Major League Baseball announced its newest set of media contracts with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix through the 2028 season on Wednesday, and ESPN now holds the exclusive in-market streaming rights to Arizona Diamondbacks games.
In a reported $1.65 billion agreement over three years, ESPN has added MLB.TV and therefore the rights to out-of-market games for all 30 teams and in-market games for six: Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, San Diego, Minnesota and Seattle. The Mariners joined the previous group of five teams that did not have regional sports network deals.
Local streaming for Diamondbacks games will continue on MLB platforms for 2026, with the additional option to watch them on the ESPN App.
MLB assumed production of Diamondbacks games in 2023 after Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy. MLB continued to produce D-backs games in 2024 and 2025, with broadcasts being distributed on D-backs.TV.
This deal is not expected to affect local fans’ ability to watch games on cable or DirecTV.
According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, the price of MLB.TV is expected to remain the same at $150 per year. Fans can purchase the subscription through the ESPN app or MLB platforms for 2026.
D-backs.TV had been a separate package for $99.99 per year, which could have been bundled with MLB.TV for $199.99 per year. A new price has not yet been announced but it is expected to be the same.
“Fans will have the ability to purchase these subscriptions either independently, as part of a bundle with MLB.TV or packaged with an ESPN subscription,” according to MLB’s press release.
ESPN and MLB opted out of their contract with three years left earlier this year, but they came together to find a new agreement. ESPN will no longer carry Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby or postseason games. It will broadcast 30 exclusive weeknight games during the season for national audiences. ESPN Radio will continue to air the postseason and Sunday Night Baseball.
“Bringing MLB.TV to ESPN’s new app while maintaining a presence on linear television reflects a balanced approach to the shifts taking place in the way that fans watch baseball and gives MLB a meaningful presence on an important destination for fans of all sports,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a press release.
Diamondbacks to play first NBC/Peacock game
NBC will take over Sunday Night Baseball, as well as the Wild Card round of the postseason and the MLB Draft. MLB Sunday Leadoff is back to stream 18 games on Peacock on Sundays prior to or around noon local time.
NBC’s first national broadcast will be the D-backs’ season opener on March 26, when they visit the defending-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It will air on NBC and stream on Peacock.
Additional MLB on NBC notes:
NBC said in a press release it will bring the “same production and promotional assets” from Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Basketball to Sunday Night Baseball.
On July 5, all 15 MLB games will air on Peacock and NBC.
Telemundo Deportes will show MLB games in Spanish throughout the season.
Peacock is going to live stream one out-of-market game every day of the season.
The All-Star Futures Game will play on NBC and Peacock.
“With the Sunday Night Baseball package, NBC and Peacock are now the year-round platforms for premier Sunday night sports programming,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a press release.
Netflix to stream live MLB games
Netflix, meanwhile, acquired the rights to the Opening Day primetime game, the Home Run Derby and Field of Dreams game in Iowa.
The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants will play a standalone game on March 25 to start the season, and that will be on Netflix. The Field of Dreams game returns and will feature the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies coming out of the corn field.
NBC will pay $200 million per season, while Netflix agreed to pay $50 million per season, according to The Athletic.
FOX, Apple and Turner remain partners with MLB through 2028, at which point there will be a blank slate. The world of sports media rights deals is changing rapidly.
