Apple TV+ might be ready to play in the big leagues. Major League Baseball, to be exact. The company reportedly engaged in “substantial talks” with MLB about acquiring the rights to stream games.
If such a deal comes together, it would be a game-changer for Apple’s streaming service.
Apple and MLB in talks about weekday baseball games
Apple TV+ might stream weekday baseball games, according to the New York Post. ESPN recently gave up the broadcast rights to Monday and Wednesday games. Apple is reportedly in talks to be the replacement.
How much the Mac-maker might pay remains unknown at this time. But MLB surely will demand a substantial amount.
Still, Apple is eager to grow its fledgling TV+ service, and sports is one way to go about that. It’s been willing to pay big bucks for the rights to films and series in the past in the hopes these would bring in subscribers. (It payed a reported $70 million to premiere Tom Hanks’ WWII movie Greyhound, for instance.)
Apple TV+ wants sports
News of talks with MLB doesn’t come out of left field. Apple hired former Amazon exec Jim DeLorenzo in 2020 to head up sports for its streaming video service. Of course, Apple TV+ doesn’t have any sports, so DeLorenzo’s job is to get some.
Previously, he served as head of sports at Amazon Video, where he extended that streaming service’s rights to show NFL games. Now he’s almost certainly the Apple rep at the talks with MLB.
