After 35 years, the MLB and ESPN are going their separate ways at the end of this season, which means a portion of postseason games and Sunday Night Baseball are searching for a new home. One suitor who has placed a bid is NBC and Peacock, per a new report from the Wall Street Journal.
ESPN was paying $550 million per season before opting out of the final three years of their contract, as it was reported ESPN wanted to cut the deal by more than half; however, MLB shut that down. After ESPN had opted out, it was reported that NBC was “intrigued” in adding MLB to its sports lineup, strengthing its Sunday night schedule that already includes NFL football and will add NBA basketball next season.
If the reported bid is successful, NBC could have Sunday night sports throughout the year, with games airing on the broadcast network and Peacock streaming service. Additionally, WSJ reported that NBC would like to take over ESPN’s rights for the Home Run Derby and first-round MLB Playoff games.
NBC’s offer was made earlier this month and MLB commissioner Rob Manfield and Comcast CEO Brian Robers have also discussed a potential deal, per WSJ sources.
MLB’s plan is to become more streaming-friendly to make games more accessible to fans. If successful, baseball would find a home on a major OTA network and renew a relationship from the past. NBC aired MLB games from 1947–1989 and 1996–2000, and Peacock was the original home of MLB Sunday Leadoff for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Sources familiar with the bid that WSJ spoke to said that the NBC offer is “significantly less” than what ESPN is currently paying as the network isn’t bidding for rights to international, radio, or highlight clips.
There have been talks of Peacock taking over MLB.TV, as the league could license out games to counter changing viewing habits and widen the availability for fans. Peacock already airs several in-market MLB games for teams that play on NBC Sports RSNs. Additionally, WSJ reported that NBC’s cable spin-off Versant is interested in the idea of acquiring an MLB package, but they are not part of NBC’s discussions with the league.
Credit: Wall Street Journal