NBC, Apple top contenders for Sunday Night Baseball as ESPN considers buying weekday games

According to a report from The Athletic by Andrew Marchand, NBC and its streaming service Peacock, along with Apple TV+, are leading the race to secure MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball package after ESPN decided to pull out of its current deal earlier this year. Negotiations are still ongoing, so there’s a chance for other platforms to enter the running.

In addition to Sunday Night Baseball, NBC and Apple are also contenders for the first-round playoff games that ESPN used to broadcast. ESPN, on the other hand, is eyeing weekday games as part of a new set of rights and is looking into acquiring MLB.TV, the league’s out-of-market package. According to Marchand, MLB is considering splitting its postseason inventory from the Sunday Night Baseball package.

Netflix has emerged as a strong contender to secure the Home Run Derby, which is currently part of ESPN’s package. Dividing up the rights from the current deal with ESPN will help MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred match the $570 million the league would have earned next season. All the deals MLB is considering are for a three-year term, aligning with the expiration of the league’s other national contracts with Fox and TNT Sports. This will allow MLB to bring all its media rights to the market at once.