NBC's Major League Baseball Coverage: Dodgers' Historic Opening Day and Exciting Season Ahead
NBC is set to kick off its Major League Baseball rights package with the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 26, 2026. This game will mark the Dodgers' earliest domestic Opening Day in franchise history, with 28 of MLB's 30 teams starting their seasons on the same day. The other 13 games will be played before NBC's primetime window, as reported by The Athletic and Sports Business Journal.
In a previous announcement by Puck's John Ourand, NBC was slated to feature a standalone primetime game on the second night of the season, with potential matchups like Pirates-Mets and Tigers-Padres. The Dodgers' banner-raising ceremony adds a unique attraction to NBC's Sunday Night Baseball, taking over the broadcast rights from ESPN for the upcoming season.
On March 25, Netflix will stream the Yankees-Giants game, originally planned as NBC's Opening Day game before negotiations led to Netflix acquiring the rights for the next three seasons. Netflix is also expanding its baseball coverage by securing rights to the Home Run Derby, Wild Card games, and the Field of Dreams showcase in Iowa.
NBC's MLB package, extending until 2028, includes coverage of the Wild Card Round and Sunday Morning Leadoff games, which were previously held by Roku. The network's return to regular-season baseball broadcasting comes after briefly simulcasting Peacock's Sunday morning games in 2022 and 2023. Prior to that, NBC had not aired MLB games since the 2000 ALCS.
In conclusion, NBC's upcoming MLB coverage promises an exciting lineup of games, including the Dodgers' Opening Day ceremony and a mix of primetime matchups. With Netflix expanding its baseball offerings, fans can look forward to a diverse range of games and events across different platforms in the coming seasons.