Peacock will carry an early Major League Baseball game each Sunday, starting on May 8, the streaming service said on Wednesday. The 18 games will start earlier than normal: the first six at 8:30 a.m. PT and the final 12 at 9 a.m. PT. Each game (except the first) is exclusive to Peacock.
The broadcasts will be produced by NBC Sports and feature pre- and postgame shows. This isn’t MLB’s first foray into streaming outside of its MLB.TV subscription. Earlier this year the league and Apple said 12 weeks of Friday doubleheaders will air on Apple TV Plus starting April 8. In previous seasons, MLB has aired games on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Wednesday is Opening Day for Major League Baseball, which comes after an offseason disrupted by a work stoppage in which team owners locked out players over negotiations on a new labor contract. The season was delayed one week, though teams will still play a full slate of 162 games after the season was extended into October as part of those negotiations. Some of the fiercest disagreement came over financial issues.
The deal with Peacock is worth $30 million per year and the deal with Apple TV Plus $85 million annually, Forbes reported in March.
