NBC's Sunday Night Baseball Shifts Between Network and Peacock

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When NBC acquired the rights to Sunday Night Baseball, the network said games would sometimes air exclusively on its Peacock streaming service rather than the NBC broadcast network. This led to frustration from fans who don't have or want to pay for Peacock, as was the case for last night's St. Louis Cardinals-Detroit Tigers game that was only available on Peacock and the hard-to-find NBC Sports Network.

Why it matters

The shift of some Sunday Night Baseball games to Peacock is part of a broader trend of major sports leagues making their content harder to access for casual fans, instead prioritizing streaming revenue. This has led to growing complaints from viewers who feel they are being nickel-and-dimed to watch their favorite teams.

The details

NBC has a packed sports lineup, including NBA games, that sometimes creates conflicts and forces the network to air certain Sunday Night Baseball games only on Peacock. Comcast, which owns NBC, is also trying to drive more subscribers to its Peacock streaming service, which starts at $10.99 per month for a plan that includes live sports.

• Last night's St. Louis Cardinals-Detroit Tigers game aired only on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.
• The next Sunday Night Baseball game on April 12 will air on both NBC and Peacock.
• However, the following 6 Sunday Night Baseball games after that will be Peacock-only.

What’s next

The next Sunday Night Baseball game on NBC and Peacock will be on April 12 featuring the Cleveland Guardians at the Atlanta Braves. After that, the following 6 Sunday Night Baseball games will be Peacock-only.