Image: Sam Greenwoodservice, and Apple has yet to be seen as
a serious contender for the rights as it’s
failed to invest big money in entertainment
programming thus far. However, it’s worth
noting that the company has a relationship
with the National Football League, hiring
James DeLorenzo to run a sports division
for the company back in 2020. DeLorenzo
was previously responsible for negotiating
Amazon’s deal with the NFL to stream live
games, so it could be that Apple finally wants
to spend some money and give Apple TV+ the
content and attention it needs.
And talks over Sunday Ticket aren’t the first
sporting excursions Apple has made: the
firm had previously expressed an interest in
live streaming college sports, but nothing
came of those talks and there’s still very
little sports-related content on Apple TV+,
which right now focuses more on dramas,
documentaries, and comedies. Introducing
sports content makes a great deal of sense
for the United States market, and as reported
by Jacob Feldman of Sportico, “Apple has the
theoretical means to do just about anything it
wants regarding sports content. Nearly $200
billion in available cash alone would be, on
paper, more than enough to purchase every
NFL team—twice. And yet, years since Apple
CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s
Apple TV+ streaming service, he has not yet
landed exclusive rights to any sports activity.”
He revealed that the company has been
expressing interest in sports content since
2018 when Apple was reportedly bidding
for The Match, a “head-to-head match play
contest between golfers Tiger Woods and