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Apple (AAPL) Inks Streaming Deal With Major League Baseball
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Apple (AAPL - Free Report) recently gained the rights to stream weekly Major League Baseball games, which includes two Friday night games.
‘Friday Night Baseball’ is a weekly double-header with pre and post-game shows, which will be available in eight countries, exclusively on Apple TV+, as soon as the regular season begins. Its availability will be expanded to more countries later. The broadcasts will be free to consumers without an Apple TV+ subscription for a limited period.
Per the deal, Apple TV+ will also air a live show every weeknight during the regular season in the United States, featuring highlights and look-ins called ‘MLB Big Inning’.
Apple TV subscribers in the United States and Canada will have access to a new 24/7 live stream featuring MLB game replays, highlights, analysis, news and more as well as a full complement of on-demand programming that includes highlights and MLB-themed original content.
The announcement of the Apple-MLB deal marks Apple’s entry into the lucrative live sports market currently dominated by the likes of Disney through ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC and CBS. Streaming service providers like Apple and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) are new entrants in this market space.
Amazon, however, is well ahead of Apple in the scenario. In 2021, the National Football League (NFL) announced a new series of long-term TV deals, including a contract with Amazon under which its streaming service Prime Video became the exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football, beginning with the 2022 season.
Since the beginning of 2022, Apple was rumored to be in serious discussions to with Major League Basketball to acquire the rights to its weekday package, which were previously broadcasted by The Walt Disney’s (DIS - Free Report) ESPN.
In 2021, The Walt Disney, ESPN’s parent company, announced a seven-year agreement with Major League Baseball, under which it gave up the rights to broadcast Monday and Wednesday games, which were not exclusive in local markets.
The MLB deal will undoubtedly expand Apple TV+’s content portfolio. The service has been struggling to gain a footprint amid stiff competition in the streaming space currently dominated by Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) .
Apple TV+ has been lagging due to the lack of a large library of children and family-focused shows. Although Apple’s animated kids’ film, Wolfwalkers, received nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTA, it did not help much in improving Apple TV+’s competitive position against Netflix, YouTube and Disney+.
Apple is now focused on improving the content of Apple TV+ and the MLB deal will help it significantly. Apple has also shown intent of expanding its footprint in the kid and family genre. The company has inked a multi-year partnership with Skydance Animation. Apple also signed Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai for a number of projects, including a kid-oriented show.
In the year-to-date period, Apple’s shares have dropped 11.3% compared with the Zacks Computer-Mini Computers industry’s fall of 10.2% and the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s decline of 19.2%.
Image: Bigstock
Apple (AAPL) Inks Streaming Deal With Major League Baseball
Apple (AAPL - Free Report) recently gained the rights to stream weekly Major League Baseball games, which includes two Friday night games.
‘Friday Night Baseball’ is a weekly double-header with pre and post-game shows, which will be available in eight countries, exclusively on Apple TV+, as soon as the regular season begins. Its availability will be expanded to more countries later. The broadcasts will be free to consumers without an Apple TV+ subscription for a limited period.
Per the deal, Apple TV+ will also air a live show every weeknight during the regular season in the United States, featuring highlights and look-ins called ‘MLB Big Inning’.
Apple TV subscribers in the United States and Canada will have access to a new 24/7 live stream featuring MLB game replays, highlights, analysis, news and more as well as a full complement of on-demand programming that includes highlights and MLB-themed original content.
The announcement of the Apple-MLB deal marks Apple’s entry into the lucrative live sports market currently dominated by the likes of Disney through ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC and CBS. Streaming service providers like Apple and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) are new entrants in this market space.
Amazon, however, is well ahead of Apple in the scenario. In 2021, the National Football League (NFL) announced a new series of long-term TV deals, including a contract with Amazon under which its streaming service Prime Video became the exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football, beginning with the 2022 season.
Apple Inc. Price and Consensus
Apple Inc. price-consensus-chart | Apple Inc. Quote
MLB Deal to Boost Apple TV+’s Appeal
Since the beginning of 2022, Apple was rumored to be in serious discussions to with Major League Basketball to acquire the rights to its weekday package, which were previously broadcasted by The Walt Disney’s (DIS - Free Report) ESPN.
In 2021, The Walt Disney, ESPN’s parent company, announced a seven-year agreement with Major League Baseball, under which it gave up the rights to broadcast Monday and Wednesday games, which were not exclusive in local markets.
The MLB deal will undoubtedly expand Apple TV+’s content portfolio. The service has been struggling to gain a footprint amid stiff competition in the streaming space currently dominated by Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) .
Apple TV+ has been lagging due to the lack of a large library of children and family-focused shows. Although Apple’s animated kids’ film, Wolfwalkers, received nominations at the Golden Globes and BAFTA, it did not help much in improving Apple TV+’s competitive position against Netflix, YouTube and Disney+.
Apple is now focused on improving the content of Apple TV+ and the MLB deal will help it significantly. Apple has also shown intent of expanding its footprint in the kid and family genre. The company has inked a multi-year partnership with Skydance Animation. Apple also signed Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai for a number of projects, including a kid-oriented show.
In the year-to-date period, Apple’s shares have dropped 11.3% compared with the Zacks Computer-Mini Computers industry’s fall of 10.2% and the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s decline of 19.2%.
Apple currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.