It’s time for Apple TV to add a Sports tab
It’s time for Apple TV to add a Sports tab
The streamer has added two major sports properties for 2026. Now is the time to make accessing those sports easier.
When it comes to premium features, Apple TV is fairly well stocked. Setting aside the high quality of its library, Apple TV offers premium video such as Ultra-High-Definition 4K with most titles, as well as Dolby Atmos audio on a wide range of shows and movies.
When exploring the Apple TV interface now — in the dead of winter, as it is currently — I was hard-pressed to think of a feature the streamer was missing. But then I remembered how many live sports are headed to Apple TV in 2026: MLS soccer games, MLB doubleheaders on Friday nights, and Formula 1 races. Once those sports ramp up again, it would behoove Apple TV to add a Sports tab to its home screen to help subscribers navigate to its various sporting events more quickly.
There is currently an MLS tab on the Apple TV home menu, but that’s as close as Apple TV comes to having a Sports menu option anywhere in its user interface. Previously, that tab would take a viewer to the home page for MLS games, but customers would have to sign up for an MLS Season Pass subscription to watch those matches.
The Apple TV home page has an MLS tab in its menu, but no other sports-only pages. Click to expand.
That will change in a major way in 2026. Apple is downsizing its deal with MLS, ending the contract with the league early and sunsetting MLS Season Pass as of the end of the 2025 season. Instead, Apple will broadcast all games on Apple TV at no additional cost to subscribers this year.
And it’s not just MLS games heading to Apple TV starting this year. As announced in October, the streamer will also offer all F1 Grand Prix races over the next five seasons, as well as practice sessions and other coverage. Once again, all of this content will be available to stream with no extra charge to every Apple TV subscriber.
MLB doubleheaders on Friday evenings will return when baseball season starts as well, and these sports will overlap for several months. Giving fans an easy-to-find button that sorts all of this sports content into one page will be essential if Apple TV wants to maximize engagement with its new sports properties.
Not only would creating a Sports tab help viewers navigate to Apple TV’s live events more quickly, but it would also prevent the streamer from having to populate its home page with that content. That keeps the page from feeling too crowded, and allows Apple TV to keep spotlighting its original TV shows and movies.
Live sports rights are expensive, and making sure fans have a good time watching them on a platform helps to ensure repeated engagement. Having a Sports tab on the Apple TV home screen to set aside live sports and shoulder coverage would make navigation of the app and the finding of its sports content much simpler, especially with the volume of sports the service has now.
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.