Streaming Industry Betting on Sports Broadcasting Rights... "Big Tech's Next Battlefield" (Comprehensive)

Apple TV to Exclusively Stream US Professional Soccer Matches for 10 Years
Industry on Alert: Disney, Amazon, Netflix, and Others

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Apple’s streaming platform Apple TV will exclusively broadcast all matches of the US professional soccer league (MLS·Major League Soccer) for 10 years starting next year. The minimum contract amount for the broadcasting rights is reported to be $2.5 billion (approximately 3.2237 trillion KRW) over 10 years.

According to major foreign media including the AP News, Apple and MLS announced the signing of this streaming partnership agreement on the 14th (local time). Fifteen companies, including Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount, participated in the bidding.

MLS matches have been broadcast by Disney-owned ABC, ESPN, and Fox channels. Major foreign media have assessed that Apple, symbolized by the iPhone manufacturer, is expanding its streaming business. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stated, "This deal shows that the iPhone manufacturer Apple’s streaming business ambitions are growing," while AP News reported, "Apple has made significant progress in sports content broadcasting."

Under this contract, Apple will broadcast all MLS matches worldwide through the Apple TV app for 10 years from next year until 2032. Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, emphasized, "This is the first time we have secured a global broadcasting contract," adding, "It will be a great opportunity for both Apple and MLS."

Apple plans to broadcast all MLS matches to Apple TV Plus subscribers, who pay a monthly fee of $4.99, but specific service pricing has not been disclosed. Some matches will be offered for free through Apple TV.

The broadcasting rights contract amount has not been publicly disclosed, but according to related sources, it is said to have reached at least $2.5 billion over 10 years. The contract is in the form of a ‘minimum guarantee,’ with additional revenue sharing and the possibility of selling broadcasting rights for some major matches to terrestrial broadcasters.

Earlier, in April, Apple secured exclusive rights to broadcast weekly doubleheader games of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amazon signed a contract with the National Football League (NFL) last year to broadcast 15 games per season through its streaming platform Prime Video. Paramount Plus and NBC’s Peacock are currently broadcasting professional soccer leagues in Spain and the UK, respectively.

Recently, Disney and Viacom18 secured a 5-year broadcasting rights deal for the Indian Premier League cricket for $3 billion. They expect to gain 200 million subscribers each in India through this acquisition. Additionally, Netflix and ESPN are reportedly competing in bidding for the popular professional racing event Formula 1 broadcasting rights.

Regarding this, Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight, explained, "Sports is clearly the next battleground where big tech companies will compete."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.