https://nypost.com/2022/02/28/mlb-in-serious-talks-with-nbc-sports-to-broadcast-games/
MLB is on talks for a package worth $100 million to $150 million. "If a deal comes to fruition, most of the games are expected to be on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock," reports the New York Post's Andrew Marchand.
Peacock is finalizing a deal to show 18 exclusive Major League Baseball games on Sundays (https://www.wsj.com/articles/nbcs-peacock-is-finalizing-deal-to-stream-mlb-games-in-new-sunday-time-slot-11647034302)
The package of 18 games would be shown on Peacock's (https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/peacocks-package-of-mlb-games-will-reportedly-air-on-sunday-mornings-and-afternoons-and-will-be-exclusive.html) premium tier on Sunday afternoons, with some games beginning as early as 11:30 a.m. ET.
Peacock officially lands Sunday morning Major League Baseball games (https://sports.yahoo.com/nbc-sports-mlb-partner-exclusive-215404788.html)
Starting May 8, one live game each Sunday will be streamed exclusively on Peacock as part of an 18-game deal. The first six games will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET, while the next 12 games will air at noon ET.
Jason Benetti will lead Peacock’s Sunday MLB broadcasts with a rotating booth of analysts (https://awfulannouncing.com/peacock/jason-benetti-will-lead-peacocks-sunday-mlb-broadcasts-with-a-rotating-booth-of-analysts.html)
That’s according to this report from the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, who also notes that the weekly Peacock booth will feature a rotating cast of analysts from the teams involved.
NBC/Peacock (https://frontofficesports.com/ahmed-fareed-mlb-sunday-leadoff-peacock-nbc-sports/) is going with up-and-coming play-by-player Jason Benetti and local analysts for its exclusive late Sunday morning MLB games (https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/why-peacocks-mlb-streaming-deal-is-superior-to-apples/), The Post has learned.
Benetti, 38, is currently the voice of the Chicago White Sox and calls several sports for ESPN. He is expected to be joined by one analyst from each of the given teams that are on each week.
The first game will feature the White Sox at the Red Sox at 11:30 a.m. on May 8 on NBC and Peacock. It will be Benetti with one White Sox analyst and one Red Sox analyst. The rest of the games will only be on the Peacock streaming service.
This isn’t quite the same as an exclusive primetime window of games, but Benetti is a very solid choice for Peacock and NBC. He’s a pro, and is clearly familiar with the world of baseball. In addition, his work across a variety of sports and with multiple different broadcast partners (including names like Bill Walton) makes him a solid anchor for the rotating booth experiment.
That choice, by the way, is maybe the most interesting one here. Three-person booths tend to be a bit unwieldy overall, but the idea of always having someone in the booth who knows one of the teams involved on a deeper level (and presumably has some familiarity to fans of that team) is an intriguing one.
NBC might lose a bit of continuity and comfort that goes along with an established team, but variety and more specific insights might be a net positive overall. If it works, it could be a model for other networks and streaming services going forward.
Major League Baseball briefly returns to NBC after 22 years with the help of Vin Scully (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2022/05/08/mlb-games-nbc-peacock-sunday-morning-broadcasts/9645901002/)
MLB's new Sunday-morning games made their debut today on NBC, the first time the network has had Major League Baseball games since 2000. But the Sunday games are for one day only, as they will move to Peacock for subsequent weeks. Iconic sports broadcaster Vin Scully helped kick off NBC's return (https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1523331753808650240) with a special video he narrated.