Apple Could Bid For Premier League, EFL Rights

The competition for sports media rights between tech giants Apple and Amazon is heating up.

Apple might take a run at a range of English soccer games, according to Bloomberg.

The global giant behind the hit series “Ted Lasso” would allow Apple to stream Premier League games in the U.K. as well lower-league matches from the English Football League, according to the report.

Apple made its first big move into live sports last year by signing a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal with Major League Soccer. 

“Pushing into English football would pit Apple against entrenched media companies such as Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., which last year agreed to a joint venture with BT Sport,” wrote Bloomberg. 

“It also could throw down the gauntlet with Amazon, which has become a force in streaming European football.”

Media

| by Michael McCarthy

Apple And MLS Reveal Streaming Plan In First Year of $2.5B Deal

As part of historic deal, ‘MLS Season Pass’ launches Feb. 1, 2023.

November 16, 2022

In the U.S., both Apple and Amazon are finalists in negotiations for Pac-12 media rights, said sources. They’re competing against Disney’s ESPN.

Apple is also gearing up to offer a second season of “Friday Night Baseball” with MLB.

Amazon, meanwhile, made its big jump into live sports via an $11 billion, 11-year deal to exclusively stream the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” through 2033. 

As part of its growing relationship with the NFL, Amazon recently scored the rights to the league’s first-ever “Black Friday” game in 2023.