Apple scores decade-long major league soccer deal
The Future. Apple has wrapped up a deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) to broadcast its games for the next ten years. It marks the first time a major sports league has given exclusive rights to any platform… let alone a streaming service. With streamers jockeying aggressively to make sports deals to attract new subscribers, expect the Apple-MLS one to be a blueprint for negotiations moving forward.
Global playAfter dipping its toes in live sports with a deal for the MLB’s Friday Night Baseball, Apple has inked a much larger one in the world of soccer.
THR reports that Apple will exclusively broadcast all MLS games globally for the next ten years, starting in 2023.
All the games will stream on Apple TV+, with some available for free.
Highlight packages will also be available on the Apple News app.
Reports say the deal will cost Apple $250 million per year.
All of the games will stream in both English and Spanish, with Canadian games also available in French.
Streaming World CupThe deal is a big win for Apple TV+. Not only is the tech giant getting exclusive rights to one of the fastest-growing leagues in all sports, but it’s also securing one of the streaming war’s biggest gets. In general, locking up sports rights is becoming a go-to move to win subscribers, with Amazon (football), Peacock (the Olympics), Disney (cricket in India), and Paramount+ (basketball and golf) each throwing their hat into the ring.
But Apple may have changed the game — the MLS deal represents the first time that any major league has signed over all broadcast rights to a single platform. However, MLS commissioner Don Garber said that MLS might be able to simulcast games to linear broadcast networks during the first couple of years. Call it a slow fade to streaming.
The post Apple scores decade-long major league soccer deal appeared first on TheFutureParty.