Apple is reportedly considering bidding for the streaming rights of a range of English football games, including the globally popular English Premier League (EPL).
If Apple goes ahead with the bid, it will be the next significant acquisition to the sports content stable for the Apple TV+ streaming service, after deals were secured to stream both Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer (MLS), the latter for US$14.99 monthly or US$99 per season. All matches from the MLS, the professional league in the US and Canada, will be streamed on Apple TV+ for the next decade.
Apple’s foray into live sports streaming comes as traditional pay-TV continues to lose its position as the destination for sports viewing. According to Grabyo, a browser-based live video production suite that works with sports and social media entities to distribute over-the-top (OTT) and digital content, 79% of global sports fans would choose online streaming to watch their favourite sporting events, if given a choice.
Since the commencement of the 2019/20 EPL season, Amazon Prime Video has been live streaming selected matches to global audiences, and Amazon is also reportedly working on a standalone app for watching sports content.
Besides the EPL, Amazon also owns the rights to stream games from the National Football League (NFL), the professional American football league.