Joe Flint and Jared Diamond

Comcast's NBCUniversal has made an offer to Major League Baseball to take over the package of regular-season and postseason games that ESPN is walking away from, offering much less than its rival currently pays, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN in February exercised a clause to opt out of the final three years of its $550 million-a-year contract after the 2025 season. The move ended a 35-year partnership with MLB and put the rights into play for others.

If the bid is successful, NBC would air games on Sunday night, the slot ESPN has occupied since 1990. Games would also appear on NBC's sister streaming service, Peacock. NBC is also interested in ESPN's rights to the first round of the postseason and the annual Home Run Derby.

The NBC offer was made earlier this month, but MLB and NBC had been talking for several weeks prior to that, one of the people involved said. League commissioner Rob Manfred has also discussed a potential deal with Brian Roberts, chief executive of NBC parent Comcast, people familiar with the matter said.

A deal with NBC would give MLB a home on another broadcast network known for carrying big-time sporting events. The league is planning a broad overhaul of how it manages its national and local rights and aims to consolidate control of them after the 2028 season.

NBC is offering significantly less than what ESPN pays, the people said, in part because it isn't seeking the international and radio rights that the Disney-owned sports network licenses from MLB, or the rights to highlight clips.

When ESPN told the league it was likely to opt out of its rights package, the network said it was willing to pay $200 million annually in a renegotiated pact, but the league declined, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

NBC also has rights to air National Football League and, starting later this year, National Basketball Association games on Sundays. It would air some baseball games on the broadcast network and others on Peacock when NBC is carrying other sports.

Separately, Versant, the company comprising NBCUniversal cable channels including USA Network, is interested in potentially acquiring a baseball package. Versant isn't part of NBC's discussions with MLB.

Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com and Jared Diamond at jared.diamond@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 21, 2025 17:46 ET (21:46 GMT)

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