Apple has been investing a lot in sports recently, and it seems that the company wants to take it even further. After confirming the launch of MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for next year, the company is now reportedly considering acquiring the broadcast rights to Dutch soccer league Eredivisie.
Apple joins the dispute for Eredivisie broadcast rights
The report comes from the “well-informed sports marketer” Chris Woerts, who is a well-known businessman in the Netherlands. According to him (via iCreate), Apple has been discussing the possibility of broadcasting Eredivisie matches on the Apple TV app.
More details are unclear at this point, but Woerts said that there’s a serious competition underway to acquire the broadcast rights to the Eredivisie, as both Netflix and Amazon are also interested in it. Currently, the broadcast rights belong to ESPN. Whoever the winner is, the deal is expected to cost between 150 and 200 million euros per year.
The current deal with ESPN lasts until 2024, which means that if Apple wins, Eredivisie content would probably not come to the Apple TV app until 2025. But of course, this investment by Apple doesn’t seem unlikely considering the company’s recent actions.
Sports are now part of Apple TV
After confirming a deal with Major League Soccer, Apple announced earlier this month the pricing and availability for MLS streaming on the Apple TV app. Matches will be available starting February 1, 2023 for $14.99 per month, or $99 for the entire season. Apple TV+ subscribers will be able to get a discount on the subscription, which will cost $12.99 per month or $79 for the season.
In addition to MLS, Apple also brought Major League Baseball (MLB) Friday games to Apple TV+ subscribers this year. The company has also reportedly been negotiating the NFL Sunday Ticket broadcast rights, which could cost Apple $3.5 billion per year. Sports content not only attracts more subscribers to Apple TV+, but also potential ad revenue.
Whether or not Apple wins the broadcast rights to the Eredivisie league, the company is clearly interested in continuing to invest in bringing more sports content to its streaming platform.
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