More baseball: Apple allegedly takes TV rights away from major broadcaster
TV+ subscribers can already watch important US Major League Baseball games on Friday. Apple now wants to buy more rights.
MLB on Apple: So far only on Fridays for TV+ users.
(Image: Apple)
It's a great thing for fans of American baseball: Apple has been offering customers important MLB games live and later as recordings every Friday via its TV app and browser since 2022. The service was initially free for anyone interested, but now requires a moderately priced TV+ subscription (€10 per month). Apple could extend the offer further in the future. According to a media report, negotiations are currently underway with Major League Baseball and existing rights holders to broadcast Sunday games in addition to Friday games.
“Leading candidate” in the contract poker game
According to the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) from the United States, Apple TV+ is now the “leading candidate” in the poker game for the MLB license. According to the article, the deal is for at least three years of broadcasting. The rights are currently held by the US sports channel ESPN, which is mainly owned by the Disney Company. The major TV broadcaster NBC originally wanted to take over and is reportedly bidding for all ESPN licenses. However, Apple is said to be prepared to pay more money. According to the SBJ, it would probably be enough for the company to buy the rights for Sunday games alone.
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A potential deal would have one disadvantage for Apple: all MLB rights would be back on the market as early as 2028. The company could then lose both it's Friday and the additional Sunday rights – or bid for the entire package. Currently, the Friday games alone are worth 85 million US dollars a year. In addition to the Sunday games, Apple could also be interested in special series such as “Wild Card” and “Home Run Derby”.
Apple also holds international MLB rights
MLB management is now said to be weighing up the various options. NBC, which can be received nationwide, would give the league more national visibility than a streaming channel such as Apple TV+. In addition, the international rights that Apple has secured would probably be lost: “Friday Night Baseball” games can be seen in all TV+ markets, including Europe.
Apple has not yet provided any information on how many viewers are watching the broadcast. There are currently no commercial breaks, but sponsors are integrated into the show, and interestingly, Google has already been involved.
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