Major League Baseball has secured a trio of new media rights deals that will change how fans watch the game beginning in 2026. The league reached three year agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix worth a combined total of about 800 million dollars per season.

Netflix will pay roughly 50 million dollars a year for rights to one Opening Night game, the Home Run Derby and one special event game each season. The first special event game under the deal will be the 2026 Field of Dreams matchup between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies. NBC and Peacock will take over Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round, bringing national games back to NBC for the first time in years. ESPN will continue to play a major role by airing 30 exclusive national games each season and streaming about 150 out of market games through its app.

Commissioner Rob Manfred says the goal was to build a package that pushes baseball onto multiple major platforms. He highlighted ESPN’s continued involvement along with NBC’s return and Netflix’s entrance into live sports as a way to reach a wider and younger audience.

For fans, the change introduces both more access and more places to look for games. What used to live on one or two network channels will now be split across broadcast TV, streaming services and apps. It reflects where live sports are heading, with baseball becoming another major league testing the balance between traditional television and modern streaming platforms.

If your watch habits already bounce between apps and channels, next season might feel pretty familiar. The biggest difference is that now baseball is joining your rotation right alongside your favorite shows.