Latest News
Paramount Brings Programmatic Ads to the Octagon
YouTube TV Is Finally Letting You Build Your Own Channel Bundles
Disney Puts an End Date on the Bob Iger Era, as Pay Package Grows to $45.8M
‘Stranger Things’ Shatters Holiday Streaming Records, Again
FCC Puts Late-Night Political Talk on the Clock with New 'Equal Time' Rule
Samsung TV Plus Quietly Becomes a Streaming Giant with 100M Users
Netflix Bets on Vertical Video to Keep You Scrolling
Marketers Bet Big on AI and CTV, But Their Tech Is Lagging: Mediaocean Report
Netflix Pledges to Play by Theatrical Rules
Adobe Funnels Another $10MInto its Film & TV Fund Ahead of Sundance
Paramount Brings Programmatic Ads to the Octagon
YouTube TV Is Finally Letting You Build Your Own Channel Bundles
Disney Puts an End Date on the Bob Iger Era, as Pay Package Grows to $45.8M
‘Stranger Things’ Shatters Holiday Streaming Records, Again
FCC Puts Late-Night Political Talk on the Clock with New 'Equal Time' Rule
Samsung TV Plus Quietly Becomes a Streaming Giant with 100M Users
Netflix Bets on Vertical Video to Keep You Scrolling
Marketers Bet Big on AI and CTV, But Their Tech Is Lagging: Mediaocean Report
Netflix Pledges to Play by Theatrical Rules
Adobe Funnels Another $10MInto its Film & TV Fund Ahead of Sundance
Demand Side

MLB's Media Rights Scramble Ends with NBC, ESPN, and Netflix In, Apple Out

By SOS. News Desk | Aug 21, 2025

Major League Baseball is finalizing a massive media rights shuffle that will see Apple exit its 'Friday Night Baseball' deal, with NBC taking over key packages, ESPN acquiring MLB.TV, and Netflix landing the Home Run Derby, according to a scoop from Kendall Baker of Yahoo Sports.

  • The new roster: The deal positions NBC and its Peacock streamer to take over Friday night games, add the coveted “Sunday Night Baseball” package, and secure a slate of Wild Card playoff games. Netflix nabs the Home Run Derby, securing a marquee live event without committing to a full season of games.
  • Full circle: The move is a twist for ESPN, which triggered the scramble by backing out of its own $550 million-a-year deal. The network is now set to acquire MLB.TV, a move that aligns with its push for local sports rights ahead of its flagship direct-to-consumer launch.
  • The house that baseball built: The deal is particularly ironic for Disney, which spent nearly $4 billion to acquire BAMTech—the streaming technology company originally spun out of MLB Advanced Media—to power services like ESPN+. Now, Disney is effectively buying back the original product that started it all.
  • The 2028 pitch: The new deals are expected to be short-term, three-year agreements. The strategy is to align all of MLB's media rights to expire at the same time, setting up a full market reset for the league after the 2028 season.
Credit: mlb.com (edited)

Key Takeaways

  • Major League Baseball is finalizing a media rights shuffle, with NBC taking over Friday night games and ESPN acquiring MLB.TV.
  • Netflix secures the Home Run Derby, marking its entry into live sports without a full season commitment.
  • The new deals are short-term, aligning MLB's media rights to expire after the 2028 season for a market reset.