White Sox TV voice Jason Benetti will be the play-by-play voice for Peacock’s MLB package of Sunday games, according to sources. An official announcement is expected Wednesday. Benetti will be joined by local TV analysts.
Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, will debut its 18-game “MLB Sunday Leadoff” on May 8 with the White Sox-Red Sox game, which is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Central. Peacock has exclusivity until 12:30 p.m., when the rest of the Sunday slate begins.
Benetti’s national profile has increased in the last few years. He has become a popular announcer on ESPN’s college football and basketball broadcasts, and he called baseball on his first Olympic broadcasts at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games, which aired on NBC. He also has filled in on Bulls games for NBC Sports Chicago.
Benetti will continue to work in the fall and winter for ESPN, but the network’s MLB Statcast, which Benetti has hosted opposite “Sunday Night Baseball,” is being shelved in favor of the new KayRod cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez.
Earlier on Tuesday, Peacock announced that Ahmed Fareed will host “MLB Sunday Leadoff.” Fareed was a host and reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California from 2013-18, covering the Giants and A’s. Since 2019, Fareed has served as a host and reporter on a variety of NBC Sports properties.
