The obnoxious mess Netflix put forth Wednesday while commencing the MLB season with a Giants-Yankees prime-time game in San Francisco was a reminder in multiple ways that much has changed entering the new season.
Why was it an obnoxious mess? A few reasons: the involvement of misanthrope Barry Bonds as an analyst, comedian Bert Kreischer screaming nonsensically, and a scorebug in which players’ names were so small you’d swear it was made by Fanatics. At least Jake Paul wasn’t involved.
Fortunately, big-event-focused Netflix doesn’t have any Red Sox broadcasts this season, but a whole lot of other networks and streamers do. So let’s recap the changes in the rights deal, what to expect from the league’s broadcast partners old and new, and how that affects watching the Sox.
The biggest change involves a partner both old and new. NBCUniversal — meaning NBC and streaming service Peacock — returns to MLB as a primary partner for the first time since losing rights in 2000. (NBC did have “Sunday Leadoff” games on Peacock in 2022-23, which in retrospect looks like a test-run for getting fully involved again.)
This is a great thing. NBC has televised 39 World Series, more than any other network. It’s baseball bona fides are legitimate.
It is taking over the prime-time Sunday night slot from ESPN, the final puzzle piece in its quest to own sports year round on that night of the week. Schedules are subject to change as the season takes shape, but the Red Sox are slated to play three Sunday night games on NBC: June 14 vs. the Rangers, June 28 vs. the Yankees, and Aug. 2 vs. the Dodgers. A matchup with the Giants on Sunday, Aug. 23 will be found on NBC and Peacock, which already has a Sunday night game on July 5 vs. the Angels.
The excellent Jason Benetti is the play-by-play voice for the Sunday night broadcasts, while the color analyst roles will be filled from the broadcasts of each of the two competing teams. This week, for the Diamondbacks-Dodgers opener, Luis Gonzalez and Orel Hershiser will join Benetti. This is something NBC Sports executives found worked well during “Sunday Leadoff” games.
Benetti, who also called those games, cited a beloved figure from a different Boston team of the past when I asked him if there was a challenge to working with different broadcasters each Sunday.
“The point is to see the people for who they are and what their strengths are and for what they do best,” said Benetti, who once formed a popular tandem with the free-spirited legend and former Celtic Bill Walton on ESPN college basketball broadcasts. “So placing rules on people and placing parameters on people, I learned from Bill very early on, not only is it stifling, but it doesn’t get the best out of that person.
“I think for nine innings to work with somebody who’s got their own cadence, their own tenor, it’s a fun puzzle for me.”
While ESPN is no longer the home of “Sunday Night Baseball,” it is retaining a slate of 30 MLB broadcasts, scattered on various days of the week and primarily in June, July, and August. Fellow Disney property ABC is scheduled for three games. The Red Sox are booked for two ESPN games (Thursday, May 7, vs. the Rays; Wednesday, Sept. 23, vs. the Guardians) and one ABC game (Saturday, June 27, vs. the Yankees). ESPN’s schedule, especially in the second half, has a lot of flexibility, so the Sox may end up with more games on the network.
Among other holdover rights partners, the Red Sox have six Saturday games set for Fox Sports, which remains the home of the World Series. Those games are April 11 (Cardinals), June 6 (Yankees), Aug. 22 (Giants), Aug. 29 (Yankees), Sept. 5 (Orioles), and Sept. 26 (Cubs). FS1 has two Sox games, on April 23 (another with the Yankees) and July 11 (Mets).
And the pie still isn’t fully divided up.
TBS still has Tuesday night games, including two so far featuring the Red Sox, on April 21 (hey, look, it’s the Yankees) and May 26 (Braves). AppleTV is still in the mix, too, with Friday night games that will include an April 17 matchup of Sox-Tigers. Oh, and MLB Network will have a couple of games along the way.
All told, including NESN, that’s nine different channels or streaming services that will carry a Red Sox game this season.
If you aim to watch every one of them, I wish you well, and I dread your bill.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com.
