The event, sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), is open to the sport's top 16 countries and includes players from Major League Baseball (MLB). 

The host cities and countries are due to be announced later this year. 

By the time the World Baseball Classic takes place next year, the WBSC hopes that the sport will have been added to the Olympic programme for Tokyo 2020.

The International Olympic Committee is due to make a decision at its Session in Rio de Janeiro in July. 

This new MP & Silva deal, which excludes Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States, grants the London-based company distribution rights for the tournament across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio.

The agreement also includes a number of qualifying tournaments due to take place later this year. 

For the first time, the deal will include Canada.

During the 2013 World Baseball Classic, which took place in Japan, Puerto Rico, Taiwan and the United States, games shown live in Canada nationally on Sportsnet produced a 97 per cent increase in viewership from comparable national coverage in 2009.

MP & Silva held media distribution rights for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

More than 45 television and radio partners broadcast the 2013 tournament worldwide to more than 200 countries and territories in 15 languages.

Games from the 2013 edition of the World Baseball Classic set numerous broadcasting records around the globe, MP & Silva claim. 

The Championship was one of the most watched sporting events in the Dominican Republic in at least the last decade and was also the most watched sporting event in Puerto Rico within the previous year.

In addition, a Japan against The Netherlands game was the most viewed sporting event in the previous 12 months in Japan, out-rating all 2012 Olympics coverage.

One-third of all televisions on in Japan were tuned into the World Baseball Classic for the three first-round games played by their team in Fukuoka.

In Taiwan, an extra-inning thriller between Japan and Chinese Taipei was the highest-rated cable programme in the country’s history. 

“MP & Silva was a valuable partner in the last edition of the tournament and we look forward to expanding our relationship with them for the 2017 World Baseball Classic,” Chris Park, senior vice-president, growth, strategy and International, MLB, said.

“This event is integral to the continued growth and development of baseball internationally and MP & Silva’s experience in global media distribution will help deliver this exciting tournament to an even larger worldwide audience.”

Since being launched in 2006, all three tournaments have been taken place in different countries but the finals of every event have been held in California with San Diego hosting the first and Los Angeles the second in 2009 before it took place in San Francisco  four years later. 

Earlier this month, Australia won a qualifying tournament in Sydney to reach the finals of the World Baseball Classic. 

They will take their place alongside defending champions Dominican Republic and the 2013 runners-up Puerto Rico.

Also qualified are Japan, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, China, The Netherlands, Italy, Cuba, United States, Venezuela and Canada. 

The remaining three places will be filled at qualifying tournaments in Mexicali in Mexico and Panama City in Panama from March 17 until 20 and Brooklyn in the US from September 22 until 25. 

In 2014 MP & Silva also acquired global media and sponsorship rights for the first two editions of the Premier 12 baseball competition.

The tournament, hailed as the "new flagship pro baseball World Championships", was launched last year in Japan. 

"Our distribution of the 2013 World Baseball Classic enjoyed unprecedented success for global distribution and viewership, and we aim to surpass those targets with the 2017 edition," said Marco Auletta, chief executive of MP & Silva.