NFL Network will air five international games next season; Ted Sarandos defends Netflix’s value with NFL games; and MLB labor negotiations are reportedly underway. Plus news on The CW, NFL Honors, ESPN and “Sunday Night Baseball.”
NFL Network to air five international games in 2026 season
ESPN-owned NFL Network will air at least five of the league’s nine international games this season, the league announced Wednesday. The five-game set opens with three-straight in London — Colts-Commanders in Week 4, Eagles-Jaguars in Week 5 and Texans-Jaguars in Week 6, followed by Steelers-Saints from Paris in Week 8 and Bengals-Falcons from Spain in Week 9.
NFL Network will continue to carry seven regular-season games per season under its new ownership, meaning that the remaining two would be domestic contests. The league-branded channel aired six international games last year, plus a Week 17 Saturday matchup between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. Sports Media Watch reported in February that NFL Network inventory could consist of anywhere from zero to seven international games.
While the broadcasting assignments for this year’s games have not yet been announced, play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch is “the favorite” to become the secondary NFL play-by-play announcer for ESPN, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic on a recent edition of the “Marchand & Meterparel” podcast. That would presumably include calling games on NFL Network.
As for the four remaining International Series games this season, CBS, FOX and NBC are each set to air one each. The league has yet to formally announce television details for the Week 1 49ers-Rams game from Melbourne, Australia, but multiple reporters have said Netflix is in line to air the game. This year’s nine-game International Series schedule is the most extensive yet, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has discussed a goal of playing 16 per season in the future.
Sarandos: Netflix offers NFL games “in an unbelievably economical way”
In an interview during “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business this Tuesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the streamer as providing as an “unbelievably economical” way to access NFL games, citing its $8.99/month subscription price. Netflix is reportedly closing in on a deal to present five NFL games starting next season, an expansion of its inventory that comes at a time when the league is said to be under investigation by the federal government for its media rights deals with streaming services.
When asked if the government should treat “dominant streaming platforms the same way it treats Big Tech,” Sarandos spoke about the affordability behind the variety of content Netflix offers. Sarandos: “It’s great for the leagues that they have a lot of an active, competitive base of folks bidding for those games. So, that’s valuable.” Sarandos added that the rise of streaming platforms is “a natural evolution of technology and consumer demand,” drawing parallels to the rise of pay television.
YouTube “balked” at splitting rights to the five-game package Netflix is acquiring, according to a report by John Ourand of Puck. Netflix is reported as “likely” presenting the Australia game, a Thanksgiving Eve game and a Saturday Week 18 matchup before the ESPN/ABC doubleheader, along with its existing two-game Christmas Day slate. The NFL will have slightly expanded inventory on broadcast television for the upcoming season, including a Christmas Day game on Fox and two more national windows on Fox and CBS. NBC and Fox are acquiring two windows formerly owned by ESPN as an expansion of their national game inventory.
Sarandos also reiterated that the company remains focused on an ‘event’ strategy in live sports rather than making a play for full-season packages. Netflix declined to bid for a Sunday morning game package pitched by the NFL, as reported by Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal.
MLB labor negotiations reportedly underway
Major League Baseball met with the MLB Players Association on Tuesday to begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to a report by Evan Drellich of The Athletic. A lockout is said to be “likely” as the two sides attempt to reach compromises on various issues, such as revenue sharing, league expansion and the format of the postseason.
If the two sides cannot reach an deal by December, a potential work stoppage would be the second in five years. MLB owners authorized a lockout in 2021 that lasted 99 days and ultimately delayed the season by two weeks. The league’s 162-game season has not been impacted by a work stoppage since 1994, which canceled the World Series and delayed the start of the next campaign. Last year, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Harper said that the players “are not scared to lose 162 games” should the league propose and “hold firm to” the implementation of a salary cap.
The MLB negotiations follow a lengthy collective bargaining process in the WNBA, which reached a new agreement in March and started its regular season season on time. The NFL, NBA and NHL reached their most recent CBA extensions without much if any public discord.
MLB is moving towards a media rights cycle where its full suite of national and potentially local rights are expected to be available. MLB currently distributes games for nearly half of its teams, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has discussed the possibility of centralizing local rights, allowing the league to sell both national and local games to major media conglomerates. Manfred said earlier last year that local media encompasses over 20% of revenue in the industry.
Plus: The CW, NFL Honors, ESPN, Sunday Night Baseball
- The CW has reached a new sublicensing agreement with ESPN to continue broadcasting ACC football and men’s and women’s college basketball games through the 2030-31 campaign, it was announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, the network will broadcast 14 football games, 30 men’s basketball games and 10 women’s basketball games, all during the regular season. All games will be streamed through the ESPN Unlimited direct-to-subscriber service under a separate recently-announced agreement between CW and ESPN.
- Netflix is said to be “closing in on a deal” to broadcast the NFL Honors ceremony next year, according to a report by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. The awards ceremony has usually been simulcast on NFL Network and the Super Bowl broadcaster every year. This would mark the first time the ceremony would be presented by a streaming platform. Netflix declined comment to Sports Media Watch.
- ESPN has promoted Mike Foss to the role of executive vice president and executive editor of sports news and entertainment, effective upon the impending retirement of longtime executive David Roberts, the network announced on Wednesday. Foss, who has been with ESPN for nine years and most recently served as senior vice president/sport studio and entertainment, is going to be reporting to ESPN president of content Burke Magnus.
- The upcoming edition of “Sunday Night Baseball” on Peacock will feature MLB Network analyst Jake Peavy and Mariners.TV analyst Ryan Rowland-Smith in the broadcast booth with play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti as the San Diego Padres face the Seattle Mariners. Earlier in the day, play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian will broadcast the Miami Marlins game against the Tampa Bay Rays on “MLB Sunday Leadoff” with Marlins.TV analyst Jeff Nelson, Rays.TV analyst Brian Anderson and reporter John Fanta.
