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Apple and NBC Emerge as Final Contenders for MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball and Wild Card Games

The league is parceling ESPN’s vacated rights into three-season packages set to expire in 2028.

Overview

  • MLB is negotiating with Apple TV+, NBCUniversal/Peacock, Netflix and ESPN to reassign the national broadcast rights that ESPN opted out of earlier this year, with no deals finalized.
  • Apple TV+ and NBCUniversal/Peacock have emerged as the final contenders for the Sunday Night Baseball package and first-round Wild Card games.
  • Netflix is a leading suitor to acquire the Home Run Derby rights, seeking to add marquee event coverage to its streaming portfolio.
  • ESPN is pursuing a reconfigured lineup focused on weekday national games and local broadcasts, with interest in obtaining MLB.TV to boost its digital offerings.
  • All proposed deals are structured as three-season agreements through 2028, aligning with other national contracts and targeting roughly $550–570 million per season in revenue.