Major League Baseball (MLB) has been broadcast on American television since the 1950s, with initial broadcasts on the experimental station W2XBS, the predecessor of the modern WNBC in New York City. The World Series was televised on a networked basis since 1947, with regular season games broadcast nationally since 1953. Over the following years, MLB games became major attractions for American television networks, and each of the Big Three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) would air packages of baseball games at various times. Fox would rise to major network status, partially on its acquisition of MLB rights in 1996; Fox has been MLB's primary broadcast television partner ever since.
MLB broadcasts would later shape the emerging medium of cable television. In particular, out-of-market baseball would attract customers to superstations in the late 20th century, such as WGN and WTBS airing Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves games, respectively. MLB also played a big role in the growth of ESPN since it began airing games in 1990. TBS, the national feed spun off from WTBS, has also aired nationally televised games since 2007. MLB itself launched its own cable network in 2009, MLB Network, which would also air several live games a week. And MLB broadcasts have been shown on Fox's various sister cable networks, with Fox Sports 1 airing games since 2014.
MLB began streaming games via the Internet in 2017, with Twitter and Facebook initially acquiring the rights to some games. YouTube and The Roku Channel have since streamed games, and , Apple TV, Peacock, and Netflix will hold packages of MLB games.
Games not picked up by one of the national outlets are instead broadcast by local broadcast stations and regional sports networks, televising their respective local team within their respective region. A number of nationally televised games are also non-exclusive, meaning that the national telecasts may also air in tandem with those of the game by local broadcasters.
As the only team in Canada, the television rights to the Toronto Blue Jays are a special case: Blue Jays games are aired nationally in that country, with Sportsnet holding the rights since 1999. Sportsnet also carries other MLB games simulcast from a U.S. feed.
National television broadcasters United States Terrestrial television ABC: 1948–1950; 1953–1954; 1959–1961; 1965; 1976–1989; 2020–2025 (Wild Card Series only except for one game in 2021); 2026–present (select regular season games only) The Baseball Network (a joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC): 1994–1995 CBS: 1947–1951; 1955–1965; 1990–1993 DuMont 1947–1949 Fox: 1996–present Baseball Night in America: 2012–present NBC: 1947–1989; 1996–2000; 2022–2023 (one game only per season); 2026–present UniMás: 2024–present
Cable television ABC Family Channel: 2002 ESPN: 1990–present Fox Family Channel: 2001 Fox Sports Net: 1997–2001 Fox Sports 1: 2014–present FX: 1997–2001 MLB Network: 2009–present NBCSN: 2026–present TBS: 2007–present TUDN: 2024–present USA Network: 1979–1983
Internet television Apple TV+: 2022–present Facebook: 2017–2019 HBO Max (simulcast of games on TBS): 2023–present Peacock: 2021 (Phillies vs Giants series); 2022–2023, 2026–present Twitter: 2017–2018 YouTube: 2019–2022 The Roku Channel: 2024–2025 Fox One: (simulcast of games on Fox and FS1) 2025–present ESPN: (simulcast of games on ESPN networks) 2025–present Netflix: 2026–present
Timeline Timeslot Network(s) YearsSunday morningNBC, Peacock2022–2023The Roku Channel2024–2025NBC, NBCSN, Telemundo, TeleXitos, Universo, Peacock2026–presentSunday afternoonCBS1958–1965NBC1959–1964ABC1979–1987NBC1987CBS1990–1991TBS2008–2021ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN DTC2026–presentSunday nightESPN1990–2025ABC2021 (one game only)ESPN22022, 2024–2025NBC, NBCSN, Telemundo, TeleXitos, Universo, Peacock2026–presentMonday nightNBC1966–1975ABC1976–1988ESPN1992–1993, 2002–2022, 2024The Baseball Network (ABC)1994–1995FX1997MLB Network2009, 2014, 2016–2017, 2019–presentFox Sports 12016, 2020–presentESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN DTC2026–presentTuesday nightESPN1990–1997FX1997–1998Fox Sports 12014–2021TBS, HBO Max2022–2023TBS, TruTV, UniMás, TUDN, HBO Max2024–presentWednesday nightESPN1990–presentFox Sports 12020–presentMLB Network2022–presentThursday nightUSA1979–1983ABC1989Fox Sports Net1997–1999Fox Family Channel2000–2001ESPN2003–2006MLB Network2009–presentESPN2017–presentFox2019–presentFriday nightESPN1990–1993The Baseball Network (NBC)1994–1995Apple TV 2022–presentSaturday morningNBC1957–1964ABC1960ABC1965Saturday afternoonABC1953–1954CBS1955–1965NBC1966–1989CBS1990–1993Fox, Fox Deportes1996–2013Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes2014–2024Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes, Fox One2025–presentABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN DTC2026–presentSaturday nightThe Baseball Network (ABC)1994–1995FX2000–2001Fox, Fox Deportes2012–2024Fox, Fox Deportes, Fox One2025–present
Canada Sportsnet and Réseau des sports (RDS) are the current national rightsholders, in English and French respectively, to Major League Baseball, and both air a variety of regular-season games (which do not always correspond to those carried nationally in the U.S.) as well as the All-Star Game and the postseason. In the past these rights were held by The Score (2001–2002), TSN (1990–2000), and CTV (1981–1996). In 2010, Sportsnet began subleasing its rights to Sunday Night Baseball to rival TSN2, in return for TSN yielding its remaining rights to Toronto Blue Jays games to Sportsnet.
As presently the only MLB team in Canada, all Blue Jays games are also aired nationally in that country. These rights are negotiated by the team itself, not MLB, with all games currently airing on the co-owned Sportsnet and Sportsnet One in English, while TVA Sports has French-language rights to selected Blue Jays games. Games that are designated as exclusive to digital platforms (in Canada, this involves games airing on Apple TV+) are the only Blue Jays games that do not air on the Sportsnet channels. Other Canadian broadcasters have carried these games in the past, with TSN being the team's main carrier from 1984 to 1998 (and in a lesser role until 2009), and CBC and CTV also providing national coverage of some games at various points over the course of the team's history.
Up until 2022, the Blue Jays' television rightsholders were not allowed to produce their own broadcasts during postseason play, as they were considered a regional broadcaster at the time. For example, during the Blue Jays' runs to the and World Series, their television partners carried the CBS feed. This remained true even after Sportsnet became the team's broadcaster, as their 2015 and 2016 postseason runs were simulcasts of Fox and TBS' feeds respectively. This is in contrast to the NBA's Toronto Raptors (via TSN and Sportsnet), as well as the NHL and MLS's Canadian-based teams (via Hockey Night in Canada on CBC and Sportsnet, and TSN respectively) who were allowed to produce their own broadcasts during postseason games. In 2022, however, MLB allowed Sportsnet to carry its own production of Blue Jays postseason games as it is now considered a national broadcaster.
United Kingdom Major League Baseball has been broadcast on a regular basis in the UK since the 1980s. Initially shown on Channel 4, it was also aired on satellite channel Screensport and following Screensport's closure in March 1993, Sky Sports took over as the UK's broadcaster.
In 1997, newly launched terrestrial broadcaster Channel 5 took over as the rights holder, showing two games a week, including Sunday Night Baseball, under the title of MLB on Five. After the 2008 season, Channel 5 decided to end its coverage of Major League Baseball due to the Great Recession.
In 2006, NASN bought the rights to show ten live Major League Baseball games a week. and in 2009 NASN is renamed ESPN America following the sale in late 2006 of the channel to ESPN.
In 2013 BT Sport launched and picked up the rights held by ESPN UK, which included Major League Baseball. BT Sport showed MLB throughout its decade on air, broadcasting many games each week. This was supplemented by ESPN-produced baseball magazine shows, including Baseball Tonight.
In 2023, TNT Sports replaced BT Sport and it continues to air Major League Baseball, but without the ESPN-produced programming.
Since 2019, a small number of games have been broadcast by the BBC. This began when the Corporation aired coverage of the inaugural MLB London Series.Yankees-Red Sox: BBC Sport to stream MLB London Series In 2022, the BBC signed a new deal for the London Series, and this also gave the BBC rights to show games played in America for the first time.
History First broadcast After the 1939 World's Fair showed the new technology called television, experimental station W2XBS aired the first televised major league baseball games, a double header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 26, 1939.
1953–1959 In , ABC executive Edgar J. Scherick (who would later go on to create Wide World of Sports) approached MLB with a Saturday Game of the Week. With fewer outlets than CBS or NBC, ABC needed paid programming (or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it). At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program, but gave Scherick the green light to sign up teams; unfortunately, only three (the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox were interested. To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within fifty miles of any big-league city. According to Scherick, Major League Baseball insisted on protecting local coverage and didn't care about national appeal. ABC though, did care about the national appeal and claimed that "most of America was still up for grabs."
CBS took over the Saturday Game in 1955 (the rights were actually set up through the Falstaff Brewing Corporation,) retaining Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner as the announcers and adding Sunday coverage in .
In , ABC broadcast the best-of-three playoff series (to decide the National League pennant) between Milwaukee Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. The cigarette company L&M was in charge of all of the telecasts.
1960–1965 In , ABC returned to baseball broadcasting with a series of late-afternoon Saturday games. Jack Buck and Carl Erskine were the lead announcing crew for this series, which lasted one season.
ABC typically did three games a week. Two of the games were always from the Eastern or Central Time Zone. The late games (no doubleheaders) were usually San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers' home games. However, the Milwaukee Braves used to start many of their Saturday home games late in the afternoon. So if the Giants and Dodgers were both the road at the same time, ABC still would be able to show a late game.
By 1964, CBS' Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese worked Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. New York got $550,000 of CBS' $895,000. Six clubs that exclusively played nationally televised games on NBC got $1.2 million.
On July 17, , a game out of Los Angeles between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers contest became the first Pay TV baseball game. Subscription television offered the cablecast to subscribers for money. (The Dodgers beat the Cubs by the score of 3–2, with Don Drysdale collecting 10 strikeouts.)
ABC paid $5.7 million for the rights to the 28 Saturday/holiday Games of the Week. ABC's deal covered all of the teams except the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies (who had their own television deals) and called for two regionalized games on Saturdays, Independence Day, and Labor Day. ABC blacked out the games in the home cities of the clubs playing those games.
1966–1975