November 24, 2024

Apple Considers Bidding for Rights to Stream English Football Matches [Report]

Posted March 23, 2023 at 3:16pm by iClarified · 2846 views
Apple is considering bidding on rights to stream a variety of English football matches, including Premier League games, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

The rights under consideration would allow Apple to show Premier League games in the UK, as well as lower league matches run by the English Football League, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

The move could build on Apple's expansion into streaming live sports in the United States. Recently, it signed a $2.5 billion 10-year deal with Major League Soccer and it also streams Major League Baseball on Friday nights.

Both Apple and the English Premier League declined to comment on the report; however, the EPL says it is currently reviewing potential bidders for its upcoming sale of rights. Currently, the EFL is offering rights to seasons starting in 2024 while the Premier League already has a deal with Sky, BT Sport and Amazon for live games that runs through the 2024-2025 season. The Premier League sold domestic rights for 2022 to 2025 for $6.3 billion.

"Apple will be looking closely at their early data on MLS and MLB experiments, but the unique ability of sport to change a predefined audience's behavior means it's a safer bet than entertainment content to grow the Apple TV international market," said Peter Hutton, former head of the Eurosport network.

More details in the full report linked below...

Read More