Apple TV could be ready to enter the bidding for English Premier League TV rights.
BT
Apple TV is ready to enter the bidding war to show live English Premier League games, according to a new report.
If the report turns out to be true, Apple is keen to add Premier League games to its growing collection of sports content in the Apple TV app. The Apple TV app is already home to Apple TV+ content including a documentary about the failed Super League project, while Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer are other sports interested either availalbe via Apple TV or coming to Apple TV soon.
The addition of the Premier League would change the way football is watched in the United Kingdom, though, and would require a huge bid in order to succeed. The Daily Mail reports that Apple TV could be set to go up against Sky Sports and BT Sports – the current three-year deal expires in 2025 and any loss for Sky would be huge. The company has aired live Premier League games for 30 years.
As for how much Apple TV would need to spend, the numbers are frankly staggering. The current three-year deal is worth £5.1 billion and some club owners believe that to be undervalued. The likes of Apple TV getting involved in a bidding way could well change that – and Apple is one of the few companies capable of prising away what has become a prized asset for both Sky Sports and BT Sports.
However, it’s worth remembering that this isn’t the first time that the Daily Mail has claimed that Apple TV is interested in picking up Premier League football. The same story appeared almost exactly a decade ago, with nothing coming of it. Whether things will be different this remains to be seen, but there is no denying the fact that Apple now has even more money to splash around than it had back then.
The new TV contract is set to be negotiated later this year and both Sky Sports and BT Sports are sure to hope that they don’t hear a peep out of Apple services chief Eddy Cue when that happens.
