Why Analyst Thinks Apple Winning MLB Deal Would Be a ‘Shot Across the Bow’ to Streaming Rivals

Baseballs are seen on the backyard dirt of the MLB season around a home plate in Scottsdale, Ariz., on June 5, 2020. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Apple Inc.’s reported bid to stream the Major League Baseball’s mid-week games shows that the tech giant’s recognizes live sports content will be a key linchpin to the success of its Apple TV+ streaming service, according to an analyst at Wedbush.

Apple Analyst

Analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating and a $200 price target for Apple shares.

Apple Thesis

Apple winning the MLB deal will be a “shot across the bow” to its streaming rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. that the Tim Cook-led company is on the aggressive hunt for live sports content to drive the future growth of Apple TV+, Ives said in a note.

With roughly $200 billion of cash on its balance sheet, the analyst believes Apple could bid on several upcoming sports packages—such as NFL (Sunday Night Ticket) and NASCAR—coming up for renewals in future years.