With Prime Video being the place for select NFL Thursday Night Football games, as well as occasional exclusive NFL games, Apple is looking to get into the sports realm is trying to hit the home run of all streaming deals to be able to do that with Apple TV+, according to a new report from the New York Post.
While the MLB is not as big in America as the NFL, it would be Apple’s first opportunity in streaming live sports, which could set up plans for other types of sports streaming (NFL, college football, college basketball, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, etc).
As it stands right now, Apple would not have exclusive streaming rights to any particular MLB team.
However, it has been reported that ESPN will no longer be broadcasting Monday and Wednesday night MLB games, which could allow for Apple to get into that streaming space of those games, even if it was just once a week.
Other entities that are trying to get more live MLB games for their streaming service are ESPN+ and Barstool Sports.
However, a deal with Apple would not be unusual, as both Facebook and Twitter have broadcast live MLB games before. Even last season, NBCUniversal’s Peacock broadcast a few exclusive MLB games. MLB games are viewable on Hulu for those who either have Hulu with Live TV and those who have the Disney+ bundle that comes with ESPN+ integration, which already streams a number of live games each week.
If Apple did get streaming rights to live MLB games for the next season, there could be a price increase to the streaming service. As it stands right now, Apple TV+ costs $4.99 a month and is available to stream through the Apple TV app.
It should also be noted that the MLB is currently in a lockout due to the need of a new Collective Barganing Agreement (CBA) to be signed. The regular season is set to begin on Thursday, March 31.
What are your thoughts on the idea of Apple TV+ potentially getting live broadcast rights to streaming live MLB games for the upcoming season? Comment below or let us know on Twitter at @appleosophy.
