After walking away from its TV rights deal with Major League Baseball earlier this year, ESPN has a new package that will provide additional games for its streaming customers.

The deal announced Wednesday by the league will also return baseball to NBC and bring three MLB events — an opening night game, the Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams game — to Netflix for the first time.

As part of the deal, ESPN will integrate the league’s streaming platform MLB.TV into its recently launched direct-to-consumer service that provides the sports channels to consumers with or without a cable subscription.

MLB.TV provides local telecasts of out-of-market games to consumers. In the 2026 season, new customers will now be able to purchase the service as part of an ESPN subscription. Pricing has not yet been set for the combined services.

ESPN Unlimited subscribers will get an additional 150 out-of-market games over the course of the season at no additional cost. ESPN will offer local games in the six MLB markets that no longer have regional sports networks — San Diego, Cleveland, Seattle, Minnesota, Arizona and Colorado. The games, which are produced by MLB, will be available to purchase for streaming in those markets through ESPN.

ESPN will no longer carry “Sunday Night Baseball,” a staple of the network for decades, but will have a package of 30 weeknight games. It will also retain its coverage of the MLB Little League Classic and carry a game on Memorial Day.

ESPN is paying $550 million for the new three-year package, the same as the last contract, according to people familiar with talks who were not authorized to comment publicly.

While ESPN and MLB exchanged harsh words when their longtime arrangement broke up earlier this year, both sides praised the eventual outcome, which puts a greater emphasis on streaming.

“Bringing MLB.TV to ESPN’s new app while maintaining a presence on linear television reflects a balanced approach to the shifts taking place in the way that fans watch baseball and gives MLB a meaningful presence on an important destination for fans of all sports,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro called the deal “a fan-friendly agreement” that prioritizes the Walt Disney Co. unit’s “streaming future.”

Read more:Why sports are returning to free over-the-air TV

“Sunday Night Baseball” will move to NBC, with 25 prime-time games on the broadcast network or NBCUniversal’s streaming platform Peacock. Already the home of “Sunday Night Football,” and “Sunday Night Basketball,” the addition of the MLB — at $200 million a season — means NBC will have live sports in prime time on every Sunday throughout the year.

The network is also picking up the wild card round of the MLB postseason that had been carried on ESPN.

In 2027 and 2028, NBC will carry the most consequential game played on the final Sunday of the season.

NBC Sports also gains the rights to the late Sunday morning game, which will be carried on Peacock and followed by a “whip-around” show presenting action from contests around the league that day. Peacock carried the morning game in 2023 and 2024 before it went to Roku this past season.

MLB games exclusive to Peacock will also be shown on the newly launched NBC Sports Network, which is being offered to cable and satellite TV providers.

Netflix is paying around $50 million per year to carry the 2026 opening night game between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees on March 25. The annual Home Run Derby, previously on ESPN, also moves to the streamer, as does the Field of Dreams game, which will be played in Dyersville, Iowa, where the set for “Field of Dreams” is located.

The deal continues Netflix’s approach of offering appointment sporting events to its subscribers rather than investing in a full season package.

The new MLB deals only run for three years. The league wants them to align with its major TV rights package that includes the playoffs, the World Series and the All-Star Game. Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TBS carry those packages until 2028.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Major League Baseball has locked in its new TV deals.

The league announced Wednesday afternoon it had struck three-year media-rights agreements with ESPN, NBC and Netflix that will run through the 2028 campaign. NBC and Peacock will officially become the home of Sunday Night Baseball and the wild-card round of the playoffs over the next three seasons. Netflix will get the Home Run Derby, the Field of Dreams game next season and a standalone Opening Day prime-time game.

ESPN will get MLB.tv, which will give it the rights to all out-of-market games for teams and six in-market clubs. It’s unclear how ESPN will sell MLB.tv next season, but it is expected to be priced at $150 a year — which is the same that subscribers paid when the service was under the league’s control, according to The Athletic. ESPN will also get 30 weeknight games during the season, too.

The new deal is a direct result of ESPN opting out of the final three seasons of its deal with MLB earlier this season. ESPN was due to pay about $1.65 billion before the deal was restructured. They will still pay that amount over the next three seasons.

According to The Athletic, NBC is expected to pay MLB nearly $200 million a year. Netflix will pay $50 million a season. Netflix’s Opening Day game will feature the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The Field of Dreams game in Iowa will feature the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. NBC’s first standalone game will be the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

ESPN, according to The Athletic, will have the ability to add more in-market rights to clubs if they become available over the next three seasons. It currently has in-market rights for the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, Twins and Diamondbacks.

“Our new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix provide us with a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment, and marquee events,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“Following our last World Series game that averaged more than 51 million viewers globally, these partnerships build on MLB’s growing momentum that includes generational stars setting new standards for excellence, new rules which have improved the game on the field, and increases in important fan engagement metrics like viewership, attendance, participation and social media consumption.

“We’re looking forward to tapping into the unique areas of expertise that ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix each bring to the sport for the benefit of our fans.”

Fox will continue to air regular-season games, the All-Star Game and several playoff games — including the World Series. AppleTV+ will get two games each Friday night throughout the regular season, too.

Major League Baseball has locked in its new TV deals.

The league announced Wednesday afternoon it had struck three-year media-rights agreements with ESPN, NBC and Netflix that will run through the 2028 campaign. NBC and Peacock will officially become the home of Sunday Night Baseball and the wild-card round of the playoffs over the next three seasons. Netflix will get the Home Run Derby, the Field of Dreams game next season and a standalone Opening Day prime-time game.

ESPN will get MLB.tv, which will give it the rights to all out-of-market games for teams and six in-market clubs. It’s unclear how ESPN will sell MLB.tv next season, but it is expected to be priced at $150 a year — which is the same that subscribers paid when the service was under the league’s control, according to The Athletic. ESPN will also get 30 weeknight games during the season, too.

The new deal is a direct result of ESPN opting out of the final three seasons of its deal with MLB earlier this season. ESPN was due to pay about $1.65 billion before the deal was restructured. They will still pay that amount over the next three seasons.

According to The Athletic, NBC is expected to pay MLB nearly $200 million a year. Netflix will pay $50 million a season. Netflix’s Opening Day game will feature the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The Field of Dreams game in Iowa will feature the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. NBC’s first standalone game will be the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

ESPN, according to The Athletic, will have the ability to add more in-market rights to clubs if they become available over the next three seasons. It currently has in-market rights for the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, Twins and Diamondbacks.

“Our new media rights agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix provide us with a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans through three powerful destinations for live sports, entertainment, and marquee events,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“Following our last World Series game that averaged more than 51 million viewers globally, these partnerships build on MLB’s growing momentum that includes generational stars setting new standards for excellence, new rules which have improved the game on the field, and increases in important fan engagement metrics like viewership, attendance, participation and social media consumption.

“We’re looking forward to tapping into the unique areas of expertise that ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix each bring to the sport for the benefit of our fans.”

Fox will continue to air regular-season games, the All-Star Game and several playoff games — including the World Series. AppleTV+ will get two games each Friday night throughout the regular season, too.

Stephen A. Smith is a very busy man.

He is the star of ESPN’s “First Take.”

He hosts two radio shows on SiriusXM.

He has his own production company.

Since 2021, Smith also has been an analyst on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” pregame and halftime studio show.

But he isn’t anymore, at least not on a full-time basis.

This week, ESPN announced a new “NBA Countdown” broadcast team that features host Malika Andrews and analysts Brian Windhorst, Michael Malone and Kendrick Perkins, with frequent contributions from Shams Charania.

Read more:Stephen A. Smith would’ve ‘swung on’ LeBron James had he touched him. Lakers star trolls him

Smith said Tuesday on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” that he hadn’t been demoted from his status as a show regular, as some outlets suggested. Instead, he said, the change was something he had asked for while negotiating his reported five-year, $100-million contract to remain with the network earlier this year.

Why? Smith said he simply no longer has the time.

“I didn’t want to be on the show,” Smith said. “I negotiated coming off of it. Now I love doing ‘NBA Countdown,’ but once the countdown show is over, I got other things to do than to be in studio, watching the doubleheader and coming on at halftimes. I got other stuff that I want to do, to prepare for ‘First Take’ the next day, the next morning, and to do an abundance of other things that I aspire to do.”

Smith said his departure from “NBA Countdown” had been reported “months ago,” and he is correct. In breaking the news of Smith’s new deal with ESPN in March, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote that Smith “will not be a regular on ESPN’s premiere NBA pregame show anymore.”

Read more:Shae Cornette is named as Molly Qerim’s replacement as host of ESPN’s ‘First Take’

ESPN did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for a comment.

Smith added that he will continue to make frequent guest appearances on several ESPN shows, and that includes “NBA Countdown.”

“If they need me in L.A. for ‘NBA Countdown,’ I’ll be there,” Smith said. “Matter of fact, I have days in my contract to be there. I just don’t have to be there full time.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

After a disappointing 2025 season, the Mets will enter a new season with an entirely revamped coaching staff, one that was officially announced on Wednesday afternoon.

No change is at the helm as Carlos Mendoza is back for his third season managing New York. Also returning to his same role is bullpen coach Jose Rosado while Rafael Fernandez was promoted to assistant hitting coach and Danny Barnes comes back as the new quality assurance coach.

As for the new faces, Justin Willard will begin his tenure as pitching coach, replacing Jeremy Hefner, who had the gig for the past six seasons and is now the pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves. Dan McKinney is the Mets’ assistant pitching coach.

Hitting coach Troy Snitker, son of former Braves manager Brian Snitker, comes over from the Houston Astros, where he was one of the team’s hitting coaches for seven seasons and joins Fernandez in a new-look hitting department for the Mets. 

Gilbert Gomez will begin his first season as the team’s first base and outfield coach, taking the place of Antoan Richardson, who also joined the Braves in the offseason. Tim Leiper replaces Mike Sarbaugh as New York’s third base and infield coach following Sarbaugh’s departure.

Lastly, J.P. Arencibia was promoted from Triple-A Syracuse bench coach to the Mets’ catching coach.

The team previously named Kai Correa and Jeff Albert as bench coach and director of major league hitting, respectively.

After months of rumors swirling around a possible relationship between All-Star Chicago Sky center Angel Reese and Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., the eight-year NBA veteran finally addressed it with the FanDuel TV “Run It Back” NBA crew of Lou Williams, Chandler Parsons and Michelle Beadle.

“That’s the homie for sure,” Carter said. “We locked in. Y’all gonna find out when y’all need to find out. We’ll just leave it at that. That’s my girl, though. We locked in for sure.”

Carter’s statement was committal, but also vague.

According to Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, the two were first linked earlier in 2025, when Carter attended Reese’s 23rd birthday party in May. He was also at the WNBA All-Star Game in July, wearing a shirt with Reese’s picture on it.

Reese has yet to address the relationship rumors, but she’s dropped various hints on social media — whether through a recent photo of her in Orlando gear or by attending multiple of Carter’s games this season.

Reese is currently in the offseason after her second WNBA campaign. She made the All-Star Game for the second straight season, averaging 14.7 points and 12.6 rebounds. Over her short career, she’s totaled 46 double-doubles — the most by any player in their first two seasons.

Carter, drafted by the Chicago Bulls at No. 7 in 2018, spent two and a half seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Magic in March 2021, where he’s played ever since. This season, he’s averaged 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, while shooting 44 percent on nearly three three-point attempts per game.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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The Golden State Warriors will complete their six-game road trip Wednesday night in Miami against the Heat, but star point guard Stephen Curry won’t be on the court.

He’ll be sitting out after tweaking his ankle for the second time during this stretch of games away from the Chase Center.

The 37-year-old told reporters Tuesday night after a 121-113 loss to the Orlando Magic that the first tweak came against the San Antonio Spurs last week, and the second one happened in the first half versus the Magic.

At the time, Curry said he was looking to see how the ankle responded to the flight to Miami and how he felt Wednesday. His absence doesn’t come as a surprise given it arrives on the tail end of the Warriors’ latest back-to-back, their second of the road trip and their fifth of the season.

The four-time NBA champ and two-time league MVP missed three games earlier this season with a lingering cold

“Still dealing with it a little bit,” Curry said postgame Tuesday, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater. “I feel like myself, but I’ve still got some little symptoms and then a little sore ankle that was a couple games ago and a little bit today, but those are the things that you’re just trying to play through and trying to figure out how to continue to build momentum.”

The 9-7 Warriors’ game against the Heat on Wednesday will be their 17th in 30 days. That span dates back to opening night on Oct. 21, and includes 12 road games.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke pregame Tuesday in Orlando about how he’s “very concerned” about the NBA’s dramatic change in pace and frequency of play leading to more injuries.

He shared his thoughts after he was asked about the league’s high-speed play style and the uptick in soft-tissue injuries across the association.

“We all know what the schedule’s been like,” Curry said postgame Tuesday. “I know Coach talked about it. We try not to think about it too much, knowing it is what is. You have to find a way to overcome it. We’ve done a decent job. 

“We let three games slide that we feel like we wish we would have had. But we’re alright right now.”

It’s been an eventful week-plus on the road for Curry. 

He picked up the first flagrant foul of his 17-season career. Then he recorded a pair of 40-point games against the Spurs, the second of which came in an NBA Cup win while he tied Michael Jordan for the most 40-pieces after the age of 30. 

Along the way, he and Under Armour parted ways after a 12-year run, and he launched his sneaker free agency.

The Golden State Warriors will complete their six-game road trip Wednesday night in Miami against the Heat, but star point guard Stephen Curry won’t be on the court.

He’ll be sitting out after tweaking his ankle for the second time during this stretch of games away from the Chase Center.

The 37-year-old told reporters Tuesday night after a 121-113 loss to the Orlando Magic that the first tweak came against the San Antonio Spurs last week, and the second one happened in the first half versus the Magic.

At the time, Curry said he was looking to see how the ankle responded to the flight to Miami and how he felt Wednesday. His absence doesn’t come as a surprise given it arrives on the tail end of the Warriors’ latest back-to-back, their second of the road trip and their fifth of the season.

The four-time NBA champ and two-time league MVP missed three games earlier this season with a lingering cold

“Still dealing with it a little bit,” Curry said postgame Tuesday, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater. “I feel like myself, but I’ve still got some little symptoms and then a little sore ankle that was a couple games ago and a little bit today, but those are the things that you’re just trying to play through and trying to figure out how to continue to build momentum.”

The 9-7 Warriors’ game against the Heat on Wednesday will be their 17th in 30 days. That span dates back to opening night on Oct. 21, and includes 12 road games.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke pregame Tuesday in Orlando about how he’s “very concerned” about the NBA’s dramatic change in pace and frequency of play leading to more injuries.

He shared his thoughts after he was asked about the league’s high-speed play style and the uptick in soft-tissue injuries across the association.

“We all know what the schedule’s been like,” Curry said postgame Tuesday. “I know Coach talked about it. We try not to think about it too much, knowing it is what is. You have to find a way to overcome it. We’ve done a decent job. 

“We let three games slide that we feel like we wish we would have had. But we’re alright right now.”

It’s been an eventful week-plus on the road for Curry. 

He picked up the first flagrant foul of his 17-season career. Then he recorded a pair of 40-point games against the Spurs, the second of which came in an NBA Cup win while he tied Michael Jordan for the most 40-pieces after the age of 30. 

Along the way, he and Under Armour parted ways after a 12-year run, and he launched his sneaker free agency.