Phil Mickelson,” but the firm added that it was
“not yet ready to wade into live rights.” With a
dedicated Sports tab in the Apple TV app and
dozens of deep integrations, like sports results
inside of Siri, Apple offers the perfect sports
fan’s platform.
Others have pointed out that the COVID-19
pandemic has slowed down the production
of new shows like The Morning Show, See,
Foundation, and Ted Lasso, and thus adding
sports into the mix would encourage users to
give Apple TV+ another chance, especially if it
was pushed with a major marketing campaign.
Add in multiple streaming tiers that offer
more access to games and behind-the-scenes
sporting content and analysis, and Apple
could easily make Apple TV+ the home of live
sporting entertainment around the world
- whilst still building its portfolio of quality,
poignant television shows and movies for the
whole family.
THE FUTURE IS IN SPORT
If Apple is serious about sport, the company
would need to secure global rights that
solve the problems of international digital-
first distribution. For example, if Apple only
acquired rights to games in the United States,
the rest of its subscribers on the other three
corners of the globe would suffer, and perhaps
even retreat from the service entirely. But
soccer isn’t the only sport that Apple could
engage with. Last year, it bought virtual reality
streaming specialist and NBA partner NextVR
for a reported US$100 million, and so even
without any formal relationship with sports
organizations, Apple could still make a serious