NBC Sports has brought the MLB playoffs back to broadcast television, and the company is counting on the return paying off. From Tuesday onward, viewers can watch four games daily across both NBC and its cable sister network, with every inning of the wild card round also available to stream on Peacock. That marks an increase over recent years, when just one playoff game per day aired on ABC.
From Tuesday to Thursday, the wild card round unfolds, with a pair of games each day, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, airing on NBC, while the remaining two appear on cable’s NBC Sports Network. Should any series require a decisive third game on Thursday, NBC could broadcast between one and three contests, contingent upon how the matchups fall.
Return To Broadcast
This year’s playoffs mark a back-to-the-future moment for NBC Sports. The wild card round was aired exclusively on ESPN and ABC from 2022 to 2025. Now it returns to broadcast television, where the network’s coverage of the playoffs regularly pre-empted its “Must-See TV” primetime lineup in the 1990s.
MLB viewership is up across all rights holders, with every league posting gains over 2025 levels through the second half of the 2026 season. The L.A. Dodgers’ comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in last year’s World Series averaged 15.71 million viewers per game, the best Series audience since 2017.
“The Wild Card round is built for urgency,” NBC analyst Anthony Rizzo said during a media conference call Monday. “There’s no long runways. Every single managerial decision will be right under the gun, under the microscope. Every bullpen move matters. Every at-bat literally shifts an entire series.”
Rizzo added that the broadcast team will have plenty to talk about. “That’s going to create a fun, intense, fast environment where we might say, ‘Why is this guy coming in to face this guy?’ There’s going to be so many different situations happening.”
How The Schedule Works
Four games will be played across the two networks each day on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday’s slate is contingent upon how far each best-of-three matchup advances; some could reach a third contest, while others conclude after just two.
The format was altered in 2022, so that all wild card series now follow a best-of-three arrangement instead of the old method, which matched select lower-seeded teams against one another in a single-elimination contest.
The Games And Their Matchups
Two matchups on the board stand out as familiar rivalries: the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees, and the Philadelphia Phillies face the Atlanta Braves. The remaining series pit the Chicago White Sox against the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs against the San Diego Padres.
The presence of both Chicago teams in the playoffs is rare. It is just the fourth time both have made the postseason in the same year. The last time was the Covid-altered 2020 season. Before that, the teams both made it in 2008, when they dueled in the 1906 World Series, which the White Sox won.
Peacock’s Streaming Role
The streaming service Peacock will air every inning of the wild card round, showing between eight and 12 games. This marks another major event for a platform that has already broadcast the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, NBA and NHL playoff games, and Spanish-language World Cup coverage.
Peacock wrapped up June with 48 million subscribers, having added 2 million in the second quarter. That period brought Love Island USA and the opening of the World Cup to the platform. The company raised prices in August ahead of college football and the NFL season, with MLB playoffs and the NBA close behind.
Six years after launch, Peacock finally turned a profit in the second quarter. NBCU Media Chairman Matt Strauss said live sports has been a key part of the company “playing to our strengths” in streaming.
The Rights Deal Behind It
NBCU reached a 3-year rights deal with MLB worth a reported $600 million in November 2025. “We are excited to reignite NBC Sports’ storied Major League Baseball history through this comprehensive and innovative partnership that will honor the past and create new traditions,” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said at the time.
More wild card games now belong to NBCU than did during the ESPN/ABC setup. The company also gained from the cities and clubs tied up in this season’s start to the playoffs.
The Production Team Behind The Cameras
During the media call, play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti, analysts Rizzo and Joey Votto, and senior producer Matt Borzello detailed their approach. A notable feature they plan to include resembles what the NBA and NHL have adopted: “Inside the Pitch,” where players and former players sit beside the field offering analysis of the action.
The combination of physical proximity and playing experience allows the broadcasters to “pick up on things like the conversations players are having that don’t reach the broadcast booth,” Rizzo said. Votto said he and Rizzo pick up on the “little nuances” and the “tendencies and mannerisms” in a way they hope can benefit the viewer.
What This Means For Broadcast TV
NBC Sports is moving back into the playoff broadcast business, and the first two days of the round feature four games each on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursday holding open the possibility of even more. This gives the network a presence it has not had in recent years.
That season, all the games from the pre-World Series playoffs were shown on cable TV except for a single contest. Now the move toward broadcast is starting again, with NBC holding the exclusive rights to the wild card round.
The Bottom Line
Tuesday marks the start of the playoffs, and there’s a broadcast for every preference. Viewers who prefer watching live on television have several channels to choose from. The streaming crowd gets every inning on Peacock.
Rizzo’s own words capture the nature of the wild card round: every choice carries weight, every action counts, and every at-bat changes how the whole series plays out. The format itself pushes toward urgency, and it does not let up.
The return to broadcast television sits at the heart of NBCU’s plan. The $600 million arrangement with Major League Baseball backs that push, and the opening round of playoffs marks its initial trial by fire. The contests begin Tuesday, and the pressure mounts from there.
Source material: “Broadcast To Hit A Double, Peacock Going Deep In NBC Sports Coverage Of MLB Wild Card Playoffs,” Deadline.
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