Apple recently expressed its interest in sports matches with the acquisition of broadcast rights for Major Leaguer Soccer (MLS). Today, we learn that the Californian giant would like to go further by investing several billion dollars to be the sole broadcaster of NFL matches and even the Champions League!
Towards an agreement with the NFL and
l’UEFA ?
For the moment, Apple has not formalized anything, but according to the media Puck Newsthe company would not be far from signing a contract with the National Football League (NFL).
According to the source, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was spotted chatting with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple Services Manager Eddy Cue. This exchange took place at the sun valley conference last weekend, also called “the billionaires’ camp”. Although the subject of the meeting is unknown, it is likely that they talked about buying the rights to stream NFL games.
In addition to Disney, Amazon and DirecTV, a number of other companies are said to be interested by agreement with the NFL. Puck News, on the other hand, is confident that Apple will emerge victorious from this fight. DirecTV currently owns the rights to the league and charges subscribers between $290 and $400 for a full season. The NFL’s contract with DirecTV expires at the end of the year.
How much would the Cupertino company be willing to pay for such an agreement that would attract a mass of new users to the Apple TV application?
According to some indiscretions, we are indeed talking in billions of dollars, we could estimate this deal as a transaction that would be between 2.5 billion and 3 billion dollars for a 12-month exclusive broadcast.
Apple would also be interested in the Champions League
Apple would not only be interested in the American professional leagues, the Californian giant would also like to conclude a exclusive agreement with UEFA to obtain the rights to broadcast all Champions League matches.
Very popular in Europe, Apple believes that the investment is worth it, but at an amount however limited to 2.5 billion dollars per year.
Whether it’s for the NFL or the Champions League, these two rumors are to be taken seriously, because Apple already has a footprint in the sports world with the recent acquisition of the rights to MLS. Just 1 month ago, the Californian giant had announced that it had signed an exclusive agreement for broadcasting Major League Soccer matches for the next 10 years.
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