Apple TV+ could become quite a destination for soccer fans in the near future. The service has already secured the rights to stream every Major League Soccer game for the next 10 years and is now reportedly looking into bidding on the U.K. broadcast rights to the English Premier League when they become available, according to the Daily Mail.
The EPL’s rights are currently held by British sports broadcasting giant Sky Sports and BT Sports, but that deal will expire in 2025. American owners of Premier League teams are especially hopeful that Apple will enter the bidding process, as they expect it will drive up the price tag for the rights, which they feel are currently undervalued.
Bidding on EPL rights would be an aggressive move for Apple to continue expanding live sports on its flagship streaming service. Snagging the rights to the most popular soccer league in the world would be a pretty big get, even if the deal does not include any U.S. broadcast rights. The domestic broadcast and streaming rights to the Premier League reside with NBCUniversal and its streaming service Peacock through at least 2027.
In addition to MLS, Apple TV+ holds the rights to a select package of MLB games. The service was deep in negotiations with the NFL to be the next home of its out-of-market games package NFL Sunday Ticket, as well. But the two sides couldn’t agree on certain sticking points, and Sunday Ticket made its way to the Google-owned live TV streaming service YouTube TV instead.
Apple TV+ is not the only streaming service looking to use live soccer matches to lure more customers in. HBO Max is set to stream its first live sports event in its three-year history when it shows the international friendly between the U.S. Women’s National Team vs. New Zealand on Tuesday, Jan. 17. HBO Max will stream over 20 games featuring the Men’s and Women’s National soccer teams in 2023.
A willingness to bid on English Premier League rights in the U.K. demonstrates that Apple is serious about adding more sports to its portfolio. If it sees high numbers of new sign-ups and customers retained thanks to the MLS deal, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see Apple go after EPL rights and more in the coming years to further increase its live sports offerings.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is a subscription video streaming service for $9.99 a month that includes high-quality original shows and movies including Best Picture winner “CODA,” popular sitcom “Ted Lasso,” and dramas like “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Apple TV+ is also home to MLB baseball games on Friday nights and MLS Season Pass.