The streaming wars take no days off.

Apple has held talks with the NFL about obtaining rights to stream the league’s Sunday Ticket package of games on Apple TV+, according to The Information.

It appears that Disney is also interested in buying the rights for ESPN. 

AT&T-owned DirecTV currently pays $1.5 billion each year to broadcast Sunday Ticket, though that deal expires after the 2022 season.

The NFL arrangement has been quite costly for DirecTV. In February, AT&T and private equity titan TPG created a $16.25 billion spin-off for DirecTV and AT&T’s U.S. video assets. In the announcement, AT&T agreed to cover “up to $2.5 billion” in Sunday Ticket net losses.

A MoffettNathanson study showed that only 10% to 11% of households used Apple TV+ to stream content in Q4 2020, compared to 75% for Netflix. Apple could follow other tech giants in using sports to lure new subscribers.

• Last year, the company hired James DeLorenzo from Amazon to run Apple TV+’s sports division. He had been head of sports for Amazon Video.
• Apple met with the Pac-12 conference about livestreaming college sports in 2019.

Amazon, also cited as a potential bidder for NFL Sunday Ticket, has exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football” on a $1 billion-per-year deal.

Google-owned YouTube packages the MLB Network, NBA TV, ESPN, NBC Sports, and other sports channels into its paid YouTube TV service.

The Super League flopped in Europe, but a similar concept might take hold in Brazil. 

Brazilian club teams are in talks to form a breakaway league, seeking more control over their schedules and earning potential.

One proposal pitched to club teams would have private equity investors purchase 20% of the breakaway league for as much as $1 billion — implying a $5 billion valuation.

Clubs have grown frustrated with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Their complaints include:

• Games scheduled during major tournaments, like the Copa América, deprive club teams of their top players.
• Games are often scheduled to start after 9 p.m., so as not to conflict with popular soap operas on the country’s main soccer broadcaster, Globo. Globo pays CBF $2.5 million per game to show Brazilian National soccer team matches through 2022.
• Top players regularly leave for European leagues, seeking better pay. 

Brazilian superstar Neymar signed a contract extension in May with Paris Saint-Germain through 2025 for a reported $36.5 million per season. Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, also from Brazil, is in the midst of a contract that pays him $10.8 million per season through 2024.

A 2016 survey found that 82% of Brazilian soccer players make less than $250 per month.

The breakaway league could take shape as soon as next year, though it may have to wait until 2024, when certain media contracts expire, to fully capitalize on its value.

Already off to a scorching start, Formula E looks to continue its torrid pace this weekend when the 2021 ABB New York City E-Prix takes over the streets of Brooklyn.

In its seventh season, the single-seater motorsport championship has seen its live race viewership grow by 125% in key markets like Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, per SportsPro.

The series, which only uses electric cars, turned a profit for the first time in 2019 with $220.5 million in revenue.

A cumulative audience of 150 million viewers have tuned in for the first seven races of Formula E’s 15-race season, nearly surpassing the total live audience for all of last season.

The surge in viewership is fueled by broadcasting partnerships signed before the season:

• An exclusive, three-year U.S. broadcast deal with CBS to air every race
• Deals with L’Equipe, Seven.One, Sky, and the BBC to broadcast races in France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K., respectively
• A deal with DAZN to broadcast the series in several Asian countries

Swiss-Italian driver Edoardo Mortar of Rokit Venturi Racing currently sits at the top of the Formula E standings with 72 points ahead of this weekend’s race. The two-driver Mercedes-EQ team is the top-ranked squad with 113 points.