Major League Soccer (MLS) has just chosen AppleTV+ to exclusively broadcast the entire American football championship.
The platform is set to remain a major player in sports rights and proves it again today with this new acquisition.
A nearly decade-long deal between Apple and MLS
After having offered baseball rights a few months ago, Apple announces that it has entered into a partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS). It therefore becomes the exclusive broadcaster of the American football championship (or soccer for American fans).
This agreement will begin in 2023 and will last nine years, until the 2032 championship. entire competition.
Apple also explains that many matches will be broadcast at no additional cost on its video streaming service and in all countries in which it is available. This should give a big spotlight to the American championship, relegated to the second division behind European competitions.
If the amount of the deal has not been revealed by the two actors, the specialized American press estimates the amount spent by Apple at 250 million dollars per year.
SVoD services, subject to strong competition, look into sports rights
With this deal, Apple is stepping on the toes of another powerful player in video streaming, Amazon Prime Video, which is also investing heavily in sports rights. The e-commerce giant’s service owns 80% of the rights to Ligue 1 football in France alone, as well as several Roland Garros international matches. In Germany and Italy, Amazon Prime Video also has a few Champions League posters stolen from traditional television players who no longer wish or can follow the auctions and the almost unlimited means of digital players.
Broadcasting live sports seems to be the new ambition of streaming services. The market now seems saturated, proof of which is with Netflix, which forecasts a drop of two million subscribers during the second quarter of 2022. The platforms see sports rights as a new growth driver to recruit many subscribers. Sports broadcasting is also less exposed to piracy than films and series, which are often available only minutes after their publication on file-sharing sites. Netflix would also be in the running to recover the rights to Formula 1 in the United States.
Apple will still have to make some efforts to open up to capture as many users as possible. Currently; Apple TV+ is available on Apple devices, on browsers and on TV boxes, game consoles and connected televisions… but not on Android, which is the most widely used mobile operating system in the world.
From €4.99
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- Sublime 4K and 45 Mbps video throughput
- Original content in HDR10 and Dolby Vision
- Less than €5 per month
The arrival of Apple was closely scrutinized by observers and at the time of writing, the manufacturer does not have to be ashamed of its platform. Yes the catalog is anemic but the series are all of excellent quality. The service is open to third-party media and the video quality is undoubtedly the best currently available on the market. With a price of only 4.99 euros per month, Apple therefore offers a dispensable product that is worth trying.
The arrival of Apple was closely scrutinized by observers and at the time of writing, the manufacturer does not have to be ashamed of its platform. Yes the catalog is anemic but the series are all of excellent quality. The service is open to third-party media and the video quality is undoubtedly the best currently available on the market. With a price of only 4.99 euros per month, Apple therefore offers a dispensable product that is worth trying.
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Source : Apple
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