Friday Night Baseball games will continue to be available for free to Apple TV through the 2028 season, despite earlier rumors claiming otherwise.
Earlier in November 2025, Apple confirmed that users subscribed to the Apple TV streaming service will gain free access to Major League Soccer Games starting in 2026. Subscribers in the United States can view Formula 1 race weekends at no extra cost as well.
For a while, however, the future of Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV remained uncertain — until now. As outlined on the Major League Baseball website, Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders will remain available on Apple TV, where they've been offered since 2022 for free to all subscribers.
In June 2025, it was suggested that Apple was looking to expand its baseball offering by acquiring Major League Baseball streaming rights previously held by ESPN. Two months later, in August 2025, it was rumored that the iPhone maker was planning on giving NBC the rights to both Friday and Sunday games.
While Sunday Night Baseball games did indeed shift from ESPN to NBC, the same did not happen with Friday Night Baseball. Apple's arrangement with Major League Baseball currently has the iPhone maker paying $85 million per year for Friday Night Baseball streaming rights through 2028.
Netflix, meanwhile, has established an arrangement that sees the company airing the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, along with special event games such as the Field of Dreams Game and the World Baseball Classic in Japan. TBS will continue to offer LCS and Division Series games, as well as regular-season games on Tuesday nights.
Fox will continue to stream the All-Star Game, regular season games, the World Series, League Championship Series, and Division Series. ESPN will offer a national midweek game package, and users will be able to purchase MLB.TV from the company's website.
As for Apple's sports-related endeavors over the past three years, this most notably included the launch of the Apple Sports app in February 2024. The application displays real-time scores and statistics for MLS, NBA, and more.
Friday Night Baseball has become a showcase for Apple devices, from AirPods Max to Apple Music tie-ins. The company continued this pattern with the iPhone 17 Pro, effectively combining live sports events and product promotion.
