Apple has dived into the live sports streaming arena in the last year, striking deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. Apple also entered advanced negotiations with the NFL for Sunday Ticket, but that deal ultimately went to YouTube.
However, the company does not seem to be slowing its ambitions. The British newspaper Daily Mail reports that Apple is gearing up to bid on a package of English Premier League football soccer streaming rights that is soon coming up for renewal.
Apple has already shown significant interest in the soccer arena.
For starters, Apple TV+’s most popular series, Ted Lasso, is based around the beautiful game. Just yesterday, Apple TV+ premiered a docuseries on the ill-fated European Super League. And in the US, Apple struck a landmark deal with Major League Soccer.
Top comment by Graham Jones
This should be interesting. The rights to the EPL is basically Sky Sports business, in a nutshell. They are owned by Comcast, so this could get interesting. They get the largest rights package. The middle sized package is carried by BT Sports, and Amazon Prime has the small package of games, where they basically throw everything at it throughout December/January. The idea of getting the EPL through your Apple would be appealing. Sky have been good custodians for that franchise, but people resent paying for channels they have no interest in with Sky. Comcast wont give up the large rights package lightly, so this is interesting news, if true.
This February, all MLS games (with no blackouts or restrictions) are exclusively available to stream inside the Apple TV app, with a new service called MLS Season Pass (priced at $14.99 per month or $99 per season). MLS Season Pass is discounted for TV+ subscribers, and a selection of games will be available for free.
That deal will cost Apple approximately $250 million per annum. Any English Premier League bid for domestic UK rights will represent a significantly larger investment — valued in the billions — as football is the premier sport of the UK.
In particular, the Daily Mail newspaper notes that the current three-year deal with Sky Sports and BT Sport expires in 2025. The league will tender offers beginning later this year, and Apple is said to be stepping up to the plate.
Don’t expect Apple to capture exclusive rights as they did with MLS. The Premier League packaging terms are currently arranged such that no single broadcaster can capture rights to all games.
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