MLB drops planned London games for 2026 as broadcast negotiations advance

Major League Baseball has abandoned plans to stage two regular-season games in London in 2026, Commissioner Rob Manfred said, citing scheduling conflicts at West Ham’s London stadium and limited broadcast availability.

MLB had targeted June 13-14, 2026, for a meeting between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, but West Ham United is scheduled to host its Premier League finale on May 24, leaving insufficient time to convert the Olympic Stadium for baseball. League officials also said Fox lacked available broadcast windows later in June because of World Cup commitments, making alternative dates unworkable.

Manfred announced the decision Tuesday during a question-and-answer session at Front Office Sports’ "Tuned In" event in New York. He said the London games were "definitely off," but emphasized that MLB remains interested in international growth, calling London an "important jumping off point" for reaching developed European markets.

MLB first played in London in 2019 when the Yankees swept two games from the Boston Red Sox. A planned Cardinals-Cubs series in 2020 was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic; MLB returned to London with split series involving the Cardinals and Cubs in 2023 and the Mets and Phillies in 2024. A separate plan to stage regular-season games in Paris in 2025 was called off after MLB and the players’ association were unable to find a promoter.

Beyond Europe, Manfred said MLB is focusing on grassroots initiatives in India and expanding efforts in Mexico. The league has staged regular-season games in Monterrey and Mexico City in previous years and is likely to have the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres play in Mexico City on April 25-26, 2026. Manfred said MLB has been working to "develop better relationships with the Mexican professional leagues" with the aim of creating a model similar to Japan and Korea, where a thriving domestic league coexists with players transitioning to MLB.

MLB has increased its presence in Asia as well. The league opened seasons in Tokyo multiple times, most recently in 2024, and staged a season opener in Seoul in 2024. Manfred pointed to the growing Asian market — notably the popularity of Shohei Ohtani — as part of a strategy to invest in markets that are at different stages of development.

In addition to international plans, Manfred confirmed media reports that MLB is nearing agreements for the 2026–28 rights cycle. He said the league has agreements in principle with Comcast’s NBCUniversal for the Wild Card Series and Sunday-night regular-season games, with Netflix for the All-Star Home Run Derby, and with The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN for a regular-season package plus in-market streaming rights for Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, Minnesota and San Diego. Manfred said an existing deal with Apple would remain in place.

"We kind of have agreements in principle. We still have issues that need to be resolved," Manfred said, adding that MLB hopes to finalize the reported deals. ESPN had previously opted out of its rights for Sunday-night broadcasts and the Home Run Derby for 2026–28 before recent negotiations resumed. Manfred said talks with ESPN president James Pitaro restarted in July at the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference and that both parties worked to find creative solutions to remain partners.

Manfred described the potential partnerships as progress for putting Sunday-night baseball on broadcast television and highlighted the prospect of working with new platforms such as Netflix for marquee events. He said media buyers and streaming services will be interested in accessing well-developed international markets where they seek greater penetration.

Looking ahead to the next rights cycle in 2029, Manfred said he expects a different model that could include more games in national packages, but he cautioned that local rights will remain necessary. "Local is not going away when you have 2,430 games. We’re going to need a local solution for those games that are not available in national packages," he said. Manfred said MLB wants each team’s games on fewer channels to maximize revenue and increase national distribution, while acknowledging clubs' concerns about how games outside national packages will be handled.

The cancellation of the 2026 London series underscores logistical and broadcast challenges in staging international regular-season games. MLB said it will continue to pursue international opportunities while concurrently negotiating domestic and national media rights that it considers critical to growing the game and its revenue streams.