Pirates Opening Day Game Earns National TV Spotlight
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The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and the familiar voices of a national broadcast. This classic American combination will feel both nostalgic and thrillingly new on March 26, 2026. On that day, Major League Baseball makes its long-awaited return to NBC and its streaming platform, Peacock, launching a new three-year media rights partnership.
The first game of this grand re-opening is a perfect storm of modern baseball drama: a 1 PM ET Opening Day showdown at Citi Field featuring the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, squaring off against one of the game’s most fearsome sluggers, Juan Soto of the New York Mets.
Paul Skenes visits Queens 🔥
— MLB (@MLB) January 9, 2026
The World Series champs raise their banner 🏆
Get ready for an epic #OpeningDay doubleheader on NBC and Peacock 😤 pic.twitter.com/DVFSCckdfr
A New Era for NBC — and for the Pirates?
NBC will offer year-round primetime sports on the same night each week, with their version of Sunday Night Baseball joining the established tradition of Sunday Night Football. The March 26 doubleheader, which also features the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers raising their banner in a primetime game against Arizona, is just the beginning of NBC's comprehensive coverage of MLB in 2026.
The spotlight, however, will first fall on Flushing, Queens, for a duel that encapsulates baseball’s eternal struggle. On the mound for Pittsburgh will almost certainly be Paul Skenes, the young ace who ascended to the pinnacle of pitching in 2025.
Skenes didn’t just win the NL Cy Young; he captured it unanimously, earning all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. His achievement placed him alongside legends like Sandy Koufax and Greg Maddux as one of the few unanimous selections in National League history. Remarkably, he became only the second pitcher ever to win the Cy Young the year after being named NL Rookie of the Year, duplicating a feat last accomplished by Dwight Gooden four decades prior.
Expectations will certainly be a little higher for the Pirates this season, after a busy and productive off-season. For the first time in years, the Pirates are receiving pre-season hype as a potential playoff team. The weight of that pressure will fall, at least partially, on the most important player to the Pirates — Skenes. As the winter continues, the Pirates will likely keep adding to the roster, but the team is already looking more formidable than the 2025 version.
Standing in the batter’s box to greet Skenes will be Soto, a player whose career has been defined by elite production and a preternatural eye at the plate. The Mets’ superstar, who led the National League in on-base percentage in 2025, represents the ultimate test for any pitcher. The confrontation between Skenes’s dominant arm and Soto’s patient, powerful swing is the kind of marquee matchup NBC envisioned when it sought to reclaim baseball’s national narrative.
MLB Sunday Leadoff
The Pirates are poised to be a featured team in NBC and Peacock’s new lineup throughout the season. Beyond the high-profile Opening Day game, Pittsburgh will appear in several exclusive windows. Fans can follow the team on Peacock’s “MLB Sunday Leadoff” broadcast for these Sunday afternoon games:
- May 24 at the Toronto Blue Jays (12 PM ET)
June 14 vs. the Miami Marlins (12 PM ET)- July 12 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers (12 PM ETT
NBC/Peacock Sunday MLB Sked pic.twitter.com/YXchqsT2wj
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 9, 2026
The partnership extends far beyond a single team or day. NBCUniversal’s package is built on exclusivity and volume. It includes the entire Wild Card round of the playoffs, a new Labor Day primetime tradition, and a landmark “Star-Spangled Sunday” on July 5, 2026, when Peacock and NBC will present all 15 MLB games nationally—an unprecedented programming block. Furthermore, Peacock will stream one out-of-market game every single day of the season, becoming a daily destination for dedicated fans.
For the first time in a generation, the familiar call of many fans' childhoods will ring out: Major League Baseball on NBC.
Ethan Merrill is from Grand Rapids, MI, and brings with him a diverse background of experiences. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, he worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks for three seasons before settling in the Pittsburgh area in 2020. With a passion for sports and a growing connection to his community, Ethan brings a fresh perspective to covering the Pittsburgh Pirates.