Major League Baseball signs deals with Netflix, ESPN and NBCUniversal

Major League Baseball (MLB) has signed a slew of deals with broadcast and streaming giants to show select games for the next three seasons.

Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, will stream baseball specials that attract millions of viewers each year. This includes the league’s exclusive Opening Night and Home Run Derby, where players compete to hit the most home runs.

Media companies ESPN and NBCUniversal also acquired the rights to other MLB-related programming.

Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. said the three-year agreements will help the league expand its reach.

Starting in the 2026 season, the new deal will give ESPN the rights to MLB.TV, the on-demand service that allows viewers to watch teams outside their local area, MLB said Wednesday.

It did not provide details on MLB.TV’s expected subscription fees or the value of the three agreements.

Meanwhile, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal will take over Sunday night games, bringing regular games back to its network for the first time in a quarter-century.

As part of the deal, Netflix will also broadcast the World Baseball Classic in Japan.

The agreements will syndicate MLB coverage across a variety of platforms.

Fox Sports will continue to broadcast the World Series and other games, while Apple TV will broadcast back-to-back Friday Night Baseball games.

These deals were a result of ESPN opting out of the final three seasons of its contract this year, which would have given the channel the rights to many of these MLB programs.

The contract would have cost ESPN more than $1.5bn (£1.15bn) over the next three seasons.

ESPN’s opt-out led to lengthy negotiations with the league and multiple platforms to show its games.