Padres.TV 2026 Season: MLB Diversifies Distribution Across Five Platforms

MLB recently finalized new three-year media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix, covering the 2026-2028 seasons (MLB.com, November 2025). Under these deals, ESPN acquired rights to sell MLB.TV, the league's out-of-market streaming service, and will carry a national midweek game package. NBC and Peacock will become the new home for 'Sunday Night Baseball' and the Wild Card Series, marking NBC's return to regular MLB broadcasts after a 25-year hiatus. Netflix will enter live sports broadcasting with the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, an Opening Night exclusive, and an annual special event game (ESPN, November 2025). CBS Sports (March 2026) noted that 22 of MLB's 30 clubs now have broadcasts produced or distributed by MLB, allowing for in-market, blackout-free streaming subscriptions. This shift is partly driven by the financial collapse of certain regional sports networks (Sports Business Journal, March 2026). The growing fragmentation of rights means that a fan might require subscriptions to multiple services, such as MLB.tv, the ESPN App, and NBC/Peacock, to access all their preferred team's games, alongside traditional linear channels (CBS Sports, March 2026). This complex landscape underscores MLB's broader strategy to expand reach and engage fans across various viewing habits, even as it introduces challenges for consumer access and aggregation.