Apple and FIFA are reportedly close to reaching an agreement that would allow the firm to broadcast a major football competition on its Apple TV+ platform. As it happens, the 2025 Club World Cup could be the tournament in question.
According to the New York Times, FIFA and Apple are reportedly on the verge of signing an agreement that would allow the broadcast of a football competition directly on the Apple TV+ streaming platform. In this case, FIFA would cede global broadcasting rights to Apple for what could well be the 2025 Club World Cup. The firm would then be able to broadcast the tournament for its entire duration: one month.
According to Reuters, this contract could be definitively signed at the end of April. We also learn that Apple would have eagerly negotiated the financial terms of this agreement, managing to obtain these broadcasting rights for 1 billion dollars… instead of the 4 billion initially requested by FIFA according to several sources.
Apple seeks to develop Apple TV+ sports offering
For context, this is not the first time that Apple has taken a close interest in broadcasting rights for a football competition. For example, we discovered at the end of last year that Apple TV+ could monopolize (at least in part) the rights to Ligue 1 in France. Through this maneuver, Apple of course hopes to attract more subscribers to its SVoD service, seeking to attract more and more sports fans, as Amazon Prime Video has been doing for many months already.
Contacted by Reuters, Apple declined to comment on the potential agreement reached with FIFA. FIFA, for its part, simply recalled that in “ general rule “, she does not ” does not confirm or deny trade discussions “.
If a contract between Apple and FIFA is indeed signed for the broadcast of the 2025 Club World Cup, it would in any case be the first time that FIFA has accepted a single global contract. As a reminder, the event must be held between June 15 and July 13, 2025.