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Traditional media companies are increasingly losing their grip on live sports as tech companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) open their coffers to secure rights on everything from professional soccer to the NFL.
Disney (DIS) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have been longtime partners of MLB and NBA, while ESPN has had rights to both the NFL, via Monday Night Football, the NFL Draft and more. But traditional media is struggling amid cord-cutting and increased competition from streaming services, and lacks the deep pockets of Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
In recent years, the aforementioned tech giants have significantly increased their sports rights ambitions and they aren’t stopping any time soon, thanks in part to flush balance sheets and an ever-growing appetite to be all things to all people. And leagues have been slicing and dicing their offerings to get more for their content. The sports broadcasting rights that had long been a crown jewel for television networks may be left in the past.
Amazon vs Apple vs Google
The College Football Playoff is one of the media deals currently on the table, and could go to either Apple (AAPL) or Amazon (AMZN), both of which have held preliminary discussions about streaming the games, Front Office Sports reported, citing sources. The current deal is slated to end in 2026.
The news outlet added that Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBC has also had conversations about getting into the picture and attended recent meetings to discuss the slate of games.
In addition to airing Notre Dame games, which it has done for years, NBC airs Big Ten games on both its linear networks and its streaming service, Peacock.
Walt Disney’s (DIS) ESPN and Fox (FOXA) own the rights for now. Starting in 2024, the playoffs will expand to 12 teams in the hopes of capturing more eyeballs from college football fans, as well as other benefits associated with the games, including licensing and increased awareness for products and services.
Recently, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) scored a major coup with NFL Sunday Ticket, while Amazon (AMZN) airs Thursday Night Football as part of a deal that started last year. The Jeff Bezos-founded company also streams the occasional New York Yankees games via its part ownership in the Yes Network.
For its part, Apple (AAPL) has also been discussing a multibillion-dollar bid to gain global rights to broadcast Formula One on its streaming platform, Apple TV+.
The Tim Cook-led company already airs Friday Night games for Major League Baseball (a deal first announced in 2022), and has expanded into soccer, via its landmark 10-year deal with Major League Soccer, also inked last year.
At the time, MLS became the first major U.S. sports league to dedicate itself to a digital media name. For its part, Apple (AAPL) has more than reaped the benefits, notably because of increased subscribers thanks to Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, who joined Inter Miami CF earlier this year and led his country to a World Cup win last year.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives recently said that Apple is becoming “more aggressive” to get more live sports content onto Apple TV+, likening it to a “golden goose strategy” to boost paying subscribers.
“That said, the market is quickly changing and Apple recognizes that in this streaming arms race there is a ‘closing window’ for the stalwart to acquire content and cement its footing in the live sports content arena,” Ives wrote in an investor note. In August, Ives even postulated that Apple could buy ESPN away from Disney (DIS) to further boost its efforts.
Others have gone even further, with Needham Securities analyst Laura Martin suggesting in March that Apple (AAPL) could buy all of Disney (DIS) to get all of its media offerings, stating that the company’s “are worth more together than separately.”
