Despite some advances in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between MLB and the Players Association, there is still no deal, and the lockout continues as a result.
On Tuesday, however, tech giant Apple announced a deal with MLB to broadcast “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders.
The service will be available for AppleTV+ subscribers, which means fans will be able to watch those games exclusively by paying.
Yes, the fans that have been continually mistreated by owners in CBA talks will be giving more money to the league, albeit not directly.
The Apple deal is NOT good for fans, canceling regularly televised games on local channels (and probably for me on MLB if I decide to get it again), on a pure power play.
They need us; they have to pay us something, too.
— steve e (@bookends_ny) March 9, 2022
They deserve, at the very least, to have baseball back: enjoying their favorite sport and league is so basic that we really shouldn’t be talking about missed games and core economics issues.
MLB Announces New Deals While The Lockout Continues
MLB insider Pete Abraham mentioned this on one of his most recent tweets.
“Apple TV+ announced a new deal with MLB for Friday night doubleheaders this season. Games will be exclusive to Apple. Meaning it’ll cost you to watch. And the lockout continues. Tune in tomorrow to see what else they do to make it harder to be a baseball fan,” he said yesterday, and he wasn’t lying.
Apple TV+ announced a new deal with MLB for Friday night doubleheaders this season. Games will be exclusive to Apple.
Meaning it'll cost you to watch.
And the lockout continues.
Tune in tomorrow to see what else they do to make it harder to be a baseball fan.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 8, 2022
The most recent debate between MLB and the union is the quick implementation, after 2023, of an international draft to replace the signing period.
So, as Abraham noted, there was something to make it harder to be a baseball fan the day after his tweet.
A new CBA deal doesn’t look far, but it really isn’t imminent either.
Let’s hope owners really give fans a reason to stick around once the season starts and offer a fair deal to prompt players to accept, and we can all have baseball soon.
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