Apple Sports launched in three countries in February 2024. By Apple’s own count this year, it works in more than 170 countries and regions, including more than 90 markets added since launch, according to Apple’s June 9, 2026 services announcement.
Apple Sports is a free, standalone app, separate from Apple TV, built for scores, stats and schedules rather than video.
Where Apple Sports started, and where it is now
| Apple Sports | Apple’s stated figure |
|---|---|
| Launch, February 2024 | United States, United Kingdom and Canada only |
| Now, per Apple’s June 2026 release | More than 170 countries and regions, including more than 90 newly added markets |
| Price | Free |
| Original device requirement | “Available for all iPhone models running iOS 17.2 or later” |
Apple’s own words from the June 2026 release: the app provides “real-time scores, stats, standings, and more, in over 170 countries and regions worldwide, including over 90 newly added markets.” That is a single sentence covering an expansion Apple has not otherwise detailed market by market.
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The leagues Apple named at launch, and what it called ‘coming soon’
| League coverage | Apple’s 2024 release |
|---|---|
| Available at launch | MLS, NBA, NCAA basketball (men’s and women’s), NHL, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Liga MX, Ligue 1, Premier League, Serie A |
| Named as coming soon in 2024 | MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL and WNBA, for their upcoming seasons |
Apple’s 2024 launch release describes features including “live Activities on your Lock Screen,” personalized scoreboards built around favorite teams and leagues, a Home Screen widget, and the ability to “navigate between scores and upcoming games” and tap through to watch a live game in the Apple TV app where available. That original iOS 17.2 requirement is well below what iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Watch Series 12 ship with this month, both running iOS 27 or watchOS 27 out of the box.
How the app links to Apple TV without being Apple TV
Apple’s 2024 release is specific about the connection between the two products: Apple Sports lets fans “explore play-by-play information, team stats, lineup details, and live betting odds” for a given matchup, and from there tap through to watch the live game inside the Apple TV app, where that game is available to stream. The scores app itself carries no video and no subscription price of its own; it exists to route fans toward a broadcast rather than to be one.
That distinction matters for the country count, too. Reaching 170-plus countries and regions with a free scores app is a smaller undertaking than reaching that many countries with live rights to MLS, the NBA or the Premier League, and Apple’s June 2026 release does not claim the latter. The figure describes where the app itself is downloadable and usable, not where every league inside it can be watched live.
What grew, and what Apple has not restated
Apple’s June 2026 figure is a country count, not a league count. Apple has not published an updated list of which leagues Apple Sports covers today, so it is not possible to confirm from Apple’s own pages whether MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL and WNBA, all named as “coming soon” in 2024, have actually arrived by name in the app as of this year’s figures.
Apple also has not republished the iOS 17.2 device requirement from the 2024 release inside the June 2026 announcement. Nothing in the material checked for this article states that the requirement has changed, but nothing confirms it still reads exactly the same way either.
What Apple has not said
- The names of the more than 90 newly added markets; Apple’s release gives a total, not a list.
- Whether Apple Sports’ current device requirement is still iOS 17.2 or later, or has moved since 2024.
- An updated league list confirming which of the 2024 “coming soon” leagues are now covered.
- Any Apple Watch app for Apple Sports; the 2024 and 2026 material checked here describes iPhone only.
Today is Sunday, September 13, 2026. Apple’s most recent public figure for Apple Sports, more than 170 countries and regions, dates to its June 9, 2026 services release, three months before this week’s hardware launches and tomorrow’s iOS 27 update.
