NBC to sign Jason Benetti as lead MLB announcer, per report

After months of being considered the “leading candidate” for NBC’s lead MLB play-by-play job, it appears that Jason Benetti will officially join the network.

The veteran announcer, who has made stops at Fox Sports, ESPN, the Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox, will serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball package, and also call other sports for the network, according to a report by Michael McCarthy in Front Office Sports. In January, FOS reported Benetti was at the top of NBC’s list.

Benetti previously called Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff package in 2022, which technically makes this his second stint calling baseball for NBC. Last month, Awful Announcing learned that NBC would deploy local analysts into the booth alongside the play-by-play announcer, which is the same arrangement Benetti had during the Sunday morning package.

Per the report, Benetti was released from his Fox contract early to accommodate the new gig. The writing was on the wall that Benetti would be making the jump from Fox to NBC when Fox Sports recently announced its broadcaster lineup for the World Baseball Classic and Benetti was not on the list.

The 42-year-old will continue calling games for the Detroit Tigers locally while under contract with NBC.

NBC has already attracted a number of stars to its Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, including Joey Votto, Clayton Kershaw, and Anthony Rizzo in the studio. Ahmed Fareed will host and Bob Costas will contribute in an emeritus role.

It is unclear what other sports Benetti will call for NBC. At Fox, he frequently called college football and college basketball games, which would also be a natural fit for NBC’s portfolio. Baseball will be played at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. One would presume Benetti is now the front-runner for that gig as well.

Jason Benetti will call his first Sunday Night Baseball game on March 26 between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers.