Apr 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A detailed view of an Arizona Diamondbacks hat at the game between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

How New MLB TV Deal Affects D-backs Broadcasts

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Nov 19, 2025 4:31 PM ET

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball reched broadcast rights deals with Netflix, NBCUniversal and ESPN for the 2026-2028 seasons, and Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasts may be among those affected.

With the new deal comes some shuffling and redistributing of broadcasts. NBC will take over Sunday Night Baseball. In fact, the first game broadcast by NBC in the 2026 season will be the Diamondbacks-Dodgers game in Los Angeles on March 26.

Meanwhile, ESPN will take over the rights to MLB.TV, offering subscribers access to MLB.TV's thousands of out-of-market games through the ESPN app.

But it's not just about national or out-of-market broadcasts. ESPN will also gain rights to in-market streaming package, meaning the Diamondbacks will be one of the six teams whose streaming rights are affected.

Arizona Diamondbacks Streaming Rights Acquired by ESPN

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The six teams whose broadcasts have been run and presented by MLB (following the collapse of Diamond Sports Group) will have their in-market streaming rights distributed to ESPN. That, of course, includes the D-backs.

"ESPN has acquired exclusive, local in-market streaming rights for MLB Clubs. The MLB Clubs currently include the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. In 2026, the games will be available to purchase and stream on MLB platforms," reads ESPN Press Room.

For the time being, this means D-backs.TV will still be available to purchase and watch on MLB.TV itself and through the MLB app.

Meaning, for the 2026 season, it does not appear that users and subscribers will be forced to utilize the ESPN app in order to buy and watch in-market packages like D-backs.TV or the full-scale out-of-market package, though it will be an option to do so.

Users may be forced into the ESPN app following the 2026 season, however.

There is also a chance that changes come in terms of pricing with regard to D-backs.TV. ESPN expects to charge the same figure for out-of-market games, but a final decision has not been reached on the pricing of in-market subscriptions.

Arizona's $19.99 per month deal for D-backs.TV is one of the more affordable streaming options in baseball. Fans were given the ability to pay for their home team's games without including it as part of a larger subscription cost.

It's still vague as to what ESPN intends to do with these packages, both in terms of accessibility and price. There is a distinct possibility D-backs fans will need to pay for an ESPN subscription and an additional in-market package fee in order to get D-backs.TV, but that has not been explicitly stated.