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MLB, Apple Reportedly Have Had 'Substantial Talks' to Broadcast Games for 2022 Season

Doric Sam

Major League Baseball games could have a new broadcast home soon.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported Monday that Apple has been involved in "substantial talks" about broadcasting MLB games next season. If a deal is reached, Apple would likely make the games available through its subscription service Apple+.

A deal between MLB and Apple would be the tech company's first foray into live sports coverage. Marchand noted that an agreement between the two entities "would not be anywhere close" to the deal between the NFL and Amazon, which is reportedly worth more than $1 billion per year. The streaming service is set to be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football next season.

According to Marchand, MLB is shopping a package of weekday national games since ESPN will no longer be carrying regular Monday and Wednesday games. He stated that the league has had talks with Barstool Sports and Amazon, as well as "most of the major players." He also pointed out a possible roadblock in the talks with Apple.

"ESPN games were not exclusive in local markets," Marchand wrote. "It is unclear at this point if Apple would be allowed to wall off these select games from regional sports network coverage or not."

Because of the current MLB lockout, this is all hypothetical until owners and players come together on a new collective bargaining agreement.

There has already been a shake-up in the broadcast of MLB games for next season. It was recently reported that ESPN plans to implement a simulcast for the upcoming season of Sunday Night Baseball that will be similar to the "Manning Cast" and will be hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay. The new Sunday Night Baseball booth will consist of David Cone and Eduardo Perez as analysts and Karl Ravech on play-by-play.

   

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