## Apple TV+ to Continue “Friday Night Baseball” as MLB Announces New Broadcast Deals
Major League Baseball has announced a new wave of broadcast agreements with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix, ensuring “Friday Night Baseball” will remain on Apple TV+ for the foreseeable future. The deals, covering the 2026-2028 seasons, contradict earlier reports suggesting the end of apple’s exclusive Friday night broadcasts.
In a statement released today, MLB detailed the distribution of rights, confirming Apple TV+ will continue to stream Friday night doubleheaders during the regular season.
The new agreements considerably reshape the MLB broadcast landscape.NBCUniversal will regain *Sunday Night Baseball* – a property it last held before 1990 – along with *Sunday Leadoff* and the *Wild Card Series* for broadcast on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Netflix will become the streaming home for the *T-Mobile Home Run Derby* and exclusive events, including the 2026 *MLB at Field of Dreams* game and the *World Baseball Classic* in Japan.ESPN will secure a package of national midweek games and retain the marketing rights for MLB.TV, the league’s out-of-market streaming service.
Thes deals extend MLB’s partnership with ESPN to 39 consecutive seasons and mark NBC’s return to regular over-the-air baseball broadcasting after a 25-year absence.
While ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix have secured the major new broadcast bundles for 2026-2028, Apple’s role is preserved with its continued ”Friday Night Baseball” offering. This limits any substantial expansion of Apple’s MLB rights in the near term.
The confirmation refutes a recent report from Kendall Baker of Yahoo Sports, who incorrectly stated that “friday Night Baseball” would end and move to NBC/Peacock. Baker’s original post remains available on X.
