According to MacRumors, Apple TV will continue streaming Friday Night Baseball through the 2028 season under its existing 7-year deal established in 2022. The arrangement provides subscribers with two Friday night games plus pregame and postgame analysis completely free. While MLB announced new streaming partnerships with Netflix, NBCUniversal, and ESPN, Apple’s Friday night exclusivity remains untouched. The 2026 season begins March 25, 2026, with Apple’s first games airing that Friday, March 27. Despite rumors about Apple abandoning or expanding its MLB coverage, the company’s baseball strategy stays exactly the same through the end of the decade.
Streaming wars heat up
Here’s the thing – MLB is basically taking the “spread it around” approach to media rights. Netflix gets the Home Run Derby and special events like the Field of Dreams game. NBC grabs Sunday Night Baseball from ESPN. And ESPN pivots to midweek games while selling MLB.TV. Everyone gets a piece of the pie except Apple, whose slice remains exactly the same size it’s been since 2022.
But is standing pat really a win for Apple? When you look at the broader streaming landscape, everyone’s fighting for live sports content. Amazon has Thursday Night Football. YouTube has NFL Sunday Ticket. Now Netflix is finally dipping its toes into live sports with MLB. Apple’s baseball deal suddenly looks… modest. They’re not expanding, they’re not getting premium postseason content, they’re just maintaining what they already had.
What’s Apple’s play here?
I think this reveals something important about Apple’s sports strategy. They’re not trying to become the next ESPN. They’re using baseball as consistent, reliable content to keep people in the Apple ecosystem. Friday nights are predictable, the games are free to subscribers, and it doesn’t require massive additional investment. Basically, it’s a “good enough” approach rather than an all-out sports arms race.
And let’s be real – baseball isn’t exactly the hottest property in sports right now. The NFL dominates American viewership, while MLB struggles with younger audiences. So Apple gets to say “we have live sports” without paying NFL-level prices. It’s a smart business move, even if it’s not particularly ambitious.
The bigger picture
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So where does this leave Apple? With their MLB deal locked in through 2028, they’ve got stability in their sports offering. But in a streaming world that’s getting more competitive by the day, standing still might feel like moving backward. The real question is what happens after 2028 – will Apple double down on sports or decide the game isn’t worth playing?
