Even though Apple was meant to air "Friday Night Baseball" until 2029, a new report suggests the company will give up on the sport early, giving NBC/Peacock rights to both Friday and Sunday games.

Apple has tried to take advantage of the halo effect caused by offering sports on a streaming platform, but so far, those efforts keep falling flat. There's no telling how successful MLS has been for Apple, and now it seems ready to dump its MLB partnership altogether.

According to Yahoo Sports commentator Kendall Baker, Apple is allegedly going to give up its rights to MLB "Friday Night Baseball." The move coincides with NBC/Peacock apparently winning the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball," which Apple was previously thought to be the frontrunner.

Baker does clarify later in his replies that nothing is certain and things can change. He does share that the deal "sounds close."

Apple scored the rights to MLB "Friday Night Baseball" in 2022 with a seven-year contract. The MLS deal followed in 2023 with a 10-year package.

The company also tried to get rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, but failed. The only other foray into sports, the Sports app, has been moderately received by fans that likely have other means to track scores and games.

Apple's sports bet

Apple's TV strategy seems to always be in flux. It could very well consider backing out of streaming sports entirely to focus on other aspects of streaming.

For example, Apple allegedly put everything on the line for the F1 movie. If it failed, Apple would have allegedly given up on making blockbuster films.

Of course, F1 is Apple's top-grossing film of all time and returning to IMAX for additional screenings. It doesn't seem that Apple has had similar success in sports, but that could change if F1 streaming rights are obtained.

If Apple is backing out of its MLB "Friday Night Baseball" contract early, it's likely because of an offer made by NBC. The streamer likely hopes to capture similar success to its NBA offerings with multiple nights a week.

Whatever happens, it could all come together soon, as ESPN is launching a new direct-to-consumer app and service on Thursday. That timing is important for this deal, since ESPN is in talks to get MLB TV.

Apple's foray into sports is still early at only three years, so while rights move around frequently, it may be a stretch to assume Apple is out of the sports game entirely. At the least, it may be backing out of MLB to focus on brands that can blend better with Apple, like F1.