Baseball’s Return to NBC and Peacock Delivers Record Postseason Audiences
Major League Baseball’s first season back on NBC and Peacock culminated with record-setting audiences for NBC Sports’ first MLB postseason coverage in 26 years.
October 06, 2026
The New York Yankees’ two-game Wild Card sweep of the Boston Red Sox averaged 7.4 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched first two games of any MLB Wild Card or Division Series since 2004. The series was the most-watched MLB Wild Card series under the current format, which began in 2020. In addition, the decisive Game 3 of the Philadelphia Phillies-Atlanta Braves series averaged 6.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, marking the most-watched Game 3 of any National League Wild Card or Division Series since 2006.
The postseason capped MLB’s return to NBC Sports in 2026, which brought baseball to fans throughout the season across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN through Sunday Night Baseball, MLB Sunday Leadoff, Opening Day, special event games and more.
MLB’s Return to NBC Delivers Record Wild Card Audiences
NBC Sports’ postseason coverage began with another milestone: Game 1 between the Yankees and Red Sox averaged 7.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Game 1 of an MLB Wild Card or Division Series since 2006. The audience was up 12% compared with the same Yankees-Red Sox matchup during the 2025 Wild Card round.
The National League delivered strong results as well. Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves averaged 3.9 million viewers, becoming the most-watched afternoon Wild Card Game 1 on record. Game 2 averaged 4.2 million viewers, the most-watched afternoon Wild Card or Division Series Game 2 ever.
The postseason marked NBC Sports’ first MLB postseason games since 2000, extending a relationship with baseball that dates back to the earliest days of television. NBC aired the first-ever televised MLB game in 1939, the first televised World Series in 1947 and the first nationally televised All-Star Game in 1952.
Baseball Expands NBCUniversal’s Year-Round Live Sports Lineup
MLB’s return was also part of a larger expansion of live sports across NBCUniversal.
The 2026 MLB schedule included 27 primetime games and 34 afternoon games, a daily out-of-market game on Peacock and the entire Wild Card round.
With the addition of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC became the first broadcast network to offer year-round primetime sports programming on the same night each week, with Sunday Night Football, Sunday Night Basketball and Sunday Night Baseball anchoring Sundays throughout the year.
In 2026, NBC is scheduled to deliver 1,025 hours of sports programming, more than any other broadcast network and nearly double its primetime sports broadcast hours from eight years ago.
Following baseball’s postseason run, the live sports lineup continues with Sunday Night Football and season two of the NBA’s return to NBC and Peacock, as the 2026-27 season tips off on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
