Apple TV+ Reportedly Outbidding NBC for More MLB Games

Apple TV+ is emerging as the frontrunner to acquire additional MLB media rights currently held by ESPN, according to a Sports Business Journal report.

Apple TV Plus Friday Night Baseball 2025
Sources tell the publication that Apple's offer would likely exceed what NBC has proposed for the same package, particularly if focused on Sunday night games. NBC reportedly bid for all of ESPN's current MLB rights, but the league faces a familiar streaming dilemma: fewer dollars from traditional broadcasters with broader reach versus higher payments from digital platforms with smaller audiences.

Apple already pays MLB a reported $85 million annually for "Friday Night Baseball" through to 2028. The potential deal would be structured as a three-year agreement, positioning MLB to bundle all national rights when current contracts with Fox Sports and TNT Sports expire in 2028.

The streaming service currently includes Friday night games at no additional cost with Apple TV+ subscriptions, which cost $9.99 monthly or $99 yearly in the U.S. It's also included in all Apple One subscription bundles with other Apple services.

MLB has yet to finalize the structure of post-ESPN packages, leaving multiple scenarios on the table for Sunday night games, Wild Card coverage, and the Home Run Derby. The talks sound like they remain fluid, with various moving parts still under consideration.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

besler3035 Avatar
22 weeks ago

Awesome! Between this, MLS, and shows like The Studio, Apple TV+ is the leader in dull content that I couldn’t care less about.
Consider yourself in the minority. The Studio is great. And to add to that, shows like Your Friends & Neighbors, Ted Lasso, Severance, and Shrinking show why Apple TV+ is a great place for quality, high production shows. They've been compared to the HBO of old. And for good reason.

Now am I a baseball fan? Not really. But every streamer is looking to get more into sports these days, so this makes sense. And it brings in advertising dollars.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Green Valkyrie Avatar
21 weeks ago
Well each to their own. For this European, baseball is the one US sport I actually like. And I like it a lot - it's what short form cricket has tried (and failed) multiple times to be.

Oh and the Mets rule :cool:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
21 weeks ago
Unmentioned here is the key fact that the teams sell their local broadcast rights, usually to a cable provider. You need to subscribe to a cable package to watch your home team's games in-market. Now, more of these games are being resold to national broadcasters and streamers. This means you have to ante up again, or you will miss the games you already paid to be able to watch. This past weekend, for example, the Dodgers were on Apple, ESPN, and Fox. None were broadcast on the Dodgers network, SportsNetLA. It's a mess, and it only gets worse every year.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
21 weeks ago
If Apple implements vision pro friendly broadcasting, it will open a huge door.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
22 weeks ago
I'm here for it. The Friday night games are wonderful compared to dealing with whatever random streaming app you have to use for this or that game. But that could just be because I'm an O's fan, and the MASN app is the 12th circle of hell. (although I will concede that it has been fine in 2025. Still sucks but at least reliably displays baseball games now)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuddyRich Avatar
21 weeks ago

I'm here for it. The Friday night games are wonderful compared to dealing with whatever random streaming app you have to use for this or that game. But that could just be because I'm an O's fan, and the MASN app is the 12th circle of hell. (although I will concede that it has been fine in 2025. Still sucks but at least reliably displays baseball games now)
Same. Though they need to get better announcers. They are much better than the first season, but their broadcast/stream quality and presentation is top notch... Also like that unlike most other sports broadcasters they aren't infested with ads (particularly online gambling ones) and just show inbetween innings with ballpark sounds and do a half-inning of in play just ballpark sounds... though Apple is a money making enterprise I don't expect that to last as they'll want to monetize their rights...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)