Toronto Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman celebrates with teammates in the clubhouse after their baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press
Baseball fans in Canada should not expect a repeat of a deal that allowed Sportsnet to air a simulcast of Apple TV’s Friday Night Baseball broadcast that featured the Toronto Blue Jays last week.
As a result of the agreement, the streamer was given the rights for this Friday’s game between the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. The matchup could be a potential division clincher for Toronto.
“Apple has it exclusively,” a Sportsnet spokesperson said Thursday afternoon in an e-mail.
Sportsnet, the Canadian team’s domestic rights-holder, reached a deal with the Blue Jays, Apple TV and Major League Baseball ahead of last Friday’s game between Toronto and Kansas City.
That matchup had the potential to be a playoff clincher for the Blue Jays. The Royals pounded Toronto 20-1 that night but the Blue Jays would secure a post-season berth two days later.
A similar scenario exists this week. Depending on results from Thursday’s games, the Blue Jays could have a chance on Friday to win the American League East Division title for the first time since 2015.
However, instead of airing on Sportsnet, the Jays-Rays matchup will only be shown on Apple TV+, leaving non-subscribers without a viewing option.
There were no plans to change that arrangement, a baseball source confirmed Thursday.
Almost all Blue Jays games air on Sportsnet, but a handful of Toronto games throughout the 162-game season air on Apple TV+ as part of the streamer’s partnership with MLB.