Major League Baseball's TV Talks Seem to Round Third, Head for Home With NBC, Netflix, ESPN Brian SteinbergAugust 22, 2025 at 5:26 AM Major League Baseball didn't necessarily expect to be renegotiating a good chunk of its TV rights in 2025, but it is in fact trying to parcel out the next few years o...
- - Major League Baseball's TV Talks Seem to Round Third, Head for Home With NBC, Netflix, ESPN
Brian SteinbergAugust 22, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Major League Baseball didn't necessarily expect to be renegotiating a good chunk of its TV rights in 2025, but it is in fact trying to parcel out the next few years of a major part of its schedule among three different players.
NBCUniversal, Netflix and Walt Disney's ESPN have been in talks with Major League Baseball for the past several weeks, according to three people familiar with the discussions, all in a bid to reappropriate a package of games that had been earmarked for ESPN through 2029, but that the Disney sports-media giant will walk away from after this season as part of an opt-out clause it had in the contract.
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In the talks taking place, NBCU is interested in a deal to carry MLB games on Sunday via its NBC broadcast network and its Peacock streaming service. Netflix is looking at the Home Run Derby that takes place ahead of the annual All-Star Game. And ESPN, which has long coveted the idea of distributing MLB games to local markets, is in discussions that might have it weave the MLB.TV streaming service into the new direct-to-consumer outlet it unveiled Thursday.
NBCUniversal, Netflix and ESPN declined to make executives available for comment. Major League Baseball was not able to respond immediately to a query seeking comment. Yahoo Sports, The Athletic and The Wall Street Journal previously reported details of the discussions.
ESPN accused Major League Baseball of undercutting the value of the games by selling separate packages to Apple and Roku for lesser costs, and decided to cede its current rights. Even so, sports continue to drive the TV market, which once centered around scripted comedies and dramas, and any content that brings broader audiences watching simultaneously is seen to be of value. ESPN and Fox Corp. on Thursday both unveiled new streaming services that rely heavily on sports, part of an effort both companies said to reach millions of consumers who never have subscribed to cable or no longer do so.
NBC, if it were to come to terms on what is seen as a three-year deal, would be able to use MLB games to offer big-league sports on Sunday nights across the year. The network already offers "Sunday Night Football," one of the most-watched properties on TV, and will start showing NBA games on Sundays after the end of the next NFL season.
Netflix would secure another one-off sports property to bolster its growing strategy of featuring live events. The company has gained traction in recent months with rights to show NFL games on Christmas Day, and recently indicated ad inventory tied to its next set of NFL contests was sold out.
ESPN would be able to harness MLB games that appeal to consumers in specific markets — a key driver of MLB's audience. And such a deal would come at a time when the main purveyors of local games — regional sports networks — have faced the same economic headwinds as other cable outlets. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said last year that the company would be able to "geotarget" subscribers to its streaming services and make games available to people in specific markets. And he said ESPN would be able to generate new reach and viewership for sports entities. "We believe that reach is a value asset to the leagues," Pitaro said.
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