Earlier this year, it was announced that MLB and ESPN would end their broadcast deal, ending a long broadcast partnership.
As it turns out, the partnership isn’t quite over. ESPN will still have baseball on its networks moving forward…and so will NBC and Netflix.
ESPN will maintain a 30-game package of national games, including the “Second half opener” which takes place the Thursday after the All-Star Game and will feature the Phillies taking on the Mets this year.
NBC continues in their quest to make their network the home of Sunday night sports, as they will be introducing a Sunday Night Baseball game to go along with their existing coverage of the NFL and NBA. (I’m not sure what happens late in the season once the NFL starts up, because it seems a safe bet that NBC isn’t going to be bumping football games to Peacock in favor of baseball.) NBC will also be airing Sunday Morning games on Peacock, and at least one Wild Card playoff series.
Non-local Phillies fans will also need to utilize ESPN because the MLB.TV package for out-of-town games will move to ESPN.
Finally, Netflix has tried to increase their sports footprint by buying a rights package which includes an exclusive Opening Night game, the All-Star Home Run Derby (in Philadelphia!), and the Field of Dreams game on August 13 which will see the Phillies face the Twins in Dyersville, Iowa.
For those fans who lament the rise of streaming services, this is both good news and bad news. The good news is that you’ll get an additional national broadcast every Sunday night (at least during the summer months.) The bad news is that if you want to be able to watch every game, you’re likely going to have to subscribe to Peacock and ESPN, while Phillies fans will also need Netflix if they want to see their favorite team play next to a cornfield.
