NBC has found its lead play-by-play voice as the network returns to baseball coverage for the first time in 25 years this season.
Per Front Office Sports, Jason Benetti will kick off his year for NBC/Peacock by calling the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game on March 26 as part of a new Sunday Night Baseball package.
Benetti is widely recognized as one of the top play-by-play announcers across all of sports. He comes to NBC after previously working at ESPN and serving as the voice of Chicago White Sox baseball. FOS reports that Fox Sports, his current employer, is letting him out of his contract early to take the new gig.
The move has been expected as Benetti established himself as the lead candidate this offseason. NBC had good reason to have him at the top of its wish list as he enjoys a very high Q score with the public.
In 2024 the Detroit Tigers were able to sweep him away from Chicago to lead their broadcasts and that match has been working extremely well. He'll keep that role during the week in addition to his NBC duties and he's also expected to call other sports that air on the network.
The plan appears to be to have Benetti, who previously called Peacock's package of 18 MLB games in 2022, join a rotating cast of analysts.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBC Makes Home Run Hire to Lead Its New MLB Broadcasts.
