MLB Sunday Leadoff

MLB Sunday Leadoff is the branding used for broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games that primarily are held on Sunday afternoon. It was originally produced by NBC Sports for the streaming service Peacock from 2022 to 2023, with one game each season simulcast on NBC. It was NBC Sports' first national MLB package since 2000. In 2024, MLB Sunday Leadoff is produced by MLB for The Roku Channel, and is also available blackout free on MLB.tv.

History
In March 2022, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that NBC Sports was finalizing an agreement to establish a new package of Sunday afternoon games beginning in the 2022 MLB season. The package would be a successor to TBS's previous Sunday afternoon package during the later half of the season; as part of a contract renewal, TBS replaced these games with a new Tuesday night package across the entire regular season.

As a prelude to the deal, Peacock had exclusively aired a June 2021 series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. It was co-produced by NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports Philadelphia, and featured a broadcast team led by the Giants' lead play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and his partner Mike Krukow, joined by the Phillies' analysts John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins.

NBC formally announced the deal on April 6, with a reported value of $30 million per-season. As part of the agreement, Peacock would also carry the All-Star Futures Game, as well as an MLB content hub featuring classic games and other video content.

On April 13, 2022, NBC Sports announced that the games would be branded as MLB Sunday Leadoff.

The inaugural broadcast was a game featuring the Chicago White Sox at the Boston Red Sox on May 8. The game was also simulcast on the NBC broadcast network, marking its first MLB broadcast since Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series on October 17, 2000, and its first regular season MLB broadcast since September 29, 1995. All other games were exclusive to Peacock Premium subscribers.

Outside of the United States, the games were carried on MLB's out-of-market packages (including MLB.tv). In Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays' appearances were televised as normal by MLB's Canadian broadcast partner Sportsnet as part of its regional rights to the team.

For the 2023 season, the amount of games increased to 19. Six games started at 11:30 a.m., ten started at 12:00 p.m., and three started at 1:00 p.m. ET. For the second consecutive year, one game was simulcast on NBC.

On May 13, 2024, Major League Baseball announced the package would move to The Roku Channel for the 2024 season. Games will also be available blackout free to MLB.tv customers.

Production
The broadcasts were described as being "hyperlocal" with a "national flair", being built upon the on-air presentation for NBC Sports' regional MLB coverage. Former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (who served as NBC's lead play-by-play commentator for its MLB coverage from 1983 to 1989) narrated a special introduction for the first broadcast, emphasizing NBC's history as an MLB broadcaster (including its historic Game of the Week broadcasts).

Upon moving to The Roku Channel in 2024, MLB Advanced Media took over production of MLB Sunday Leadoff.

Personnel
Jason Benetti (who calls Chicago White Sox games for NBC Sports Chicago, and also worked NBC's telecasts of baseball during the 2020 Summer Olympics) served as the lead by-play announcer for the 2022 season, joined by rotating analysts from each participating team. Jon Miller filled in for the San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds game. Ahmed Fareed would serve as the studio host.

Benetti joined Fox Sports in August 2022. Brendan Burke replaced Benetti as the lead play-by-play announcer for MLB Sunday Leadoff in 2023. Due to Burke’s Stanley Cup Playoff commitments for TNT, Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network and Chris Vosters of NBC Sports Chicago filled in for Burke during the first four games of Peacock’s 2023 schedule. Dave Sims filled in for Brendan Burke on Sunday, August 20.

For the move to The Roku Channel in 2024, MLB Sunday Leadoff utilized a mix of local TV announcers from both teams, typically with the home team's play-by-play announcer and sideline reporter joined by the road team's color analyst.

Schedule
The games have an exclusive midday window, with the first games carrying an 11:30 a.m. ET scheduling, and later games having a 12:00 p.m. ET scheduling; three games were scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET in 2023. On days scheduled for games on MLB Sunday Leadoff, no other MLB games began until at least 1:30 p.m. ET.