ESPN is stepping back from Sunday Major League Baseball broadcasts after 35 years, and Apple may be ready to step up.
MLB now finds itself shopping one of its most recognizable media packages Sunday Night Baseball after ESPN opted out of a deal worth $550 million a year. That leaves a prime slot up for grabs, along with rights to the Home Run Derby and the early playoff rounds.
Apple is already in the game with "Friday Night Baseball" on Apple TV+, reportedly paying around $85 million for a smaller slate of regular-season matchups. Now, it could land a much bigger role.
CNBC, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred named Apple and NBC as possible destinations for the open Sunday night package.
Apple isn't a background player in sports streaming anymore. It's been considered for flagship programming once owned by the biggest name in sports media.
Streaming giants change the rules
For ESPN, the math no longer added up. It went from broadcasting six games a week in its heyday to just one by 2022.
The company still pulled in decent numbers with Sunday Night Baseball averaging 1.5 million viewers last season, but not enough to justify its costs. Meanwhile, ESPN is spending less than $10 million for two seasons of a new golf league that draws solid ratings for a fraction of the price.
Networks are reserving their budgets for NFL and NBA deals, which are more likely to guarantee large audiences. Everyone else, including MLB, is getting squeezed.
But streaming platforms aren't following the old playbook. Apple, Amazon, and Netflix don't need 30 regular-season games.
What they want are events that drive subscriptions and media buzz. Netflix, for example, passed on full-season packages but paid up for NFL Christmas games and the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.
MLB's strength might now lie in breaking up the old ESPN bundle. Rather than finding one partner for everything, it could sell pieces to different buyers.
Apple's Sports appApple could grab Sunday nights, or another streamer could take the playoffs. And a different company might want the Home Run Derby.
Apple's upside in the deal
Apple doesn't need to chase legacy sports formats to win in this space. With a global platform, tight integration across devices, and an appetite for curated content, it's built to host marquee events.
Taking over the Sunday night slot would deepen its investment without overcommitting to the volume that turned ESPN off.
It's not a done deal. ESPN could return to the table at a lower price, and networks like NBC or CBS might make a move if the price is right. But Apple has already shown it can handle national broadcasts, and MLB seems ready to do business.
If a new agreement lands, it could mark the clearest sign yet that the future of baseball and sports media is more broadly shifting to Silicon Valley.
