Only one Apple+ game remains for Red Sox ahead of uncertainty in 2026

Right here’s the excellent news: The Crimson Sox have only one remaining regular-season recreation that shall be carried on a channel or streaming service aside from NESN.

On Friday, the primary recreation of three with the Tigers to wrap up the common season shall be discovered on Apple TV+. All the things else shall be with Tom Caron and buddies.

As for the dangerous information, nicely, it’s actually not that dangerous. It’s only a reminder that we’re going to have to determine this where-to-watch and how-much-do-I-have-to-pay? stuff yet again subsequent season, with the nationwide media rights deal altering and totally different subscriptions required if you happen to don’t wish to miss a single Crimson Sox recreation.

Earlier this week, Main League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed earlier stories that nationwide rights agreements had been near being finalized with three media companions, two of that are new, for the 2026-28 seasons.

ESPN is the returner, although it seemed for a couple of months just like the community was on its approach out of the MLB enterprise. In Feburary, it opted out of its deal with MLB, which included Sunday Night time Baseball and the Dwelling Run Derby, citing “fiscal accountability.” ESPN paid $550 million per season for that deal.

However ESPN and MLB want one another and apparently knew it. Negotiations, based on Manfred, picked up once more in June.

ESPN’s pending package deal, which is able to embody midweek video games, in-market native rights for 5 groups, and rights to license MLB.television, will presumably be extra financially palatable and gives extra content material for ESPN’s lately launched direct-to-consumer app ($29.99 per 30 days).

Manfred confirmed the brand new companions shall be Netflix ($17.99 per 30 days on its commonplace ad-free service), which is able to acquire the Dwelling Run Derby, and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which is able to take over Sunday Night time Baseball and have some wild-card video games to disperse amongst NBC and its streaming service Peacock ($11.99 a month).

Peacock additionally is predicted to be the brand new house for the Friday evening package deal presently on Apple TV+, which reportedly is exercising an early-opt out provision in its deal. And per Sports activities Enterprise Journal’s Austin Karp, NBC is prone to take over the Sunday morning recreation package deal that presently belongs to Roku, with these video games in all probability going to Peacock.

Acquired all of that, Crimson Sox followers? Don’t fear. We’ll revisit when the schedule comes out, and once more when these assorted Fridays and Sundays come round and the Crimson Sox are someplace aside from NESN.

Taking AI-m at pretend feeds

OK, rant time, as a result of this has been driving me nuts for some time and actually appears to have escalated in current weeks.

Do all of you notice how a lot manipulative, fake-quote-laden, mistake-filled synthetic intelligence slop populates Fb feeds now? It’s just about every part that isn’t from folks you understand and comply with.

I’m speaking about these tales, posted by an account with an often-nonsensical identify, that declare some athlete stated one thing about or donated an infinite amount of cash to at least one political trigger or one other. Generally they’re even optimistic tales that appear too good to be true, like some made-up story, accompanied with hideous AI artwork, of some baseball star donating his complete wage to a homeless shelter.

If it appears too good to be true, it in all probability is. And if it looks like one thing is perhaps utilizing an athlete’s identify to fire up tensions and generate clicks — like one utterly made-up submit I noticed this week pretending that Mookie Betts had weighed in on one of the crucial divisive ongoing information tales of the second — it positively is.

That phony Betts submit had 30,000 feedback, most of them taking it at face worth. Media literacy on this nation is in a ditch, however wholesome skepticism shouldn’t be an excessive amount of to ask. Please examine an precise supply earlier than sharing one thing you see and perhaps even wish to consider, however aren’t 100-percent sure is true. YANKEESHOTNEWS512 and such should not sources. They’re sludge.

Brady in good place for advance scouting

It’s arduous to inform whether or not the NFL doesn’t give a hoot about Raiders minority proprietor/Fox broadcaster Tom Brady’s blatant battle of curiosity, or simply expects that we’ll finally all look away from the hypocrisy and permit it to grow to be the unquestioned norm for so long as he’s within the sales space.

If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his assorted underlings are relying on the latter, it’s not occurring within the subsequent couple of weeks, that’s for certain. Brady — the colour analyst on Fox’s Chiefs-Eagles recreation final Sunday earlier than displaying up within the Raiders’ teaching sales space Monday evening and carrying a headset for his or her matchup with the Chargers — has an attention-grabbing scheduling quirk straight forward.

He’ll be a part of Kevin Burkhardt on Fox’s Cowboys-Bears broadcast Sunday … a good chance for him to do some advance scouting and digging for intel earlier than his Raiders play the Bears on Sept. 28.

Not like final 12 months, Brady is allowed to participate just about in manufacturing conferences with coaches and gamers this season.

On condition that he’s clearly closely concerned with the Raiders operation — ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported that he talks to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly two or 3 times per week — it’s silly to consider he doesn’t acquire at the least an incremental profit from working a Bears recreation the week earlier than his crew performs them.

And as Brady can inform you higher than most, incremental advantages could make all of the distinction within the NFL.

Amazon Prime joins Masters protection

When the Masters rolls round subsequent spring, Amazon Prime shall be in on protection of golf’s first main of the season. It would stream two hours of the primary and second rounds on April 9 and 10. The protection every day precedes ESPN’s broadcasts from Augusta Nationwide.

Paramount+ will stream two hours of the third and fourth rounds earlier than CBS closes out these days.

Chad Finn

Sports activities columnist

Chad Finn is a sports activities columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favourite Sports activities Author in Boston within the annual Channel Media Market and Analysis Ballot for the previous 4 years. He additionally writes a weekly sports activities media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Journal.