Apple TV+ emerges as leading candidate for ESPN’s MLB rights
Apple TV+ emerges as leading candidate for ESPN’s MLB rights
ESPN has decided to move on from MLB after 2025, and it appears a front-runner has emerged for its existing rights package.
Who wants more MLB games? That’s the question going around the sports broadcasting world currently, and has been ever since February when ESPN decided it no longer wanted to move forward with its current MLB rights package. Ever since, the league has been considering its options, but now it appears it could be nearing a decision. That’s according to Sports Business Journal, which reports MLB seems to be zooming in on a landing spot for those rights.
Key Details:
- Leader in the clubhouse: SBJ says Apple TV+ is “potentially the leading streamer” in the hunt for ESPN’s MLB rights.
- Throw a splitter?: The rights Apple TV+ is looking into might not be the complete ESPN package as it stands.
- Fox hunt: Fox has also reported interest in the ESPN package.
According to SBJ, Apple TV+ is “potentially the leading streamer” in the race to acquire ESPN’s MLB rights. If it were to win that package, Apple TV+ would add it to the already-existing lineup of Friday night MLB doubleheaders it streams weekly. The package includes regular season games on Sunday nights, a Wild Card inventory of games, and the annual Home Run Derby.
No decisions have been made yet, and Apple TV+’s interest could come to naught in the end. NBC has also been looking into the package, but SBJ reports that the games Apple TV+ is checking out a bundle of games that are “not necessarily rights” NBC has asked about. That could indicate that MLB might split up the rights that ESPN currently has, though nothing has been confirmed in that regard.
The report also indicates that Apple’s offer would “likely be more” than what MLB is willing to pay, particularly if it can get its hands on the Sunday night lineup of regular-season games in the package. MLB is weighing the pluses and minuses of getting potentially fewer dollars to sell to a partner with more reach for the rights package as opposed to making a play for more money on a service with less reach.
Any deal made would likely be three years in duration, in order to conclude at the end of the 2028 season, so that all of MLB’s national rights packages will come up for sale again at the same time. Apple TV+’s interest has been reported before, but now it appears conversations with the streamer have advanced somewhat.
Fox has also shown some interest in the rights package, but it’s not clear how far it’s willing to go to get it. The package could be Apple TV+’s to lose, as long as it’s willing to pay MLB’s asking price.
Apple TV
Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) is a subscription video streaming service for $14.99 per month, offering a growing slate of original series, films, documentaries, and specials. Unlike other platforms that combine licensed titles with originals, Apple TV is built entirely around exclusive programming, making it the home of critically acclaimed hits such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” and “Silo.” Its lineup continues to expand with award-winning dramas, comedies, family-friendly shows, and blockbuster original films like “CODA,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.