Marking a shift in baseball’s broadcast landscape as the league continues to experiment with distribution strategies.
According to several reports, NBC and its streaming service Peacock will secure rights to Sunday Night Baseball and the wild-card round of the postseason. That package, previously held by ESPN before a mutual opt-out earlier this year, is reportedly valued at $200 million annually.
Meanwhile, Netflix will enter the live sports space with rights to the Home Run Derby. CNBC reported the streaming giant will pay $50 million annually for the event. Further signaling its intent to move beyond scripted content into high-profile sports programming.
ESPN, while ceding Sunday Night Baseball and the Home Run Derby, is set to gain midweek regular-season games and in-market rights for five clubs. Among those are the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies. The network would also license the out-of-market MLB.tv package, giving ESPN another direct connection to baseball fans nationwide.
“When I last spoke publicly, I said that conversations were healthy. I would say, since then, we’ve made good progress,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said during the summit. “I don’t want to go farther than that, but we’ve certainly made good progress with Rob and his team.”
With a focus on baseball, Pitaro also stressed ESPN’s interest in local sports broadcasting agreements. He noted the network sees an opportunity to improve game discoverability and access for fans.
“Local is super interesting to us, and we’ve made that clear. I’ve said that before… our partners and league executives understand that,” Pitaro said. “I consider ESPN to be the front door, the starting point for sports fans… We really want you starting your sports journey each day with ESPN.”
The moves are significant for both MLB and its media partners. For NBC, a return to national baseball coverage revives a long history with the sport, while Peacock gains another live sports property to bolster its subscriber base. Netflix, which has tested live events with stand-up comedy specials and reality competitions, would be making its most prominent foray into live sports with one of baseball’s marquee events.
For ESPN, retaining a strong national presence despite losing some traditional tentpoles allows the network to maintain consistent baseball coverage, while adding in-market streaming rights represents an important digital play.
While the short-term deal provides MLB flexibility, it also sets up a pivotal negotiation cycle in the coming years. All of the league’s national media rights will expire after the 2028 season.
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