MLB’s Apple TV+ and Peacock Streaming Deals Explained

On March 8, Major League Baseball announced a deal with Apple to bring an exclusive series of games to Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+. The plan is for the streaming service to offer two games every Friday night, and these games will not be televised elsewhere.

The timing of the Apple TV+ deal is interesting. The next day, MLB began offering significant concessions in its negotiations with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

The initial plan includes roughly 50 games to be streamed on Apple TV+ in 2022, along with “MLB Big Inning,” a feature that will run daily, showing game replays, highlights, and classic games. It seems as if “Big Inning” will have similar characteristics to the NLF’s “Red Zone” channel, as well as “The MLB Network.”

Regarding the deal with Apple TV+, MLB’s CFO Noah Garden said the following, per an article in 9To5MAC by Allison McDaniel:

Apple is the ideal partner to bring ‘Friday Night Baseball’ to fans around the world. Following milestones like the launch of At Bat on day one of the App Store in 2008 to the integration of Apple technology in ballparks across the country, this robust new game package is the perfect next collaboration in our long history of offering quality and innovative content to our fans. With national availability and international reach, MLB on Apple TV+ offers an exciting new platform to fans that allows a wider audience to connect with the game.”

On the subject of the financials, Apple will pay MLB $85 million each year for the next seven years for the right to stream games on Friday nights on Apple TV+. These games will not be subject to local blackout restrictions. How about the financials for the fans, the ones who, you know, want to watch the games? Apple says that there will be no charge for Apple TV+ for a limited time but has not specified exactly what “limited time” means. Currently, Apple TV+ costs $5 per month.

Regarding the Mets, one has to think that, being an anticipated contender, Mets games will be attractive to Apple TV+ (as will the densely populated New York market). Looking at the Mets’ schedule, April 29 against the Phillies may be a candidate for streaming, as may June 3 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers (I would almost guarantee that one), August 5 against the Braves, and September 30 against the Braves (divisional race pending).

The streaming doesn’t stop there. On March 9, MLB announced a new deal with NBC’s Peacock online service. Peacock will pick up Monday and Wednesday games that ESPN did not renew in its new contract with MLB. It’s not clear if the games NBC selects will exclusively be on Peacock.

Peacock will also have exclusive streaming rights for 18 Sunday games, and Peacock will air them at 11:30 a.m. or noon on those days. It is unclear how long the contract with Peacock is for, nor how much MLB will receive monthly for the deal.

How much money will baseball bring in with the various television and streaming deals? According to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, MLB is doing quite well:

Under MLB’s previous deals with ESPN, FOX and TBS, the league pulled in an average of $1.55 billion in annual television rights between the regular season and the playoffs. Their newest batch of contracts with those providers, plus the recent additions of Apple and NBC, give MLB a 26% increase in television and streaming revenue — up to an average of $1.96 billion each year, according to Ozanin. That comes out to about $65MM per club, before factoring in each team’s local/regional broadcast contracts.

Sixty-five million per club!

In 2021, several teams had payrolls below $65 million, and as noted, the income from the national contracts is before local television revenue is factored in. Combined, the streaming deals will include approximately 100 games that will not be available elsewhere.

Peacock offers a free option, but it’s not yet known if the baseball games will be available on that option or their offerings that cost $4.99 per month (Premium) or $9.99 (Plus). In the worst-case scenario, fans may have to pay $15 per month for the two streaming services or as little as $5 per month for only Apple TV+ after the free trial. Of course, this is on top of fees for MLB.tv, MLB Extra Innings, and local cable or satellite television. Terrestrial radio is still free if you’re in the local market.

The Mets’ schedule shows a Monday through Wednesday series in San Francisco from May 23-25 that may interest Peacock, though the Wednesday game is a day game. The Mets also have a Monday through Wednesday series June 6-8 in San Diego that may be a candidate for streaming, as it pits two teams expected to contend against each other. On Wednesday, June 22, the Mets play the Astros in Houston, though at this point, it is scheduled as a day game. Finally, the Braves host the Mets in midweek series in July and August, so Peacock may stream at least one of these games.

On top of all that, the Mets have a handful of Sunday games against division rivals and the Yankees that could be slotted in Peacock’s new exclusive early day slot.

Welcome to baseball in 2022. We wanted an end to the lockout, and we got it. However, it’s possible that these streaming deals contributed to the resolution by giving the owners the motivation to get the season underway.

We have baseball, and that’s an excellent thing. It may cost a few dollars per month to watch it, and while that may be distasteful, it’s the way sports are going. So far, the costs are modest. We can only hope they stay that way.