Apple is not interested in live broadcasts of sporting events – said the same Apple manager who once strictly denied that Apple wanted to produce its own series. In both cases, however, Eddy Cue, head of Apple’s services division, led the expansion of the existing offering. Successful and highly acclaimed series from Apple’s pen have been around for almost three years, and at the same time Apple is also spending a lot of money on sports rights. Reports have been circulating for a few weeks that the company wants to raise $3 billion for NFL games. Also, $2.5 billion was under discussion to secure a license for the UEFA Champions League (see this article: ).We’re talking about seven billion dollars
However, Apple has now lost in a multi-billion dollar bidding process. It was about the Big Ten Conference with a volume of seven billion dollars by 2030. CBS, NBC, Fox and Peacock secured the contract, while Apple went away empty-handed. If you don’t know the event, after all it is a sports league that is only active in the Northeast of the USA: baseball, basketball, ice hockey, cross-country running, American football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, athletics, rowing, soccer, softball, Swimming and diving, tennis, women’s volleyball and wrestling are all included.
High investments for attractive content
Apple’s participation and willingness to raise such large sums of money shows more than clearly how much potential Cupertino sees in this market. What remains unknown, however, is the long-term strategy to what extent the company intends to monetize acquired license rights. What is certain is that not everything can be covered in the current $4.99 basic fee. In the case of Major League Soccer, Apple secured the rights up to and including 2032, you need an additional subscription beyond Apple TV+, for example. Some “Major League Baseball” games, however, are free – for the time being, as Apple emphasized.
