Apple TV is emerging as potentially the leading streamer to land some of the MLB media rights currently resting with ESPN — and not necessarily rights that NBC could be eyeing, sources tell SBJ, who noted no decisions have been made yet.
Reports emerged late last month that NBC is bidding for all of ESPN’s current MLB rights, but the league — like many other properties — is weighing the pros and cons of potentially fewer dollars from a legacy media company with more reach vs. more dollars from a digitally native platform with fewer eyeballs domestically. A source tells SBJ the offer from Apple would likely be more than what NBC would be eyeing, particularly if that package was focused on simply Sunday night rights.
Any deal would likely be a three-year pact, lining up MLB to have all its national rights (and maybe even a national “local” package) available in 2028, when deals with Fox Sports and TNT Sports also end. Apple TV currently has a package of MLB Friday night games that runs through 2028 and pays the league a reported $85M annually. A source also noted that no decisions have been made yet on the shape of packages emerging after ESPN’s deal ends, meaning a number of potential permutations for rights to MLB Sunday nights, the Wild Card and Home Run Derby. There remain a number of moving parts as part of the MLB talks.
