Apple TV's 2026 Sports Lineup: MLS, F1, and Friday Night Baseball

For years Apple TV (the service formerly badged Apple TV+) was a prestige-drama destination with a small sports footnote. In 2026 that changed: Apple consolidated three major sports properties into the base subscription, turning a single $12.99-a-month service into a genuine live-sports bundle. Here is what is included, what it costs, and how to actually watch it.

Key takeaways

• An Apple TV subscription now bundles every MLS regular-season match, U.S. Formula 1 coverage, and Friday Night Baseball at one flat price.
• The standalone MLS Season Pass surcharge is gone for 2026, full league access is folded into the base $12.99-per-month subscription.
• F1 streaming is U.S.-only; fans elsewhere still need a local broadcaster or F1 TV.
• Friday Night Baseball returned for its fifth season on March 27, 2026, and is contracted to continue reportedly through 2028.
• You do not need Apple hardware, the Apple TV app runs on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, game consoles, and most smart TVs.

Major League Soccer, all of it

The headline addition is Major League Soccer. Starting with the 2026 season, an Apple TV subscription includes every regular-season match plus the Leagues Cup tournament, the MLS All-Star Game, the Campeones Cup, and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

What makes this notable is the structure. In previous seasons, watching the full league meant buying a separate "MLS Season Pass" on top of your Apple TV subscription. For 2026, Apple and the league scrapped that add-on: if you pay for Apple TV, the entire league is bundled in, with no soccer-specific surcharge. That collapses what used to be a two-line bill into one.

Formula 1, in the United States

Apple also became the U.S. home of Formula 1 for 2026. Subscribers in the United States can stream every Grand Prix weekend, including practice sessions, qualifying, sprint races, and the Grand Prix itself, alongside Apple's growing F1 content slate that followed the 2025 F1 feature film.

The geographic limit matters: F1 coverage on Apple TV is U.S.-only. Fans elsewhere still rely on their local F1 broadcasters or F1 TV Pro. For American viewers, though, it folds a sport that previously lived behind a separate cable package or streaming pass into the same bundle.

Friday Night Baseball continues

Apple's longest-running live-sports product, Friday Night Baseball, carries on. The weekly MLB doubleheaders have been part of Apple TV since 2022, and despite periodic rumors that the deal might lapse, Apple confirmed the format returned for its fifth season on March 27, 2026, reportedly under a contract that runs through 2028.

A few things to know:

• It is a weekly doubleheader on Friday nights, not the full MLB schedule.
• Games are included with the Apple TV subscription; you do not need a separate MLB.TV subscription for these specific matchups.
• Friday Night Baseball games are not subject to local blackouts, which is part of the appeal, a marquee Friday matchup is available nationally even if your regional sports network would otherwise black it out.

What it all costs

All three properties are included in the standard Apple TV subscription, which runs $12.99 per month. There is no sports-only tier and no per-league surcharge for these items, which is the whole point of the 2026 repackaging: one price, scripted shows plus MLS, U.S. F1, and Friday baseball.

If you are weighing this against a stack of single-sport passes, the bundle math is the story. A standalone soccer pass plus an F1 streaming subscription alone used to exceed Apple's monthly fee, now they are inside it.

Here is what each property covers, who it is for, and the catch on each:

Sport	What is included	Best for	The catch
MLS	Every regular-season match, Leagues Cup, playoffs	Soccer fans who want full league access	None major; bundled with no surcharge
Formula 1	Every Grand Prix weekend: practice, qualifying, sprints, race	U.S. motorsport fans	U.S.-only; no access abroad
Friday Night Baseball	Weekly Friday doubleheader, no local blackouts	Casual MLB fans, marquee Friday games	Not the full season; one night a week

How to watch

You do not need Apple hardware. The Apple TV app is available on:

• Apple TV 4K boxes, iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Roku, Fire TV, and Google TV streaming devices
• PlayStation and Xbox consoles
• Most smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio
• The web at tv.apple.com

Sign in once with your Apple Account and the live sports appear alongside the on-demand catalog. If you are shopping for the box to run it on, our streaming device buying guide breaks down which platform fits your household. And if you want those matches to sound as good as they look, it is worth getting Dolby Atmos working properly on your soundbar first.

Watching in bars and restaurants

Apple also licensed its live sports, including F1, MLS, and Friday Night Baseball, for commercial venues in 2026, distributing the feeds to bars and restaurants through partners like EverPass and DirecTV. So even if you do not subscribe at home, you may catch these games on the screens at your local sports bar.

Why this matters for the streaming wars

Apple's move reflects a broader 2026 trend: streaming services bolting live sports onto subscription catalogs to reduce churn. Sports are appointment viewing, and appointment viewing keeps subscribers from cancelling between drama seasons. The same logic is driving rivals to consolidate, see how Hulu is folding into Disney+ to create one stickier app. By bundling MLS, F1, and baseball at a flat $12.99, Apple is betting that a soccer fan who signed up for the league will stick around for the prestige shows, and vice versa.

For viewers, the calculus is refreshingly simple. If you follow MLS, watch U.S. F1, or like a Friday ballgame, the cost of entry is one modest monthly fee covering all three plus Apple's scripted library, no à la carte sports passes required.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need MLS Season Pass to watch every match?

No. For the 2026 season Apple and MLS eliminated the separate Season Pass surcharge. Every regular-season match, the Leagues Cup, and the playoffs are included with a standard Apple TV subscription at $12.99 per month.

Can I watch Formula 1 on Apple TV outside the United States?

No. Apple's F1 streaming rights for 2026 are limited to the United States. Viewers in other countries need their local F1 broadcaster or an F1 TV subscription.

Is Friday Night Baseball the full MLB season?

No. Friday Night Baseball is a weekly doubleheader, not the complete schedule. For every team's games you would still want MLB.TV or your regional sports network, but the Friday matchups Apple carries are included free with the subscription and are not blacked out locally.

Do I need an Apple TV box to use the service?

No. The Apple TV app runs on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, PlayStation, Xbox, most smart TVs, and the web. Any of those let you stream the full sports lineup with just an Apple Account sign-in.