NBC Sports has selected one of the most respected voices in modern sports broadcasting to guide its return to Major League Baseball coverage. Veteran play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti has been tabbed to serve as the network’s lead voice when it re-enters the national MLB television landscape this spring.
Front Office Sports was first to report that Benetti will handle play-by-play for NBC’s revived baseball coverage. His debut is scheduled for March 26. The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a nationally streamed matchup.
The game will air on Peacock as part of the company’s renewed push into Major League Baseball, marking the first step in what NBC hopes will become a consistent Sunday night destination for the sport.
“After Jason finished the 2022 baseball season with us, we told him that if we ever got MLB back, he’d be our first call,” said Sam Flood, NBC Sports Executive Producer. “Jason is one of the best play-by-play announcers in the business and we’re thrilled to have him back on a full-time basis with NBC Sports, beginning with Sunday Night Baseball.”
The assignment represents another significant milestone for Benetti, whose broadcasting career has expanded steadily across multiple networks and sports properties. Over the past several years, he has built a reputation as one of television’s most versatile and energetic play-by-play announcers. He developed that reputation through roles with FOX Sports, ESPN, and regional baseball broadcasts.
“I am thrilled to be rejoining the NBC Sports family,” Benetti said. “Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and the whole team at NBC all have a deep appreciation for live sports. It’s a true honor to be part of the dawn of Sunday Night Baseball at NBC Sports. Each week is going to be a new, unique experience with analysts who all have different viewpoints on the game of baseball.”
Benetti currently serves as the television voice of the Detroit Tigers and previously held the same role with the Chicago White Sox, gaining widespread praise for blending storytelling, analytics and personality into modern baseball broadcasts.
Benetti had been rumored for months as a top contender to join the network’s roster for MLB play by play. When FOX Sports recently announced their World Baseball Classic announcer pairings, Benetti’s name was a glaring omission. According to sources, the regular season MLB schedule for FOX’s coverage had yet to be finalized but Benetti had been working for the network calling college basketball.
NBC plans to build its coverage around Benetti. The network will pair him with a rotating group of analysts from local team broadcasts. Benetti remained under contract with FOX Sports. However, Front Office Sports reports that FOX allowed him to exit early to accept the NBC opportunity.
His departure does not affect his ongoing role with the Tigers, where he continues to handle play-by-play duties on regional television.
The move also reunites Benetti with NBC programming. He previously contributed to the company’s baseball coverage during the sport’s streaming era. In 2022, he called games for Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff package. The broadcasts were an early attempt to experiment with exclusive streaming coverage. One year earlier, Benetti also served as a play-by-play announcer during coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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