NBC is gearing up for a complete monopoly on Sunday night’s.
According to a report by Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti in the Wall Street Journal, the network is nearing a deal with Major League Baseball that would see Sunday Night Baseball move to NBC. The deal is said to be “approaching $200 million annually,” and will run for a term of three years, consistent with prior reporting suggesting MLB would like to line up its entire suite of media rights come 2028 when its national deals with Fox and TNT Sports expire. Further reports confirmed that NBC is also in negotiations for the Wild Card round games leftover from ESPN’s original deal, which the network will exit after this season.
Netflix is also in line to nab the Home Run Derby in a deal worth $35 million annually, per WSJ.
The report indicates MLB expects to increase its revenue from its previous agreement with ESPN, which averaged $550 million per year before the network opted out earlier this year. Of course, it looks like the league will be selling a significantly larger amount of rights to reach that number.
Earlier today, The Athletic reported that MLB and ESPN are closing in on a deal that would see the Worldwide Leader license MLB.tv, the league’s out-of-market package, along with the in-market rights for five clubs currently under MLB’s control, and a package of about 30 exclusive weekday games that did not exist under any previous deals. The added inventory likely will help MLB achieve its goal of eclipsing that $550 million per year mark.
The Wall Street Journal reports that NBC will broadcast exclusive Sunday night games throughout the summer between its NBA and NFL commitments. Peacock will also play a role in the deal, though it’s unclear exactly what that will be. Earlier reporting from Yahoo Sports suggested that Apple TV+ could potentially drop its current Friday Night Baseball package, with NBC and Peacock in line to pick it up. If so, Friday nights could move to Peacock. There’s also a potential that the streamer could exclusively air certain Sunday night games while the NBA and NFL seasons are still ongoing.
The Athletic reported earlier today that Apple remains a in play to pick up an MLB package, so giving up the Friday night package is far from certain. None of these deals have been finalized, though it seems based on the volume of reporting that we’re approaching an announcement from MLB in short order.