After first dipping into sports streaming last year, Apple is now immersing itself.
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — After its first foray into sports streaming last year, Apple is now immersing itself.
The tech giant kicked off a 10-year partnership with Major League Soccer on Wednesday with the launch of the Season Pass on Apple TV+.
“This is very important for us. This is one of the most important things we are doing this year and for the next 10 years. We are part of a family,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a presentation for the players, owners and MLS media at Apple Park last month.
Apple’s launch comes after a year of changes for sports and streaming services. The NFL further embraced streaming last year as Prime Video brought “Thursday Night Football” and Major League Baseball partnered with Apple TV and Peacock to stream games. The NFL also reached an agreement with Google’s YouTube TV to carry the “Sunday Ticket” package starting next season.
Tech companies and broadcast outlets are also seeing the value of live sports programming. According to a recent report by Parks Associates, revenue from sports streaming subscription packages is expected to increase 73% to $22.6 billion by 2027 after generating $13.1 billion last year.
In an era of cord-cutting, tech companies, advertisers and sports leagues are also finding that younger viewers continue to migrate toward streaming and watch long hours. time.
According to Amazon tracking data, 22% of “Thursday Night Football” viewers on Prime Video were in the coveted 18-34 age demographic, compared to 14% of viewers who watched -watch NFL games on linear networks.
The average viewing time for “Thursday Night” games was 85 minutes – nine minutes longer than non-Prime games.
Apple’s partnership with MLS makes sense for both parties. Various studies have found that soccer fans are more likely to watch games on streaming devices or recorded TV.
“This is an agreement that expresses where things are headed for a while and also pushes it forward,” said Daniel Kirschner, the cofounder and CEO of Greenfly, a digital media distribution platform that works in over 30 leagues.
MLS receives at least $250 million per season from Apple. The league averaged $90 million per season under the past eight-year deals with Fox, ESPN and Univision.
Apple has made previous forays into sports streaming, but this is its first major foray into a league. MLB aired two games on Apple TV+ on Friday nights last year, including the game in which Albert Pujols of the St. Louis became the fourth player in baseball history to hit 700 career home runs.
This deal could signal where the league’s sports and media streaming rights lie.
Apple and MLS are teaming up for a direct-to-consumer product that will allow fans to watch every game without local blackouts or restrictions and that will reach beyond North America. Fans in London, Paris and wherever the Apple TV app is available will also be able to see the games.
“We look at sports and recognize that there is no better time to be a sports fan, and there is no worse time to be a sports fan,” said Eddy Cue, the senior vice Apple’s president of services. “We have an opportunity with this partnership to make the experience even better for fans, and help grow the sport and the league in the US and beyond.”
MLS handles the production of all its matches, similar to how European soccer leagues do business. But other leagues, such as the Premier League and Bundesliga in Germany, then sell their broadcasting rights to outlets in each country. In this case, only one outlet – Apple – has worldwide rights.
Even sports on Fox in the United States, TSN and RDS in Canada and TelevisaUnivision are on the Apple TV+ app.
“I think they are the right league to recognize that the long-term value of their rights is best located with a streaming partner or a technology partner, as opposed to traditional leagues that require multi-billion dollar payments. from traditional networks,” said Jon Cohen, senior vice president of Frequency, which provides software for ad-supported streaming channels. “I think it’s the right time for both of them to do it.”
While Apple TV + succeeded as the first streaming service to receive an Oscar for Best Picture with “CODA” last year and “Ted Lasso” winning back-to-back Emmys for Best Comedy, it has not become one entertainment company or studio. . It remains a diversified company.
“Games are driving a lot of engagement in terms of media. I think it shows that they have a specific strategy in terms of growing their subscription and video services,” said Cohen.
MLS and Apple’s progress will be closely watched by other leagues. While the NFL, NHL and baseball have finalized rights deals over the past two years, the NBA is expected to have some streaming component when it begins negotiating media rights this year.
Cue and Cook acknowledged there were growing pains in the first year, especially as MLS developed its own production company. Everyone, however, is focused on the potential of the project and the way forward.
“People say we’re the smartest guys in the room or we’re a year too early,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “The opportunities are endless, but this is a task with many trials.”
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Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/joereedy
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