MLB likely to move Sunday morning broadcasts off Peacock

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MLB’s streaming partnership with Peacock appears to have come to an end. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that MLB is closing in on a deal with an undisclosed platform to take over the Sunday morning broadcasts that had been on Peacock during the 2022-23 campaigns.

“Our initiative with Peacock was a valuable experience with a collaborative partner in our ongoing effort to explore a variety of streaming offerings for our fans as their consumption habits continue to evolve,” an MLB spokesperson told Marchand.

As has been the case for a number of teams’ local broadcasting contracts, MLB’s streaming deal with Peacock apparently hit a snag over rights fees.

Marchand reports that NBC, which operates the Peacock streaming service, has paid the league $30M annually for exclusive rights to 19 Sunday morning games in each of the last two seasons. While NBC expressed interest in retaining those broadcasts, Marchand writes that they sought to renegotiate the fee at a lesser amount.

MLB evidently felt it could secure a better deal with another service. Assuming a new agreement is reached, the Sunday morning games would remain in effect for this season on the new broadcasting platform. Last season, the Peacock-specific games began either shortly before or after noon ET, at least 90 minutes before the rest of that day’s slate.

Since 2022, MLB has also had a streaming partnership with Apple TV+ that affords the platform exclusive rights for two Friday night games each week. That deal, which Marchand writes is valued at $85M per season, is a seven-year contract that remains in effect.

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