Shop E Store According to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Apple is one of the companies that has submitted bids for the rights to the iconic Sunday Night Baseball Broadcast since 2026.
In an interview with CNBCManfred said Apple, NBC and ESPN are all submitting all bids for the baseball package for Sunday night.
In June, the report suggests that Apple is one of the companies that will win land streaming rights for the package. This week’s comment from Manfred comes when it first received an official confirmation that Apple has officially submitted its bid as part of negotiations.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman spoke to Manfred about baseball rights this Sunday night:
Manfred broke some news with our sit down. He confirmed that NBC, Apple and ESPN are three bidders for the league’s Sunday Night Baseball package, and that ESPN opted out earlier this year. Manfred told me he is planning to pick the winners of those rights within this month and that they could be split between the two bidders.
It is worth noting that Apple and NBC are submitting a bid for baseball rights on Sunday night, but it is particularly interesting that ESPN is still involved in the negotiations. ESPN initially refused to renew its deals beyond the 2025 MLB season with an average annual average of $550 million for the past three years.
As CNBC ESPN’s decision to opt out led to dull comments from Manfred at the time. “We don’t think it’s beneficial to embrace small transactions to stay on a shrinking platform,” Manfred wrote in February in an email to MLB owners. Despite that nasty breakup, ESPN and MLB are still in discussion.
Apple currently retains the rights to baseball on Friday nights. This is what I think is that I only stream two games every Friday on Apple TV+. Obtaining the rights to baseball on Sunday nights would be a major expansion of Apple’s partnership with MLB.
However, the Sunday night baseball package is much more expensive than Apple’s Friday night baseball contract. Apple closed its seven-year contract with MLB for baseball on Friday night in 2022 at around $85 million per season. Friday Night Baseball is available for Apple TV+ subscribers at no additional charge.
This news is also happening as Apple is rumoured to be the forefront of US F1 streaming rights. Very recently Business Insider “No last-minute changes,” Apple reported that it is poised to secure the deal as part of a contract worth at least $150 million from the 2026 Formula 1 season.
shopestore take
As a fan of large baseball, it’s disappointing to see the relationship between MLB and ESPN deteriorated. I have lots of memories of watching baseball on Sunday nights on ESPN.
There are many questions about what it means for the iconic Sunday Night baseball franchise to be trapped behind streamers. I’m also very worried about what that would mean for ESPN’s wide coverage of Major League Baseball if the company abandons its MLB partnership entirely.
The prices for baseball on Sunday nights also seem to be out of the bang. Certainly, the brand is iconic, but $550 million a year at a Sunday night baseball game per week is far more expensive than Apple paying $85 million a year for a Friday night baseball game.
That being said, Apple TV+’s Friday night baseball broadcast is quite impressive, at least from a technical perspective. If there’s a company that can be a good steward for a historic Sunday night baseball franchise, I like to think it’s Apple.
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