Apple TV+ Reportedly Abandoning MLB Coverage

[MacRumors]

Apple is apparently set to exit its partnership with Major League Baseball and discontinue its "Friday Night Baseball" package on Apple TV+.

Apple first entered Major League Baseball in March 2022 with a seven-year agreement valued at roughly $85 million per year, which granted it exclusive global streaming rights to two Friday night games each week on Apple TV+. The deal was originally scheduled to run through 2029, but Yahoo Sports' Kendall Baker now says that Apple has exercised an early opt-out provision, allowing the company to end its involvement before the contract's planned expiration.

Apple's exit from baseball arrives less than three full seasons into its seven-year arrangement, marking a rare early termination of a major streaming sports contract. Baker described the new arrangement as "close to being done."

The shift would see Apple leave Major League Baseball coverage entirely. Baker reported that NBCUniversal, through its Peacock streaming service, is expected to assume the Friday night slot as well as gain rights to Sunday exclusive games and the Wild Card round. Disney's ESPN is said to be in advanced negotiations to acquire the MLB.TV direct-to-consumer service, while Netflix is reportedly set to secure the rights to stream the annual Home Run Derby.

The early termination would represent a significant retreat from one of Apple's highest-profile sports investments to date. When the partnership was announced in 2022, it was framed as an important part of Apple's video streaming strategy, intended to expand the Apple TV+ offering beyond scripted entertainment into live sports. At the time, Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services, described the deal as an opportunity to provide fans with "the best seat in the house."

Apple's most prominent remaining sports deal is the 10-year global agreement with Major League Soccer, signed in 2023 and valued at an estimated $2.5 billion. The MLS Season Pass package is available exclusively through Apple TV+.

In addition to MLS, Apple has held discussions with other leagues and rights holders. The company was previously linked to negotiations for NFL Sunday Ticket, which ultimately went to YouTube, and explored packages with the English Premier League and the Pac-12 conference. Multiple reports suggest that Apple is currently in talks to acquire Formula 1 streaming rights in the United States.

Article Link: Apple TV+ Reportedly Abandoning MLB Coverage

 

[StephanD88]

Let’s say for me, that forced and unremovable MLS tab in the Apple TV app is what the sudden U2 album on iPods was for others.
I have 0 interest in it, and it clutters the app for me. Can’t wait for it to be removed.

 

[gank41]

it’s difficult to watch the games being commentated by people that seemingly know nothing about the teams they’re there to comment about. It’s almost like watching a White Sox game on ESPN. Unless you’re the Red Sox, Yankees, or Dodgers, they don’t even know who’s on the field.

 

[spartan1967]

Dear Apple, please use the funds recouped from this early MLB contract opt-out to hire Apple employees that solely test new iOS versions before release to the public. Thank you.

 

[machpost]

The rumor about ESPN acquiring MLB TV is odd, since MLB has been adamant about controlling streaming rights.

 

[zahuh]

My theory is this is all because of the failure of Vision Pro. If Vision Pro was selling well, I think it would have justified all these purchases and more. Including movies & TV shows from Apple TV+ itself.

 

[Baseiseough]

Let’s say for me, that forced MLS tab in the Apple TV app is what the sudden U2 album on iPods was for others.
I have 0 interest in it, and it clutters the app for me. Can’t wait for it to be removed.

Couldn't agree more. The MLS tag can't go soon enough (well, if only Apple would let us show and hide the options we want in the side bar. This way everybody would be happy and customize it how they see fit).

On a very selfish note, I hope it's the beginning of the end for live sports in Apple TV+. I would prefer that the subscription money goes to finance shows instead of paying sports leagues and cutting production budgets on productions like Foundation for example.

Or maybe Apple could start Apple Sports+ so people into sports could subscribe.

 

[Macbookey]

You would think making greater inroads in sports like the MLB and other media would be a priority. Lost opportunity for the Vision Pro and being able to have cameras of their own to give users of the device an exhilarating experience. Given that Apple wants to make a cheaper version in the future, having these advantages aids in marketing the product. I personally don’t own one and likely never will, but it sure would be cool to have that perspective for baseball and the like.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

it’s difficult to watch the games being commentated by people that seemingly know nothing about the teams they’re there to comment about. It’s almost like watching a White Sox game on ESPN. Unless you’re the Red Sox, Yankees, or Dodgers, they don’t even know who’s on the field.

100%. The announcers are terrible!

You would think making greater inroads in sports like the MLB and other media would be a priority. Lost opportunity for the Vision Pro and being able to have cameras of their own to give users of the device an exhilarating experience. Given that Apple wants to make a cheaper version in the future, having these advantages aids in marketing the product. I personally don’t own one and likely never will, but it sure would be cool to have that perspective for baseball and the like.

I almost always watch sports with other people. AVP sounds lonely and boring.

 

[Oestreich Dieter]

I am still amazed people can actually watch baseball on TV. I mean, the only reason people go to the games is to drink and socialize, but watching the game itself....its painful to watch.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Eddy Cue's list of losing sports bids is really incredible at this point. NBA, NFL, Premier League, Club World Cup, MLB? And that's all we know about. If you want to lose a bid, put Eddy Cue on the case.

 

[jdclifford]

It seems Timmy Apple can't make up his mind about sports. Also according to (https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...nbc-closes-in-on-sunday-night-baseball-rights), NBC beat Timmy out for Sunday night baseball.

Timmy you need to either go all in on your sports rights bidding with the big boys or forget about it BTW you could have used some that F1 overbid to apply to MLB bid.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I am still amazed people can actually watch baseball on TV. I mean, the only reason people go to the games is to drink and socialize, but watching the game itself....its painful to watch.

I love baseball and have my entire life, in-person, on TV or even radio. I go to the games to watch baseball, not drink, and had National's season tickets for years before I moved.

Eddy Cue's list of losing sports bids is really incredible at this point. NBA, NFL, Premier League, Club World Cup, MLB? And that's all we know about. If you want to lose a bid, put Eddy Cue on the case.

It doesn't sound like they lost the bid, but they lost interest in bidding.

 

[jdclifford]

Eddy Cue's list of losing sports bids is really incredible at this point. NBA, NFL, Premier League, Club World Cup, MLB? And that's all we know about. If you want to lose a bid, put Eddy Cue on the case.

He did get Beats and Dr Dre (though I have no clue why).🤣

 

[dwaltwhit]

I am an MLB subscriber and love getting the local booth. I thought the few games my team got on the Apple broadcasts were fine. You can't expect to get the same insights from them as you do the guys that are watching every game and talking to players and managers day in and day out. I really liked the scorebug they had and thought the graphics looked really clean. I just wish MLB could figure out how to get rid of blackouts.

 

[cardfan]

Good. Was pretty dumb to do to start with.

 

[jdclifford]

I love baseball and have my entire life, in-person, on TV or even radio. I go to the games to watch baseball, not drink, and had National's season tickets for years before I moved.

I've been an avid sports fan for my entire life (mostly MLB, NFL, NHL and auto racing). Over the past 10 yrs or so I have found myself almost unable to watch any TV coverage due to all incessant commercials (especially those sneaky side-by-side 30 sec inserts), the constant broadcast booth babble, and overuse of graphics that cover up the action on the screen.

It's partly the aging process, but also the need to (greed) monetize every second of screen time; "This kickoff is sponsored by"... , "This power play is brought to you by..." etc. There's no flow to any game anymore.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I've been an avid sports fan for my entire life (mostly MLB, NFL, NHL and auto racing). Over the past 10 yrs or so I have found myself almost unable to watch any TV coverage due to all incessant commercials (especially those sneaky side-by-side 30 sec inserts), the constant broadcast booth babble, and overuse of graphics that cover up the action on the screen.

It's partly the aging process, but also the need to (greed) monetize every second of screen time; "This kickoff is sponsored by"... , "This power play is brought to you by..." etc. There's no flow to any game anymore.

Can't disagree with you there. I have the MLB season pass and they still do a lot of that.

Love some NHL! It isn't too overtaken by such nonsense...yet.

 

[cardfan]

You would think making greater inroads in sports like the MLB and other media would be a priority. Lost opportunity for the Vision Pro and being able to have cameras of their own to give users of the device an exhilarating experience. Given that Apple wants to make a cheaper version in the future, having these advantages aids in marketing the product. I personally don’t own one and likely never will, but it sure would be cool to have that perspective for baseball and the like.

That's a loser though. Apple shouldn't want any part of producing content. Not sure anyone else could profit from it either. I do agree that it would be cool for us. But i'm not willing to pay for it.

 

[dannyyankou]

ESPN's streaming service will be $30/month, which is nuts. I like baseball, but not that much.

 

[syklee26]

Why would anybody subscribe to Apple TV+ now? They better have something in there sleeve

Or "one more thing"

 

[gank41]

I am still amazed people can actually watch baseball on TV. I mean, the only reason people go to the games is to drink and socialize, but watching the game itself....its painful to watch.

Being a White Sox fan and having Steve Stone as one of our announcers makes all the difference. Although I could watch the Sox lose every day on mute, so..

 

[Selena Agna]

Back to the topic, on the one hand, I'd be glad if Apple stops spreading itself so thin over that many services, and axing sports would be a good start.
On the other hand, it seems like a coin flip which service they want to support long-term and what gets put on life support.

Doesn't give me any confidence to buy into Tim Apple's beloved service revenue stream.

 

[airwalk331]

Was not a fan of the Apple coverage. And I really disliked the % number they’d add to the screen “% chance to get a hit” etc

 

[NeonNights]

Anyways, I've never been a fan of baseball. I don’t mean that to be offensive. I enjoyed playing baseball in elementary school during P.E., but watching the game is a whole other matter. As a kid, I used to be so upset when baseball games ran long into the TV show I've been waiting all day to see. We didn’t have on-demand streaming or the ability to binge-watch back in those days.

This is a serious question for baseball fans:

Can you please explain what you enjoy about watching baseball? Do you have the same patience for all other aspects of your life? Thank you.