By Jonathan Easton
Apple is reportedly in talks with the MLB to broadcast the US baseball league’s midweek games.
According to a report from The New York Post, the MLB has been seeking alternative TV deals in the wake of a major ESPN partnership which dropped a large number of midweek games. ESPN recently relinquished its rights to regular Monday and Wednesday games.
Should Apple make a play for the rights, it would represent the company’s first foray into live sports broadcasting. Talks are believed to be ‘serious’, and if successful could see the league’s midweek matches added to Apple TV+.
The report goes on to note that MLB held talks with Barstool Sports, but this deal was not considered serious, while Amazon opted against making a play.
A report from Forbes predicts that a deal between Apple and the MLB could be worth around US$240 million, which represents less than half of what ESPN pays for its rights.
