Apple Continues Sports Push With Bid on MLB's Sunday Night Baseball

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In an interview this week with CNBC's Alex Sherman, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that Apple, NBC, and ESPN have each bid on the media rights to MLB's "Sunday Night Baseball" package, for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.

Sunday Night Baseball
Manfred said he plans to choose a winning bidder for "Sunday Night Baseball" within the month, and the rights could be split up between two bidders.

ESPN held the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball" through the 2028 season, but the network and MLB mutually opted out of the $550-million contract earlier this year, so ESPN's rights now expire after the 2025 season. Apple is now looking to pick up those final three seasons, along with NBC, and even ESPN is looking to renegotiate a deal.

Apple TV+ already streams MLB's Friday Night Baseball games, and the service could offer Sunday Night Baseball too if Apple wins the rights.

Following the 2028 season, all regional and national MLB media rights will be expired, and the league is hoping to table a bigger all-in-one package of rights. Apple would likely be very interested in such a package, as it would allow the company to offer an MLB equivalent of MLS Season Pass through the Apple TV app. However, MLB is much bigger than MLS, so it remains to be seen if MLB would be willing to go all-in with Apple.

Apple continues to push into sports content, with the company reportedly likely to secure the rights to Formula 1 racing. In the past, the company unsuccessfully bid on NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package, and on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Tags: Apple TV Plus Guide, MLB

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Top Rated Comments

ghostface147 Avatar
ghostface147
7 months ago
They need better commentators.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Biro Avatar
Biro
7 months ago

There's a swell of MLB fans who loathe AppleTV+ coverage, and generally either comes down to presentation, commentators abilities and/or neutrality, or paying an additional service after paying a tonne for a sports package elsewhere. Maybe that last one is a league problem to figure out? I think there's a way in the broadcast to at least switch audio to either team's radio calls, but people get very much attached to style/announcers, and change is tough.
Change is tougher for tradition-bound stick-and-ball sports fans than almost anyone else. And you are right about MLB. They need a Come to Jesus talk - or perhaps have their antitrust exemption revoked. The Blackout Rule is the first thing that needs to go.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacD Avatar
MacD
7 months ago
I know it's to attract users to their TV service platform, but seems out of line of Apple's mission.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zarmanto Avatar
zarmanto
7 months ago

I know it's to attract users to their TV service platform, but seems out of line of Apple's mission.
Depends upon how narrowly you choose to define their mission. I would suggest that -- much like any other company -- their mission can most simply be defined as:

"Do stuff that makes money."

While I'm not personally that drawn to sports broadcasts, I would have to admit that they do tend to draw large crowds... and with crowds, comes money.

And if you're going to suggest that this mission is too broad... well, Jeff Bezos might have an argument against your point of view. I mean seriously... Have you seen how rediculously diverse Amazon's portfolio of products and services has become? Even with adding (more) sports into the mix, Apple is still positively laser focused, in comparison.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mlayer Avatar
mlayer
7 months ago
Like what's happening with the F1 USA broadcast rights, I suspect that each sport is using Apple as a stalking horse against the incumbent rightsholder. For both F1 and Sunday Night Baseball that rightsholder is ESPN/Disney, which terminated its current MLB contract early. MLS found out the hard way that providing Apple full exclusivity is like killing your brand simply because there aren't enough viewers on the streaming platform. And if you don't partner with ESPN, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Apple TV+ may provide more money, not enough against disappearing mindshare. Like it or not, ESPN is king.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Séamus Boyle Avatar
Séamus Boyle
7 months ago

There's a swell of MLB fans who loathe AppleTV+ coverage, and generally either comes down to presentation, commentators abilities and/or neutrality, or paying an additional service after paying a tonne for a sports package elsewhere. Maybe that last one is a league problem to figure out? I think there's a way in the broadcast to at least switch audio to either team's radio calls, but people get very much attached to style/announcers, and change is tough.
You can definitely use the team’s radio calls and it’s perfectly in sync. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized you could do that. I use it whenever the Mets are on Apple TV.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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