With Prime Video being the location for some NFL Thursday Night Football games, as well as occasional exclusive NFL games, Apple is looking to get into the sports realm and is trying to hit the home run of all streaming deals to be able to do so with. Apple TV +, according to a new report from New York Post.
While MLB is not as big in America as the NFL, this would be Apple’s first opportunity to stream sports live, which could put plans in place for other types of sports streaming (NFL, football varsity, college basketball, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, etc).
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As it stands, Apple would not have exclusive broadcast rights to any particular MLB team.
However, it was reported that ESPN will no longer be streaming MLB games on Monday and Wednesday nights, which could allow Apple access to that streaming space for those games, even if it was only for once a week.
ESPN + and Barstool Sports are other entities that are trying to get more MLB games live for their streaming service.
However, a deal with Apple would not be unusual, as Facebook and Twitter have previously broadcast MLB games live. Even last season, NBCUniversal’s Peacock broadcast a few exclusive MLB games. MLB games can be viewed on Hulu for those who have Hulu with Live TV and those who have the Disney + package that comes with ESPN + integration, which already streams a number of games live each week.
If Apple were to secure the rights to broadcast live MLB games for the next season, the price of the streaming service could go up. As it stands, Apple TV + costs $ 4.99 per month and is available to stream through the Apple TV app.
It should also be noted that the MLB is currently on lockdown due to the need to sign a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The regular season kicks off Thursday, March 31.
What do you think of the idea of Apple TV + potentially getting the rights to broadcast live MLB games for the upcoming season? Comment below or let us know about Twitter on @appleosophy.
