MLB Returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026

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Major League Baseball (MLB) and NBCUniversal made it official with the announcement of a three-year media rights agreement, returning baseball to NBC and Peacock. The Sunday Night Baseball package was previously with ESPN.

The agreement comes with a showcase package of exclusive games and events beginning with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers raising their banner leading into a primetime matchup (vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) on March 26, 2026 – the first full day of games in the 2026 MLB season. The Dodgers’ opener will be the only primetime MLB game on Opening Day.

NBCUniversal’s new MLB agreement is headlined by exclusive packages across NBC, NBCSN and Peacock, including primetime’s Sunday Night Baseball, a Peacock-exclusive MLB Sunday Leadoff package of games followed by a Sunday afternoon whip-around show, an exclusive “Opening Day” primetime game (March 26), a new Labor Day primetime tradition, and the entire Wild Card round of the Postseason.

Sunday Night Baseball on NBC/Peacock now joins NBC Sports’ presentations of Sunday Night Football (NFL) and Sunday Night Basketball (NBA) to deliver year-round primetime sports programming on the same night each week – a broadcast network first.

“We are excited to reignite NBC Sports’ storied Major League Baseball history through this comprehensive and innovative partnership that will honor the past and create new traditions,” said Rick Cordella, President, NBC Sports. “With the Sunday Night Baseball package, NBC and Peacock are now the year-round platforms for premier Sunday night sports programming. We can’t wait to focus our award-winning production, promotion, and storytelling on MLB’s iconic stars, teams, and rivalries to spotlight beginning on March 26. Play ball!”

“NBC has demonstrated an outstanding combination of high production value and powerful athlete storytelling that makes MLB’s return to the network an exciting opportunity to continue the sport’s growth,” said Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. “With NBCUniversal showing great enthusiasm for baseball, we are looking forward to working together to continue the sport’s momentum by telling the stories of today’s talented players and capturing the excitement of our great game.”

Following is a breakdown of NBCUniversal’s new MLB package:

• Beginning with the 2026 season, Sunday Night Baseball will feature MLB’s most iconic stars, teams, and matchups. It will consist of 25 primetime games per year, a mixture of games on NBC/Peacock (in all available Sunday night broadcast windows) and Peacock/NBCSN exclusives. NBC Sports will bring the same production and promotional assets and philosophies to this franchise as it does for Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Basketball.
• The Postseason road to the World Series begins exclusively on NBC, NBCSN and Peacock, which will present the entire Wild Card round, ranging from 8-12 games each season.
• MLB Sunday Leadoff returns and will feature 18 games with late-morning starts – 17 Peacock/NBCSN exclusives and one Peacock/NBC simulcast – over the course of the season. The package debuted on Peacock for the 2022 and 2023 seasons and created a new and popular window of exclusive baseball action to fans nationwide.
• Following each MLB Sunday Leadoff game, Peacock will stream a Sunday afternoon whip-around show with look-ins at all the live action around Major League Baseball.
• A special Sunday, July 5 “Roadblock” will feature all 15 MLB games that day exclusively presented on Peacock and NBC, beginning with MLB Sunday Leadoff on NBC/Peacock, every afternoon game exclusively on Peacock, and culminating with Sunday Night Baseball on NBC/Peacock.
• Regular season and Postseason Peacock-exclusive MLB games will be available on the newly launched NBCSN sports cable network.
• Telemundo Deportes will present all NBCUniversal-produced MLB games in Spanish, with Universo televising all games broadcast on NBC.
• The agreement creates two new traditions – exclusive “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games. NBC and Peacock will be the exclusive home of the primetime game on the first full day of games (March 26, 2026, in the first year of the agreement). In a first for MLB, there will be an exclusive Labor Day primetime game on NBC/Peacock. No other game will be played at that time.
• In 2027 and 2028, NBCU will be the home of “Game 2,430” – the most consequential game on the final day of regular season. Prior to the final game, Peacock’s Sunday afternoon whip-around show will be a can’t miss destination for baseball fans on the season’s final day.
• Peacock will live stream one out-of-market game every day of the season.
• In 2027 and 2028, NBC/Peacock will showcase one of MLB’s popular special event games.
• In addition…
  • NBC, NBCSN and Peacock will present live coverage of the MLB Draft (July 11, 2026)
  • NBC and Peacock will present the All-Star Futures Game (July 12, 2026)
  • Peacock will stream MLB highlights, short-form content, and documentaries.
• Sky Sports, a Comcast-owned sports media company servicing the United Kingdom and Ireland, will largely receive all rights to the aforementioned NBC and Peacock games for its territories as well.

NBC and Peacock are now the homes to year-round premier Sunday night sports. Sunday Night Football and the NFL playoffs are showcased from September through January. Sunday Night Basketball and the NBA playoffs run from February through May. Sunday Night Baseball will overlap with the NBA but will generally be shown from April through August.

Peacock’s expansive sports programming features live coverage including Sunday Night Football, Olympic and Paralympic Games, the NBA, Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame Football, BIG EAST basketball, Big 12 basketball, Premier League, golf, the WNBA beginning in 2026, La Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026, and much more. Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel.

NBC SPORTS’ MLB TRADITION

NBC Sports has a distinguished history with Major League Baseball. The first-ever MLB television broadcast was a 1939 Cincinnati Reds-Brooklyn Dodgers doubleheader on W2XBS (the precursor to WNBC-TV) in New York. NBC Sports was a home to the first World Series broadcast in 1947, the first All-Star Game nationally broadcast in 1952, and has televised 39 World Series – more than any other network.

From 1957-2000, NBC Sports was home to a wealth of baseball programming, including Game of the Week and Monday Night Baseball telecasts, more than 30 All-Star Games, and countless iconic Postseason moments. For the 2022-23 seasons, Peacock was the exclusive home of MLB Sunday Leadoff, a first-of-its-kind Sunday morning presentation featuring a unique three-announcer broadcast booth with one analyst with expertise on each team joining the play-by-play voice.